Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Vuflanovsky
The internet advises me that the Toledo-built Jeep Wrangler/Cherokee are the most American made vehicles for domestic parts content, sourced engine/transmissions, and U.S. jobs supported...independent if Fiat owns them. This board still has a problem with analyzing globalism as it relates to vehicle product because it's often all over the map and changes yearly.
I've looked at a bunch of 2018 Cherokee window stickers - they all say they are made in Belvidere, IL, with 72% US/Canada part content.
I couldn't find any Toledo-built ones.
My understanding is that the Cherokee is built in both Toledo and Belvedere whereas the Wrangler is only built in Toledo. So, I'm not clear if there's a slightly higher content percentage/economic benefit with the Toledo production or not. The study listed on cars.com only referenced Toledo.
I think the reality is that these studies have different criteria and different results so it's hard to give a definitive statement one way or another. The American University study for 2017 models has the Chevy Traverse as #1 with the Wrangler as #4. This is apparently due to criteria that emphasizes other factors like profit margin, labor, and in-house ( or U.S.-based ) R&D.
The caption below might illustrate why these lists can need interpretation versus giving you the one single vehicle that would top the list:
"In 2014, Fiat acquired the outstanding shares of Chrysler. The new entity, Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA), is headquartered in the Netherlands with a tax domicile in London, and shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange. As such, because of the hybrid nature of its organizational structure and its large production and R&D presence in the U.S., we assigned a value of 3 for profit margin and R&D, rather than a 6 or 0".