Ah, yes, something else to try to blame on the UAW. You do realize that this list is completely arbitrarily defined and that the vast majority of GMs, Chryslers, and Fords sold in the US are built with UAW labor in the US, right?

Toledo, Ohio. American designed, american engineered, American made. None of that matters to cars.com because 1) They don't consider white collar jobs to be important, and 2) The Wrangler's domestic content is only about 73%. So 2% off the best Japanese model on that list.

But most of the engineering and R&D work is still in Japan. Seriously. Toyota has been claiming "american designed" for years. But look at where their engineering and R&D jobs actually are. Taking a platform and modifying it to turn it into a Ridgeline or an Odyssey takes only a fraction of the amount of work as…

I'm well aware of it.

Sales numbers. Anything below 75% domestic content they refuse to even consider, so that takes every single vehicle on the market below #4 out of consideration automatically. The remaining 13 choices (#4 being a 10 way tie) are reordered based on sales numbers, with the vans eliminated as the passenger versions…

Platform engineered in Japan. Body panels are easy. Plastic trim is easy. Powertrain and platform are where the serious development work is done. You should really check into how many people the auto companies have working in powertrain compared to designing body panels.

^^ Excellent point.

That's what Honda wants you to believe. And many people do. The fact is that the vehicle is STYLED in the US and some components engineered in the US. But the engine? Japan. Transmission? Japan. Essentially all the fundamental vehicle research? Japan.

They haven't sent most of their manufacturing for the US market out of the US. The idea that they have is an absurd myth that won't die.

The model S is 55% domestic content. Therefore cars.com doesn't care that nearly all Tesla employees are in the US and that every model S is assembled in the US.

Bullshit.

No.

Union pay and benefits packages are now, on average, almost identical to that in Honda and Toyota plants - typically within $1-2 per hour. In the case of Chrysler, which actually has the highest productivity (ie fewest manhours of labor per vehicle) of any manufacturer in North America, the productivity gap outweighs…

Your story isn't correct - while the government counts Canadian production as "domestic", cars.com will only consider vehicles built in the US. You can have 100% domestic content and be assembled in Canada and they won't consider you.

Ford is undergoing some pretty significant changes right now -

Not necessarily. There's a big difference between a long-term loan on a difficult to repossess item vs. a short term loan on an easy to repossess one.

Amongst the biggest players, Volkswagen, Ford and Honda had the worst months with VW losing 8.3% of sales year-over-year, Honda down 5.8%, and Ford down 5.8%. It's worth noting that Ford and VW did better than industry analyst forecasts and Honda was about on par.

I'm not sure Lincoln can be saved, but I'm glad they're trying. The problem I see is the ingrained attitude that they must be inferior and the attacks for being "fancy Fords" while giving competition doing the same thing a pass.

Too bad their whole gimmick has been seen before...

Yep, pretty much. Giving up $250 million+ (and growing rapidly) in tax revenues for a $1.5 billion in one time payments was a heck of a deal. As was privatizing the prison that has had significant security problems ever since... the cost of which has more than offset the "savings" from privatizing the prison.