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Toyota Camry Recognized As…’Most American Made’ Car On The Road

Sep. 24, 2012 10:25am Mike Opelka

If you watched any televised sports programs this weekend, it is likely that you saw a commercial for the Toyota Camry that featured the “Star Spangled Banner” and the Japanese car company’s proud declaration that the Camry was just named the “Most American-Made Car” on the road for the third year in a row:

Technically, the ad is wrong. Camry is not the “most American car for the third year in a row.” This was actually the fourth consecutive #1 for the Camry. Cars.com decides which car is #1 based on a few factors. From the company’s website, here is the explanation of the criteria used:

Cars.com’s American-Made Index rates vehicles built and bought in the U.S. Factors include sales, where the car’s parts come from and whether the car is assembled in the U.S. We disqualify models with a domestic parts content rating below 75 percent, models built exclusively outside the U.S. or models soon to be discontinued without a U.S.-built successor.

Camrys are assembled at plants in Kentucky and Indiana, earning the car-maker big points. Additionally, Camry sales in the states have been strong for decades.

80% of the parts used to build a Camry originate in America. The Toyota Avalon with 85% actually has a higher percentage of American parts and is assembled in Kentucky. However, the much more expensive Avalon does not sell as many cars as the Camry.

Take a look at the Cars.com list of the top 10 most American-made cars based on make / model / U.S. assembly location(s) — four of the top five “most American-made” cars carry the Toyota and Honda badges.

Toyota Camry Georgetown, Ky.; Lafayette, Ind.
Ford F-150 Dearborn, Mich.; Claycomo, Mo. -
Honda Accord Marysville, Ohio
Toyota Sienna Princeton, Ind.
Honda Pilot Lincoln, Ala.

Seriously, four out of five, or 80%, of the top five “most American made” cars have Japanese nameplates. This appears to fly in the face of the hype behind the resurgence of Detroit. Both the 2011 and 2012 Superbowls featured Chrysler ads touting the American auto industry’s revival. 2012′s “Halftime In America” ad (narrated by Clint Eastwood) claimed that Chrysler cars were “Imported From Detroit.”

Toyota Camry Named Most American Made Car

Screen cap from Chrysler "Halftime In America" ad

That ad has rankled some who point to the Chrysler 300. One of Chrysler’s biggest success stories is assembled just across the border in Canada. Perhaps that slogan should be changed to, “Imported from Canada, which is very close to Detroit.”

Technically speaking, the label “most American-made” should be the “most North American-made” as the 1992 law that created the list (The American Automobile Labeling Act) counts parts made in Canada.

Here is a snapshot of part of the 2012 list showing the top 21 vehicles based on the percentage of parts manufactured in (North) America.

Interesting to note that the Chevy Impala and Toyota Matrix — two of the cars with the highest percentage of (North) American-made parts — are assembled in Canada and therefore not eligible for the “Most American-Made” award.

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Comments (84)

Capt. Ron
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 1:03pm
By your *** cars then wonder where have jobs gone.

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- sillyfreshness
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 2:29pm
  I’ll stick with Ford. America is on the final decline. Some kid in NY told his teacher on 9-10-01 that WW3 would begin the next day and the US would lose. The FBI interviewed the kid and concluded he just made a coincidental statement. However, the kid was right. The next day would begin a 10 plus year never ending war that has volunteer troops redeployed tour after tour. All the while this multitrillion dollar war was happening in front of us, corporate America was busy shipping jobs behind our backs by the millions to China. Now we are left scratching our heads asking what happened. It’s not too hard to figure out. It was a double whammy to the American economy. Ten years later and we are now getting ready for a major war in the Middle East, so maybe that kid wasn’t as far off after all. It will be just a long decline that we lose instead of an overnight loss.
  
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- John 1776
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 4:06pm
  So according to the chart, 75% comes from the US, 10% comes from “Other Countries”, so where does the last 15% come from? Outer space ??
  
  Report this comment
- Pontiac
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 6:27pm
  Every car company builds their share of crap. I don’t buy based on nameplates or country of origin. I buy cheap, dependable, fuel efficient, simplistically engineered, & comfortable. Stop rewarding unions, companies, or countries for building crap.
  
  Report this comment
samheaken
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 1:01pm
So, these foreign car companies are now American car companies or do the profits still go back to Japan, etc.? To me that’s just as important if not more so than where it’s “assembled”.

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- Dumpster Baby
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 1:09pm
  So buy american. Buy Chrysler. Oh, wait, Chrysler is owned by Fiat.
  
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- AffirmationChick
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 1:19pm
  Yes, a lot of it stays in the US. I live in a town that’s entire survival depends on Honda of America.
  
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- jthirteen
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 2:54pm
  It depends on how you define profits. Certainly upper management of Honda and Toyota is overseas, but revenue generated from sales does not go straight back to Japan. It is used to pay the workers, advertise, buy parts and supplies. And seeing how you can invest in Toyota and Honda, some of the profits are staying here in the form of stock ownership. The bottom line being, the American Auto Industry is not going away, just companies that make bad business decisions. GM and Chrysler have been weighed down by bad management and high labor costs. Toyota, Honda, and Ford, among others, are competing for the market share that GM once had a firm grasp on. Loss of market share means a loss in buying power, which leads to higher prices for parts and supplies, causing further damage to the company’s competitiveness.
  
  Unfortunately, we have an administration who refused to recognize the faults in GM and Chrysler and instead handed them a band-aid to shore up a bullet wound. Instead of realizing they have very critical flaws in organizational structure and management, they gave them our money (so the UAW could stay afloat a little longer). Obviously the car industry can make it here in the US, otherwise how do you explain the resurgence of Ford and the continued growth of Toyota? But why ask that question when we know the answer to the problem. Unions vote, Obama needs their votes. Simple.
  
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- ddevonb73
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 3:25pm
  1. No, they don’t all go back to Japan. Honda, Toyota, etc are publicly trade on the NYSE. Anyone can buy stock.
  
  2. Net profits are a small part of the economic benefit of these companies to their communities and to America,
  
  Report this comment
PASSIONFORCHRIST
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:57pm
Just bought a 1993 Honda Accord with 90,000 miles on it. Only paid $3,000 for it, is worth $4,500. Heard they get up to 400,000 miles on it. So I investigated it, THEY DO. My new baby runs like a dream, and as long as I keep it up, it will last a looooooong time! SO GLAD I BOUGHT A HONDA!!!!!!!!!!!

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- KevINtampa
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 1:55pm
  I had a ’93 Accord. Got rid of it in 2007. It had 300k on it and still ran pretty well. It did burn oil, but never leaked, but that’s typical of any car with 200k+ miles on it. Something that you will need to maintain on the vehicle is the rear motor mount. The ’92 and ’93 models had notoriously undersized motor mounts and needed to be replaced every 2-4 years. Also, it has the old AC unit which means recharging is expensive if you can find someone who still has the equipment to do it, even many of our local dealers wouldn’t service that AC unit back in ’07. All of that said, if you want a dependable car, it ALWAYS ran. The handling is excellent as well, and for a four cylinder it had pretty good torque. Truth be told, even at 300k miles, that car is the most favored car I’ve owned. Congratulations! Good find and buy!
  
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- RedDawn2012
  Posted on September 25, 2012 at 5:50am
  I bought a ’90 Accord new and put 250k miles on it before giving it to a friend in LA because I needed a van. It’s an amazing car … huge windows and visibility, perfect instrumentation, world’s most comfy seats, incredible steering and handling and ride, great mileage, plenty of zip, and good looking and fun to drive (I had stick shift). I visit LA a lot, and it’s the ONLY old car model (’90-’93) that you see every day in LA, no matter where you go. Honda should have stopped with this one – it was all but perfect.
  
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Cabo King
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:45pm
Gm is the Only company who has NOT paid back their bailout money…….We-us the american people are owed billions…Gm stock 24.23 today we bought it at 70.00 500 million shares, do the math…there just as bad as GE if not worse

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- Dumpster Baby
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 1:05pm
  Ford still owes the US Gov. $5.9 billion.
  
  Report this comment
- Quagmir
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 7:11pm
  It does not matter if they were to pay it back or not. It wont go to reduce the Debt, it wont go back into your pocket and it wont be used for anything good. I will be a slush fund for whatever they want.
  
  In short, even if we get the money back, WE arent getting it back.
  
  Report this comment
- apbt55
  Posted on September 25, 2012 at 9:33am
  Hey dumpster baby, neither Ford nor Nissan took bailout money, maybe you should check your facts.
  
  Report this comment
red_white_blue2
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:41pm
Next time you want to say that’s not an American car–first look at where the parts are made, and where it is assembled.

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Individualism
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:31pm
i also know nissan cars easily get over 300k if you keep it up.

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- Dumpster Baby
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:34pm
  Nissan also took a bailout.
  
  Report this comment
prkw
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:30pm
I’m thinking about retiring my ’91 Camry. No major mechanical issues after 350,000 miles.
Changed timing belts three times and switched A/C type to eco-friendly. Other than regular wearing of brakes and tires and batteries, the car held up fine. 39mpg on the highway with cruise control.

Reason for retirement? Hurricane Isaac did a number on the body and glass.

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scrudge
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:30pm
Ah Yes… DUMP g m…. get a real car

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Individualism
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:29pm
any company that takes a bailout aka steals your tax money you should boycott and collapse them. I know for sure Honda is great and Ford is decent. Honda so far i think is the most reliable and longest lasting reasonable priced car brand. Toyota aint bad but they had issues with brakes and stuff. GMC is rated down in the ground and basically almost all the bailed out car companies are. the reason for a bailout is because their cars are inferior to their competitors.

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- Dumpster Baby
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:34pm
  Ford took a bailout.
  
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- Bigrod58
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 2:01pm
  Dumpster Baby. Ford borrowed 5.9 Billion. GM was bailed out (raised from the stinky dumpster-like dead) for 69 Billion. I am beginning to see why you like GM so much.
  
  Report this comment
skiz
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:17pm
All this crap about GM being on the rebound is just that, crap! They still owe the American people billions. What we have been saying about GM is a fact. If they would have filed for bankruptcy and re-negotiated the (stupid) union contracts, the company would be far better off than they are now.
I have worked for Toyota for 13 years. They have a GREAT line of cars and trucks and they last forever, no really! We have had several come in for service with 1 million miles on them. It is not un-common to see vehicles with 200k, 300k, 400k miles on them. I bet you cant find that on a, so called, American made car. GM cars are cheap and break down at the drop of a hat! Toyota has NO unions and we are going to keep it that way. They are unnecessary and we prove it every day. UNIONS KILL JOBS! FACT!

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- Cowboy
  Posted on September 25, 2012 at 1:37am
  That is the joke about Obama ‘saving’ GM. GM DID file for bankruptcy, and DID go through bankruptcy. The old GM is gone, and the new GM doesn’t want to honor the old GM’s legal liabilities. The only difference is that it was a government packaged bankruptcy that scr*wed everyone but the union.
  
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nilo
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:14pm
FORD, I’m disappointed in you. GM, I don’t doubt for a minute that China is where you want the “most made” car. Is that right?

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autumnmorning
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:09pm
I’ve been a Union Member for over 40 years. If the Union ( THUGS ) of this country don’t start Compromising, They are going to go by way of the ” DODO ” Bird. = EXTINCT!!!!!

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226crimsontrace
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:59am
I bought three Toyotas for two reasons
1. Made in U.S.A.
2. NON-UNION

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- teddrunk
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 6:50pm
  I have had good luck with the Korean stuff…..and they never bombed Pearl.
  
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hauschild
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:50am
I still look back and chuckle when thinking about all the left wing fear mongering in early 1980′s when they’d continually say, “Every time a Japanese automobile is purchased in the United States, it puts one American worker out of a job.”

Yeah, nevermind the fact that the Japanese are the sole reason why we have good automobiles today – competition. Somthing the UAW and its ilk loathes.

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- Dumpster Baby
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:04pm
  Left wing? I think you might have your wings mixed up there, Sparky.
  
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RainMcManis
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:35am
I’d really love an affordable, basic car that gets you from point A to point B.

My first car was an 84 Jetta, then a 93 Toyota Tercel. Both were unbelievably bare bones, no radio, no passenger side mirrors, manual transmission. They were small, cheap, economic, easy to repair, and just plain worked well.

Today companies like government motors have to create gigantic, expensive cars that brew coffee to pay for the unreal benefits and pay for their union employees. Most Americans can’t afford brand new cars, yet they still pump out increasingly more expensive models.

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- Dumpster Baby
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:43am
  http://www.motortrend.com/future/future_vehicles/1109_gm_expanding_compact_car_lineup/
  
  There you go.
  
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Dumpster Baby
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:34am
So if you average the six cars listed by each company, Toyota and GM, Toyota is 80 percent and GM 78.7. Pretty comparable really.

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- DarkJello
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:48am
  Toyota makes better cars for the money. So not all that comparable.
  
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- Dumpster Baby
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:06pm
  Judging by all the recalls, I’m not so sure. (own a Toyota, recalled four times so far).
  
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- rabblechat
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:11pm
  Recount that list, Toyota has 7 not six.
  
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- Dumpster Baby
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 12:19pm
  I stand corrected, however, the average is still 80 percent.
  
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LukeAppling
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:11am
Unions are killing the country with their $900,000,000,000 of unfunded pensions across the country!
This is not being mentioned by Obama, of course, because he will have you pay for this abuse just as he did with GM and Chrysler.

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nancyab058
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:10am
I have a 2011 Camry and I love it. It’s better than any Government Motors vehicle out there.

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aggiebrewer
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 10:59am
no unions=better price and most of the time better quality.
there was a time it was not this way….but unions have outlived their usefulness for anything other than a monetary drain on workers to subsidize left wing political machines.

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grimmster
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 10:59am
Sorry Toyota, Nissan, etc…none of your vehicles are “made” here in America,assymbled maybe,from parts “made” in Japan and else where, but NOT made here……

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- guz75
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:14am
  Do you even bother to read a tiny bit of the article, or just stick with the headline?
  
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- bpodlesnik
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:22am
  My guess is that he saw the title and scrolled down to post a crazy comment.
  
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- JoeInAlbany
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:24am
  Toyota Camry parts – 80% originate in USA; right there in the article for those of us that paid attention.
  
  Too bad you missed Reading Comprehension Class.
  
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- Dumpster Baby
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:26am
  Seriously, can you read?
  
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- 912network
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:53am
  Ignorance is bliss, eh, Grimmster?
  
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- AffirmationChick
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 1:24pm
  Which is why almost every other factory in the county I live in in Ohio makes parts to support the Honda plants down the road… it’s not cost-effective to ship all that in.
  
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- Richardoky
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 8:58pm
  The Georgetown Toyota plant is where the Camry, Venza, and Avolon are made. They start out as 10 to 20 ton rolls of steel, that are cut into blanks and fed through presses some of which are the most modern transfer press made. The complete side of the car is now stamped out in one transfer press and it can change dies for a different car in just 3 minutes, parts are then taken directly to body weld where 2000+ robots turn them into a car body then they go to paint shop where they are painted then to assembly where the engine (also made at the plant) and transmission (made in West Virgina) are installed along with tires dash and the rest of the power train. The Georgetown plant with about 6000 workers produce 2 cars per minute.
  
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Sirfoldallot
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 10:43am
Toyata hasn’t unionized yet but when they do they will no longer be #1. USA is bound & detremane 2 unionize so they can put them out of business here !

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- Richardoky
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 9:47pm
  Two things the unions would have to fight against is Toyota in over 50 years has never had a layoff at any of their plants and there pensions are 100% funded.
  
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cookcountypatriot
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 10:43am
this is pure union propaganda…….toyota builds thier cars in right to work states by americans who appriciate thier jobs…..whereas gm is a goverment run union incubater based in detriot building jalopys………..toyota should run commercials with thier happy american employees building quality goods and then contrast that commercial with the many investigative reports done on gm employees smoking dope and drinking on the job….facts are facts…in the past 4 yrs..toyota has created 15,000 jobs…obama motors ( gm ) has lost 400,000 jobs…facts are stubborn things….i buy toyota

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Buddynoel
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 10:41am
Look for the union label… (c’mon and sing along)…

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The_Jerk
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 10:35am
Most cars bought by American tax dollars, GM.

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- RepubliCorp
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 11:04am
  yep……50 billion and they are still in the hole and cant make the list as the most American car
  
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- Keep Your Skepticals On
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 7:51pm
  Yep. Think about that. Tax dollars bail out an “American” car company and then spend more tax dollars purchasing vehicles made in Canada, Mexico and China, and still cannot sell taxpayer stock in the company back at anything but a loss.
  
  GM was not an investment. It was a bailout. It is still a bailout. How does anyone running a business consider it successful when they have to be their own best customer just to keep it going?
  
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woodyee
Posted on September 24, 2012 at 10:34am
Don’t tell that to a Gaybama Motors union thug…

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