And it’s a tie between a pair of Chevys.
It’s August. Time for the annual release of the American University Kogod Made In America Auto Index!
Yes! The Friends are happy.
This is news the Alliance for American Manufacturing looks forward to: The Kogod index, put together by associate professor Frank DuBois at American’s Kogod School of Business, is easily the most comprehensive ranking of automobile models by domestic content on the American market.
It figures that it’s the most authoritative list; DuBois’ research focus is global supply chain management. Where inputs come from is his wheelhouse!
Determining just how truly American-made an automobile is isn't an easy thing to do, as every model is the result of a looong supply chain that crosses oceans and borders. So the Kogod index considers seven criteria to come up with the best answer: profit margin; labor location; the location of related R&D; location of inventory, capital and other expenses; location of engine production; location of transmission production; and the production location of the model’s body, chassis, and electrical components.
A more detailed explanation of them and the way the index awards points based on the criteria can be found here. And if you're really interested, AAM spoke to Professor DuBois on the Manufacturing Report podcast a few years ago. While the list he discusses in the interview is dated to 2017, his description of the index is very interesting. It's worth a listen.
But enough talk. Enough! We want rankings! Rank the friggin' cars!
No. 1: It’s a tie between the automatic transmission-equipped Chevy Corvette and Chevy Volt.
No. 2: Another tie. Two versions of Fiat Chrysler’s Jeep Wrangler.
No 4: Ford’s Lincoln Continental.
No. 5: Three-way tie between the Cadillac ATS and CTS and the automatic transmission-equipped Chevy Camaro.
See the full list at American University's website.