American-made pickups a priority? Think outside the box

Pickup truck users who care about supporting American jobs with their purchases have more reasons to reconsider the standard assumptions about what qualifies as construction field managers’ transportation.

Data: Cars.com; table: CONEXPO-CON/AGG365.com

The most-American nameplates from the U.S. in Cars.com’s rankings of 95 light-duty vehicles by their amount of American content are General Motors’ midsized GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado, and Ford’s Ranger.

Of course, Ford’s F-150 is ranked close to the Ranger. But differences in purchase price and fuel economy are cost-savers that can be turned into additional creature comforts for mid-sized pickup trucks. Most of the traditional half-ton pickups used in construction move no more than a passenger or two. Replacing some of those purchases mid-size pickups can save some money carbon

GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado are the top-ranking U.S. pickup names on the Cars.com American-Made Index. Photo: GMC

footprint. With maximum towing capacities of 7,500 pounds (Ranger) and 7,000 pounds (Canyon and Colorado), these trucks do have capability to offer.

It’s also worth noting that Toyota’s San-Antonio-built Tundra is a full-sized pickup that competes closely with the F-150 for American-made content.

Ford’s Ranger is a Top 20 Most-American pickup truck with 7,500 pounds of towing capacity. Photo: Ford

From the fairly tight top-ranked group of pickups, from No. 12 to No. 23, the next pickup trucks on the list are the No. 40 Jeep Gladiator and No. 45 Ram 1500. You have to scroll all the way to No. 93 and 94 to find GM’s Silverado and Sierra 1500s.

The Cars.com American-Made Index ranks 95 vehicles through the same five criteria: assembly location, parts content, engine origins, transmission origins and U.S. manufacturing workforce.  

Ford’s F-150 is the full-sized pickup that’s ranked most-American, by a long shot. Photo: Ford

Now in its 17th year, the Cars.com American-Made Index ranks vehicles built and bought in the U.S. for the 2022 model year. All cars above are ranked for the 2022 model year, with assembly locations current as of April 2022. The 95 vehicles ranked are selected, in part, by sales volume.

Methodology for the American-Made Index ranking considers five factors:

• Location of final assembly
• Percentage of U.S. and Canadian parts
• Countries of origin for all available engines
• Countries of origin for all available transmissions
• U.S. manufacturing workforce