As years go by, there are less and less domestic cars across the globe and we’ll bring you the list of 7 cars with most American made parts. In order for a car to be domestic-made, it has to be both produced in one of the country’s facilities and it has to be made 100 percent out of domestic parts. Wrong! You’ll be hard-pressed to find such a car these days. Ever since the first foreign cars have been produced in the US, a concept of 100 percent American-made car had been losing in favor of more affordable cars whose parts are assembled in two or more countries. This is why in 1994, the Congress was forced to pass the American Automobile Labeling Act which defines the term American-made car. Such a car has mandatory 75% of its parts made in US or Canada, or it isn’t considered American-made at all. This act sometimes creates paradoxes as we get 70% American-made cars assembled in Mexico, which, unlike Canada isn’t considered a domestic market. On the other hand, most of the German manufacturers have long since built their American assembly lines, but their American-made parts percentage usually doesn’t go over the 20% mark. Still, this is the best way to determine if certain car deserves “made in USA” label, for now.
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The reason for assembling a car made out of overseas-made parts is its final price tag. One doesn’t have to think too much in order to figure out that workforce in Mexico, for instance, costs much less than in any US state. With the state of the art facilities, modern equipment, and professional guidance, Mexican workers are no less capable of producing most of future car’s vital parts. Whether they only produce parts or apply the finishing touches, money savings are considerable. This is the way car makers use in order to stay competitive across the global markets. If you aren’t looking for an affordable family car, however, take a look at our list of 11 most expensive cars to insure.
So, why are we talking about 7 cars with most American made parts, apart from 7 being a lucky number? Precisely because there are actually only seven cars assembled in America which meet the requirements put in place by the aforementioned act. Future of domestically made cars seems bleak to say the least since this is the first time that there are less than 10 cars which meet the criteria. 2015 obviously hasn’t been favorable towards domestically made cars and who knows what the future is about to bring. But, how to arrange the list? We have used the index of US assembly-plant workers supported by the model which cars have provided. In other words, the more models produced in one of the American plants, the more workers are employed in the process. Oh, and by the way, you can find everything you need to know about the AALA and cars assembled on American soil here. You’ll notice that Dodge Grand Caravan meets most of the requirements, but is being assembled in Canada. Cadillac CTS Coupe also meets the 75% margin, but it is soon to be discontinued as a result of Caddy’s new nomenclature strategy. This is why we have disqualified them from the list.
7. Buick Enclave
With around 62,000 sales in the US, Buick Enclave represents one of the few true American cars left in this world. Luxury full-size Crossover SUV is being assembled in GM’s Lansing assembly in Delta Township, Michigan. According to the index of US assembly-plant workers supported by model, Enclave supports around 400 US citizens working in mentioned assembly. Being a legitimate US brand, Buick’s appearance on the list doesn’t come as a surprise even with recent expansion into the Chinese market.
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6. Chevrolet Corvette
A true icon of a car – Chevy Corvette is a brand of its own. Vette has been sold almost 35,000 copies in the US in 2014 which is no mean feat for a sports car, and 2015 sales as of October are looking good too (just shy of 30,000 cars). Assembled in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Corvette’s 25% of non-American parts include a Mexican-made transmission as the most notable feature. What’s more important, however, is the fact that it directly supports around 900 US workers.
5. GMC Acadia
Another full-size crossover SUV, Acadia also manages to stay in 75% margins. Similar to Enclave, it too is built in GM’s Lansing Delta Township Assembly, and it supports around 1,000 workers according to the US assembly-plant workers supported by the model index. General Motors have managed to sell almost 84,000 copies of the car last year and the figures are growing year in, year out. If the trend continues, it could fare even better in the future.
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4. Honda Odyssey
Well, Honda certainly isn’t an American brand, but it won’t be the only Japanese badge to make our list of 7 cars with most American made parts. Minivan is currently in its fourth generation; a third of which is being assembled in Lincoln, Alabama. Almost 123,000 units have been sold in the US last year, and MPV supports around 1,400 workers thanks to these numbers.
3. Toyota Sienna
Sienna has always been produced in the states, but its current assembly plant in Princeton, Indiana (TMMI) is its home since 2004. Those were minivan’s golden years, but the current result of almost 125,000 sold units in 2014 isn’t that far from the record. Sienna supports around 1,800 workers by US assembly-plant workers supported by the model index and features 20% of parts made in Japan including the transmission.
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2. Chevrolet Traverse
By now, you are probably familiar with the fact that GM’s Lansing Delta Township Assembly serves as manufacturer’s flagship crossover breeding ground. Chevy Traverse is another vehicle that shares GM Lambda platform with already mentioned Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia. It’s been sold just shy of 104,000 times during 2014 and it supports around 1,900 workers of the Lansing plant.
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1. Toyota Camry
Camry isn’t the best sold US mid-size sedan for 14 consecutive years by accident. Almost 430,000 models have found their new homes during 2014, but their birthplace will always remain the same. Being such a high-volume car, Camry is assembled in both Georgetown, Kentucky, and Lafayette, Indiana assembly plants. Given its sales figures, family sedan supports by far the most workers according to US assembly-plant workers supported by the model index. The number is 5,900, and thanks to that, Camry deservedly sits on pole position of our list of 7 cars with most American made parts.
