CARS.COM — For 2017, Cars.com has revamped its longstanding American-Made Index for the first time. Over the AMI’s 11-year history, the number of models meeting our original criteria has fallen due to the globalization of automobile manufacturing — from more than 60 vehicles in the AMI’s inaugural year to eight last year. By the original requirements, only three 2017 models would have qualified this year.
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With that, witness the new AMI: an analysis of cars assembled in the U.S. with high domestic-parts content, predominant U.S. sourcing for engines and transmissions, and high U.S. manufacturing jobs supported per vehicle. This year, the index de-emphasizes overall sales — a factor that reflects the economic impact of a given model line — to focus on the domestic impact of a single buyer purchasing one model versus another. Cars.com analyzed light-duty passenger vehicles built in the U.S. (more than 120 in total) to arrive at the top 10.