Cobalt truly American-made
GM car ranks second on Web site’s annual listTribune Chronicle
Fact Box
Made in America
Cars.com again ranked the "most American" cars. Here's the top 10. Last year's ranking is in parentheses.
1 (1)Ford F-150
2 (2)Chevrolet Cobalt
3 (9)Chevrolet Malibu
4 (5)Pontiac G6
5 (4)Toyota Tundra
6 (6)Toyota Sienna
7 (-)Honda Odyssey
8 (3)Chevrolet Silverado 1500
9 (-)Chrysler Sebring
10 (10)Ford Explorer/Sport Trac
The Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cobalt, the compact car that's fuel efficiency has pushed it to the top of General Motors Corps.' sales, was named this week the second-most American vehicle by cars.com.
According to the cars.com Web site, its ''American-Made Index'' is an amalgam of three criteria: sales, where the car's parts are manufactured, and whether the car is assembled in America.
The Cobalt was second only to the Ford F-150 for the second year in a row. The Chevrolet Malibu took third place, up from last year's ninth-place ranking.
Production of the Cobalt, which exceeds 30 miles per gallon in highway driving conditions, began at the Lordstown Complex in 2004.
As part of GM's shift toward production of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, the Lordstown Complex will begin producing a new compact car for the 2010 model year. It also will begin operating a third shift Aug. 4.
In June sales figures released Tuesday, the Cobalt registered a 21.6 percent increase over June 2007 sales totals. That mark was enough to earn the Cobalt the title of Chevrolet's most-delivered car in June.
Other GM vehicles in the top 10 included the fourth-ranked Pontiac G6 and the eighth-ranked Chevrolet Silverado 1500.
In addition to the F-150, Ford's Explorer/Sport Trac took 10th place. Chrysler had one vehicle on the list, the number nine Sebring.
Spots five through seven were occupied by foreign automakers, with Toyota's Tundra and Sienna grabbing fifth and sixth place, while Honda's Odyssey came in at number seven.
