Toyota Camry Beats Ford F-150 as Most 'American Made'

By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY l Updated 2012-07-09 1:51 PM

"Once again,Cars.com has come to the counter-intuitive conclusion that the Toyota Camry is the most American of all cars -- more U.S. sourced parts, U.S. production and U.S. sales.

It was the fourth-straight year that the Camry came in tops in the "American-made" survey. This year, the Ford F-150, the nation's best-selling vehicle, almost beat it. But in the end, Toyota, Honda and General Motors combined for eight of the 10 vehicles on the list.

"When people think about buying an 'American' car, they might just think automatically of the Detroit Three," said Patrick Olsen, editor in chief at Cars.com. "In reality, this classification isn't as cut and dry as it used to be."

He points out that Italy's Fiat owns a majority stake in Chrysler, despite its status as a Big 3 Detroit maker. More foreign makers are building their vehicle in the U.S. as a way to hedge against a strong dollar.

"U.S. sales are a component of our index for a number of reasons," said Olsen. "For one thing, it's safe to say that the more a vehicle sells, the more U.S. workers are involved in production and delivery of the vehicle and the more U.S. dealers are profiting. Additionally, we think it's valid to give credit for how American buyers embrace a vehicle."

Here are the 10 most American vehicles and where they're made:

1. Toyota Camry, Georgetown, Ky., and Lafayette, Ind.
2. Ford F-150, Dearborn, Mich., and Claycomo, Mo.
3. Honda Accord, Marysville, Ohio
4. Toyota Sienna, Princeton, Ind.
5. Honda Pilot, Lincoln, Ala.
6. Chevrolet Traverse, Lansing, Mich.
7. Toyota Tundra, San Antonio
8. Jeep Liberty, Toledo, Ohio
9. GMC Acadia, Lansing
10. Buick Enclave, Lansing"

 

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