All Entries Tagged With: "most American trucks"

F150 Finally Manages to Win A “Most America” Truck Award

In 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, the Toyota Tundra was recognized by Cars.com as either the most “American” truck on the market or the 2nd most American truck, meaning that the Tundra was built in the USA using the highest percentage of domestic parts compared to any other pickup. Ford, GM, and Ram (aka Chrysler-Fiat) didn’t always have a truck that qualified in these years because at least 30% – and sometimes 50% – of many F-series, Ram, and GM trucks used parts that came from outside the USA.

UPDATE – I over-reached here and made a mistake in the paragraph above (corrections are in green). The F150 was the most American truck in 2008 and 2009, but it fell off the list in 2010 and 2011. The Ram was “most American” in 2010, but that’s a bit of a misnomer, as Cars.com excluded regular cab Ram trucks that year (which are built in Mexico) for reasons that just aren’t logical to me. The Ram never deserved to win this award considering they build trucks in Mexico.

Still, this post is factually mistaken and generally wrong. My apologies.

However, in 2012, Ford won the Cars.com Most American Truck award. For the first time since 2007, the F-150 has 75% domestic content, which is the minimum threshold for consideration. The Tundra (which also has 75% domestic content), is the 2nd most American truck on the market in 2012 because it doesn’t sell as well as the F150.

Considering that Ford is an American company, and considering that every 2012 F150 is assembled in either Dearborn, Michigan or Missouri, it’s about damn time that Ford won this award. The question is, where are GM and Ram?

Ford, GM, and Ram Owners: Stop Making Excuses and Buy An American Truck

Once again, Cars.com has listed the Toyota Tundra has one of America’s most “American” vehicles, ranking ninth overall. According to domestic content labels provided by Ford, GM, and Chrysler-Fiat, the Tundra uses more parts made in America and Canada than any competing truck. Furthermore, the Tundra is built at a $1.5 billion dollar facility in San Antonio, Texas.

Here are the official domestic content ratings provided by the manufacturers to the US government:

• Tundra – 90% domestic content
• Ram 1500 – 70% domestic content
• Silverado/Sierra – 61% domestic content
• Ford F-150 – 60% domestic content

The question is, why would someone who really cared about American labor buy an F-150, Silverado/Sierra, or Ram 1500?

The Tundra Is Now America’s “Most American” Pickup

Every year, Cars.com uses domestic content data from NHTSA and automaker-supplied data to pull together a list of the “10 Most American” vehicles. Over the last three years, the Tundra – with 80% domestic parts content – has been on this list.

* – The Ram 1500 ranking excludes regular cab trucks, which are assembled in Mexico.

On the Cars.com list, the Tundra is now the second-most American truck available…but only if the Ram 1500’s stats exclude regular cab models. If Ram’s “American made” numbers reflected the foreign-built reg cab’s it’s likely that the Tundra would be the only truck in the top 10 most American vehicles. For that reason, it seems clear to us that the Tundra is now officially the Most American truck you can buy.

What do you have to say about that, Ford, GM, and Chrysler-Fiat truck owners? 🙂