Cars.com 2021 American-Made Index

[rperez817]

Ford Mustang is #2 this year. 2021 Cars.com American-Made Index: Which Cars Are the Most American? | News | Cars.com

 

Criteria.

• Assembly location
• Parts content
• Engine origin
• Transmission origin
• U.S. manufacturing workforce

 

[HotRunrGuy]

Ranger went from 1st to 28th in 1 year?

 

HRG

[rperez817]

7 minutes ago, HotRunrGuy said:

Ranger went from 1st to 28th in 1 year?

 

U.S. + Canada parts content percentage for U.S. market Ford Ranger was 70% for 2020 model year and 45% in 2021.

[ExplorerDude]

And then how does the Mustang go from #34 in 2020 to #2 in 2021? 
 

I understand the criteria but it’s honestly puzzling.

[rperez817]

As a company, Ford is #2 among all automakers selling passenger cars and light trucks in the U.S. for the percentage of vehicles that were assembled in the U.S.

 

Share of U.S. Light-Duty Sales From Domestic Assembly, 2021 Model Year

• Tesla Inc. (Tesla): 100.0%
• Ford Motor Co. (Ford, Lincoln): 84.6%
• Stellantis NV (Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, Ram): 70.8%
• Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (Acura, Honda): 65.1%
• General Motors Co. (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC): 53.8%
• BMW AG (BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce): 52.0%
• Subaru Corp. (Subaru): 44.4%
• Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance (Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Nissan): 44.0%
• Toyota Motor Corp. (Lexus, Toyota): 43.5%
• Hyundai Motor Group (Genesis, Hyundai, Kia): 36.1%
• Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner? 34.4%
• Volkswagen AG (Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Volkswagen): 22.7%
• Zhejiang-Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd. (Lotus, Polestar, Volvo): 8.6%
• Mazda Motor Corp. (Mazda): 0.0%
• Tata Motors Ltd. (Jaguar, Land Rover): 0.0%

[akirby]

1 hour ago, rperez817 said:

As a company, Ford is #2 among all automakers selling passenger cars and light trucks in the U.S. for the percentage of vehicles that were assembled in the U.S.

 

Share of U.S. Light-Duty Sales From Domestic Assembly, 2021 Model Year

• Tesla Inc. (Tesla): 100.0%
• Ford Motor Co. (Ford, Lincoln): 84.6%
• Stellantis NV (Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, Ram): 70.8%
• Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (Acura, Honda): 65.1%
• General Motors Co. (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC): 53.8%
• BMW AG (BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce): 52.0%
• Subaru Corp. (Subaru): 44.4%
• Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance (Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Nissan): 44.0%
• Toyota Motor Corp. (Lexus, Toyota): 43.5%
• Hyundai Motor Group (Genesis, Hyundai, Kia): 36.1%
• Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner? 34.4%
• Volkswagen AG (Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Volkswagen): 22.7%
• Zhejiang-Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd. (Lotus, Polestar, Volvo): 8.6%
• Mazda Motor Corp. (Mazda): 0.0%
• Tata Motors Ltd. (Jaguar, Land Rover): 0.0%

 

How about you compare # of vehicles between Ford and Tesla instead of percentages.

[rperez817]

50 minutes ago, akirby said:

 

How about you compare # of vehicles between Ford and Tesla instead of percentages.

 

Cars.com didn't provide that data. If you want those details, ask them. PR@Cars.com 

[SoonerLS]

Yeah, file this all under "how to lie with statistics." It's just there to make people feel OK about buying foreign makes.

[rperez817]

14 hours ago, SoonerLS said:

Yeah, file this all under "how to lie with statistics." It's just there to make people feel OK about buying foreign makes.

 

Good point SoonerLS sir. The main flaw with the Cars.com American made index is that it focuses entirely on final assembly location and source of parts. Those are the 2 least important aspects of what makes a car or truck "American".

 

People who want a truly "American" product should pay attention to the following.

• Location of corporate HQ. There are 3 major automakers that are American by this criterion. GM, Ford, and Tesla. Plus smaller startup companies like Rivian.
• Place where the product was primarily designed and engineered. Of course the American companies GM, Ford, and Tesla have "complete product creation" capabilities in the U.S and produce vehicles that are designed and engineered at U.S. facilities. But some foreign companies do too, like Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and Stellantis. 

Edited June 24, 2021 by rperez817

[akirby]

There is no such thing as an “American vehicle” when it comes to volume mfrs.  Mfrs, vehicles and parts are all global now.

[rperez817]

17 hours ago, akirby said:

There is no such thing as an “American vehicle” when it comes to volume mfrs.  Mfrs, vehicles and parts are all global now.

 

Yes sir, no new car or light truck sold in the U.S. market today is 100% American when all things are considered. However, car buyers who think "Buy American" is important should do the following.

1. Identify products from U.S. companies that meet your wants and needs
2. Next, narrow down the list to products that were primarily designed and engineered in the U.S.
3. As a tiebreaker, use assembly location and parts content information from the Cars.com American-Made Index

Edited June 25, 2021 by rperez817

[twintornados]

13 minutes ago, ceyhbal said:

Quite useful information, thank you

 

Why?

[FordBuyer]

It does seem like Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and even the Koreans are becoming more "American" with each passing year. Most or all have major engineering and design centers located here. For example, Toyota has a huge center in Ann Arbor, MI, and Nissan in Farmington Hills, MI. And all have huge assembly operations here. And of course thousands of dealerships.

 

So I think the domestic/foreign argument is rather old and pointless. Just hope all can be profitable and support their employees. 

[rperez817]

10 minutes ago, FordBuyer said:

It does seem like Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and even the Koreans are becoming more "American" with each passing year. Most or all have major engineering and design centers located here. For example, Toyota has a huge center in Ann Arbor, MI, and Nissan in Farmington Hills, MI. And all have huge assembly operations here. And of course thousands of dealerships.

 

Good points FordBuyer sir. Among the foreign automakers, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Stellantis stand out for having complete product creation capabilities in the U.S., and market cars and light trucks that are very much "American" in terms of initial market research, design, engineering, and assembly location all being in the U.S.

Examples.

• All of the U.S. market pickup truck models from these automakers (Tundra, Tacoma, Ridgeline, Titan, '22 Frontier, Ram pickup)
• 2 of the 3 minivans (Sienna and Odyssey). Pacifica/Voyager would also qualify if not for assembly location in Canada.
• Several crossovers and SUV models, including Sequoia, Pilot, Pathfinder, and Grand Cherokee
• Passenger cars including Avalon, Acura TLX, and Maxima

Still, I respect American consumers who prefer a product from a U.S. automaker (GM, Ford, Tesla plus startups like Rivian and Lucid).

[FordBuyer]

7 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

 

Good points FordBuyer sir. Among the foreign automakers, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Stellantis stand out for having complete product creation capabilities in the U.S., and market cars and light trucks that are very much "American" in terms of initial market research, design, engineering, and assembly location all being in the U.S.

Examples.

• All of the U.S. market pickup truck models from these automakers (Tundra, Tacoma, Ridgeline, Titan, '22 Frontier, Ram pickup)
• 2 of the 3 minivans (Sienna and Odyssey). Pacifica/Voyager would also qualify if not for assembly location in Canada.
• Several crossovers and SUV models, including Sequoia, Pilot, Pathfinder, and Grand Cherokee
• Passenger cars including Avalon, Acura TLX, and Maxima

Still, I respect American consumers who prefer a product from a U.S. automaker (GM, Ford, Tesla plus startups like Rivian and Lucid).

 

What really helps is how much Ford and GM helped with Covid response, especially Ford helping front line medical workers. With the new Delta Variant making huge inroads, more help will be needed from industry. Hospitals in Missouri are already filling up and shortages of ventilators reported. Looking at numbers of new covid cases, numbers are climbing exponentially now with vaccination rates deteriorating quickly. Delta is 5 times worse than Covid 19. There are so many rural counties in America that are so vulnerable to this disease. 

[rperez817]

27 minutes ago, FordBuyer said:

What really helps is how much Ford and GM helped with Covid response, especially Ford helping front line medical workers. 

 

Good example. This goes back to the fact that the most important factor for what makes a product or service "American" is whether the parent company's HQ location is in the U.S. or a foreign country.

 

While foreign automakers did help U.S. hospitals and healthcare workers with the Covid-19 situation, Ford's, GM's and Tesla's efforts in that regard were much greater.

[iamweasel]

On 6/23/2021 at 7:36 PM, ExplorerDude said:

And then how does the Mustang go from #34 in 2020 to #2 in 2021? 
 

I understand the criteria but it’s honestly puzzling.

 

Subassemblies.  That is the fatal flaw with this "American Made" index.  It completely screws up the calculation and allows OEM's to manipulate the data.  The domestic automakers have lobbied for years to fix this loophole in the AALA but they haven't gotten it done.  (Southern legislators who cater to foreign automakers fight it, warning everyone that if they get rid of the loophole foreign companies like to exploit so much it'll be harder to get future investment from them.)

 

Here is how it works.  Traditionally, suppliers ship parts to a final assembly plant and the value of those parts is binned into foreign or domestic content, accordingly.  Simple, right?

 

Then some of the foreign automakers learned how to exploit the loophole in the system:  Subassemblies.  Here is how it works:

- They can ship a hundred foreign parts to a building across the street from their assembly plant.  (Think of things like instrument panels, wheel and tire assemblies, seats, under-hood components, etc.)

- Those parts are then assembled "offsite" into a complete module, like an instrument panel.

- So instead of a 100 individual foreign parts being shipped into the final assembly plant, the single instrument panel, with it's own unique "end-item" part number, is shipped into that plant.  

- Because that "end-item" part was assembled on US soil, the entire value of that part can be considered 100% domestic, even though none of the parts that make it up actually come from North America.

 

It's a complete joke.  The Tundra, in particular, is one model that does exactly that.  The "real" domestic content was closer to 25% on that vehicle.  They inflated the heck out of it with subassemblies.  (I know this because I was a program manager on F-150 at one time, and was involved in vehicle teardowns of the Tundra and others so we knew EXACTLY where those parts came from.)  

 

Look at the attached photo.  Note how the Ford plant is basically one big plant with skyways to the paint and body buildings.  That's all you have there. Conversely, look at the Toyota plant and all the buildings surrounding that plant.  Those are subassembly parks and they ship all kinds of foreign parts into those buildings and get subassemblies built there.  Not only does that help trick the system in regards to domestic content percentages, but they also save a little labor because Tier 2 subassemblers make less than factory OEM line workers.   Here is a link to one of those subassemblers in San Antonio:  About - Avanzar

 

Ford Toyota Plant Comparison.pdf

[rperez817]

Very interesting information iamweasel sir about subassemblies & AALA calculations. Thank you for sharing this!

[FordBuyer]

17 hours ago, rperez817 said:

Very interesting information iamweasel sir about subassemblies & AALA calculations. Thank you for sharing this!

 

I will second that. Very informative. Good stuff.

[blwnsmoke]

So we go from a posted article to then agreeing it is misleading which means it is pointless.. so then have to ask, why post it.

[blwnsmoke]

On 7/9/2021 at 9:33 PM, iamweasel said:

 

Subassemblies.  That is the fatal flaw with this "American Made" index.  It completely screws up the calculation and allows OEM's to manipulate the data.  The domestic automakers have lobbied for years to fix this loophole in the AALA but they haven't gotten it done.  (Southern legislators who cater to foreign automakers fight it, warning everyone that if they get rid of the loophole foreign companies like to exploit so much it'll be harder to get future investment from them.)

 

Here is how it works.  Traditionally, suppliers ship parts to a final assembly plant and the value of those parts is binned into foreign or domestic content, accordingly.  Simple, right?

 

Then some of the foreign automakers learned how to exploit the loophole in the system:  Subassemblies.  Here is how it works:

- They can ship a hundred foreign parts to a building across the street from their assembly plant.  (Think of things like instrument panels, wheel and tire assemblies, seats, under-hood components, etc.)

- Those parts are then assembled "offsite" into a complete module, like an instrument panel.

- So instead of a 100 individual foreign parts being shipped into the final assembly plant, the single instrument panel, with it's own unique "end-item" part number, is shipped into that plant.  

- Because that "end-item" part was assembled on US soil, the entire value of that part can be considered 100% domestic, even though none of the parts that make it up actually come from North America.

 

It's a complete joke.  The Tundra, in particular, is one model that does exactly that.  The "real" domestic content was closer to 25% on that vehicle.  They inflated the heck out of it with subassemblies.  (I know this because I was a program manager on F-150 at one time, and was involved in vehicle teardowns of the Tundra and others so we knew EXACTLY where those parts came from.)  

 

Look at the attached photo.  Note how the Ford plant is basically one big plant with skyways to the paint and body buildings.  That's all you have there. Conversely, look at the Toyota plant and all the buildings surrounding that plant.  Those are subassembly parks and they ship all kinds of foreign parts into those buildings and get subassemblies built there.  Not only does that help trick the system in regards to domestic content percentages, but they also save a little labor because Tier 2 subassemblers make less than factory OEM line workers.   Here is a link to one of those subassemblers in San Antonio:  About - Avanzar

 

Ford Toyota Plant Comparison.pdf

 

One of the most informative posts I've read in a long time.  Thanks for posting/sharing that 

[rperez817]

On 7/11/2021 at 8:25 PM, blwnsmoke said:

So we go from a posted article to then agreeing it is misleading which means it is pointless.. so then have to ask, why post it.

 

Cars.com American Made Index is not pointless. However, U.S. consumers who prefer "American" cars need to understand both the source of the data and its limitations.

 

The post is in this forum because a Ford product made the Top 10.

[rperez817]

Kogod School of Business at AU released the results of 2021 Made in America Auto Index today. Like Cars.com American Made Index, the Kogod study uses AALA data. Unlike the Cars.com index, the Kogod study considers HQ location of each vehicle model's parent company. However, for the "HQ location" and "Profit" categories, the Kogod study continues to inappropriately inflate the scores of vehicles made by Stellantis so be aware of that as you browse the list. 

 

Ford Mustang GT with manual transmission was #1, with a score of 88.5. All of the highest rated models in the 2021 Made in America Auto Index, those with a score of 80 or higher, are from the Big 3 U.S. automakers, GM, Ford, and Tesla.

 

List.  2021 Made in America Auto Index (american.edu)

[iamweasel]

9 hours ago, rperez817 said:

Kogod School of Business at AU released the results of 2021 Made in America Auto Index today. Like Cars.com American Made Index, the Kogod study uses AALA data. Unlike the Cars.com index, the Kogod study considers HQ location of each vehicle model's parent company. However, for the "HQ location" and "Profit" categories, the Kogod study continues to inappropriately inflate the scores of vehicles made by Stellantis so be aware of that as you browse the list. 

 

Ford Mustang GT with manual transmission was #1, with a score of 88.5. All of the highest rated models in the 2021 Made in America Auto Index, those with a score of 80 or higher, are from the Big 3 U.S. automakers, GM, Ford, and Tesla.

 

List.  2021 Made in America Auto Index (american.edu)

 

Yet no discussion on the impact of subassemblies which has a drastic impact on the numbers.  Maybe that's why American is not a Top-25 Business School. 

[akirby]

2 hours ago, iamweasel said:

 

Yet no discussion on the impact of subassemblies which has a drastic impact on the numbers.  Maybe that's why American is not a Top-25 Business School. 

He ignores anything that disagrees with his preconceived notions.

 

30 days went by way too quickly……