4 GM Vehicles Rank In Top 10 “Most American-Made Cars” Of 2012
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It used to be that an American car was not only made in America, but was built with American-made parts, as well. Today’s global economy, however, presents a myriad of challenges and opportunities that have changed the face core of “American-ness” in an American car: what may traditionally have been a true-to-the-bone American automobile may now be built outside of the U.S. with parts imported from around the world. So how does one keep track of which cars were built in the States, and which of those have the most American-made parts?
Some twenty years ago, Congress ratified the American Automobile Labeling Act, which mandated that automakers provide labels outlining the country of assembly, the country of origin for the engine and transmission, as well as the percentage of parts from the U.S. and Canada used in a vehicle,. The NHTSA (and its various non-direct predecessors) has been compiling indexes of vehicles for each model year for those curious about the industry, as well as for those who care about homegrown products — and released the list for 2012 models earlier this summer.
In 2012, a total of four GM vehicles made the top ten, including the Chevy Express/GMC Savana (in second place overall) as well as the Buick Enclave and Chevy Traverse (in tenth). In other words, the Express is the most American-made Chevy — and the second most-American-made vehicle across the industry in 2012. Surprisingly, neither the GMC Acadia, Silverado/Sierra, Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon, or any Cadillac made the cut.
The full list, along with assembly sites and percentage of U.S. parts content, is as follows:
- 2012 Toyota Avalon
Assembled: Georgetown, Ky.
Percentage Made In U.S.: 85% - 2012 Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana
Assembled: Wentzville, Mo.
Percentage Made In U.S.: 82% - 2012 Toyota Sienna
Assembled: Princeton, Ind.
Percentage Made In U.S.: 80% - 2012 Honda Accord
Assembled: Marysville, Ohio
Percentage Made In U.S.: 80% - 2012 Honda Crosstour
Assembled: East Liberty, Ohio
Percentage Made In U.S.: 80% - 2012 Ford Expedition
Assembled: Louisville, Ky.
Percentage Made In U.S.: 80% - 2012 Lincoln Navigator
Assembled: Louisville, Ky.
Percentage Made In U.S.: 80% - 2012 Chrysler 200 Convertible
Assembled: Sterling Heights, MI
Percentage Made In U.S.: 79% - Jeep Liberty
Assembled: Toledo, Ohio
Percentage Made In U.S.: 76% - 2012 Buick Enclave/Chevrolet Traverse
Assembled: Lansing, Mich.
Percentage Made In U.S.: 76%
Since the Liberty is dead, whose #11?
Why wouldn’t the GMC Acadia be included with the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse, since they all share the same Lambda platform and are mechanically identical?
5.2012 Honda Crosstour
Assembled: East Liberty, Ohio
Percentage Made In U.S.: 80%
America, I’m very disapointed in you.
Wasn’t the number 1 spot goes to Camry? instead of Avalon?
None of those foreign vehicles with high percentages are American. If you buy one, over 60% of the cost goes back to the “manufacturer”. This is why the Chevy Equinox, which is assembled in Canada is still an “American” vehicle, because the true manufacturer is GM.
Buying an import assembled in America is still treason!
Exactly. Buying American is still buying from the big three (although, today, it may not include Chrysler, since it’s 50%+ Italian.) because the profits go straight to the headquarters. When someone buys an Avalon, the profits go to Toyota’s Japanese headquarters. When someone buys a Spark, the profits go to GM’s Detroit headquarters. Worrying about where the car is engineered and/or manufactured is only worrying about the company’s ethics. I still find this funny because my parents always bash American reliability, and they own an Avalon.