As reported by CBS in Atlanta, 2013 is the year that Ford F150 has climbed to the top of the list for most American built and American loved vehicle of the year! For the past 4 years the most American motor vehicle as judged by Cars.com’s annual “Most American” list has been… the Japanese carmaker, Toyota’s Camry!
Excuse me while I throw up in my mouth a little.
Yes, it turns out that for the last 4 years, despite a taxpayer/government rescue of General Motors and Chrysler in 2009, on a list that judges the “American-ness” of vehicles based on domestic parts content, domestic sales and location of manufacture, the Japanese have actually been beating American brands at being American. Wake up GM and thank you Ford.
Finally, an American brand is back on top, leading the way at building and manufacturing cars in America. The Ford F-150 has led the list in the past, but lost the leadership position as the percentage of domestic parts content had fallen. For the last two years, the domestic parts in a Ford F-150 have been about 75% and domestic sales of F-Series trucks have been through the roof. Maybe karma, maybe improved branding, I like to think it’s both. Definitely is great to see one of our American treasures, Ford Motor Company as strong as ever and setting the bar for building in America.
If you’re feeling a streak of American pride and would like to spend an afternoon driving the iconic F-150, we recommend Sandy Springs Ford in Atlanta for respectful sales including upfront pricing and affordable transport to anywhere in the USA.
Regarding the list, we still have a ways to go. Only 5 of the top 10 most American vehicles are American brands and Toyota still has 4 models represented.
“Ford’s top ranking this year is good indicator of how pickup trucks are dominating auto sales so far in 2013, and how the domestic automakers are bouncing back,” says Cars.com, Editor-in-Chief, Patrick Olsen.
In fact, this year marks the first time since the creation of the list that American brands have claimed 2 of the top 3 spots with the Dodge Avenger earning 3rd place. Cars com has created some angst in the industry by creating a “Most American” list that includes foreign manufactures, but Patrick Olsen says that was the point.
“There are a lot of cars that we felt because they had such a big manufacturing presence in the U.S., we weren’t sure consumers were aware how many of these cars were being built here.”
Clearly Cars.com and Patrick Olsen have forgotten all about Pearl Harbor.
All kidding aside, hold your nose, here is the actual list:
Most American Vehicles of 2013
- Ford F150
- Toyota Camry
- Dodge Avenger
- Honda Odyssey
- Toyota Sienna
- Chevrolet Traverse
- Toyota Tundra
- GMC Acadia
- Buick Enclave
- Toyota Avalon
According to Olsen, “Buying American isn’t necessarily the key decision maker for every car shopper; however a study we conducted in 2012 indicated that 25 percent of shoppers surveyed preferred to buy American.”
If that is true, then it’s not just GM, American’s need to wake up too. We did not build Route 66 and the American dream of the open road so Toyota could monetize it for us. We should be dumping foreign cars like bra’s in the 70’s, and nothing is more American than a Ford F150.
Big thanks to Cars for pointing that out.
This commentary was created on behalf of Sandy Springs Ford, a Ford President’s Award Winning new and used car Ford dealership in Atlanta, GA. Connect with us on Google+ here or on Facebook.
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