Cars.com publishes an annual American-Made Index, which ranks vehicles based on how much “domestic” parts content they contain. In the 2015 study, only seven vehicles made the list, the first year Cars.com couldn’t even find 10 vehicles for its list. Three of the 10 were Japanese brands–Honda Odyssey (made in Alabama), and Toyota’s Camry (made in Kentucky) and Sienna (made in Indiana). Those cars made the list because they source a lot of the vehicles’ content from U.S. parts factories, including their own engine plants. The other four are all GM vehicles–Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and the Chevrolet Corvette. That’s right. Not even the “All-American” Jeep (Italian-owned now by Fiat), assembled in Ohio, could make the list. And

From competitively low factory wages in Mexico to the increased use of robotics at home, the industry and workforce in Alabama is facing a myriad range of challenges. But many state officials and industry experts believe there is more hope than hazards to be found for a sector that is hardly three decades old. I recently spoke to some of these experts to see just what lies in store for Alabama automaking. Growth on the horizon Bill Taylor, president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, told the BBJ they anticipate continued growth within the auto industry at different tier levels of suppliers, which is driven by the increasing volumes and the number of model types produced in Alabama. The

Alabama’s three global automakers combined to produce more than 1 million vehicles in 2015, the first time the state’s annual output has reached that big-league milestone. Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Hyundai produced a total of at least 1,033,095 vehicles last year, according to the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, a key player in the growth of the industry of the state. The total is up slightly from 2014, when the trio’s production tally fell just shy of 995,000. “Since Mercedes invested in Alabama over 20 years ago, Alabama has been successful at producing automobiles, with 2015 being our best year yet,” Governor Robert Bentley said. “Automotive manufacturing is an important industry in Alabama, and creates thousands of jobs for Alabamians. I

Honda began manufacturing its redesigned Ridgeline pickup at the automaker’s assembly plant in Talladega County, Alabama. According to the automaker, “The 4,500-worker plant today officially marked the start of production for the 2017 model, with a lineoff celebration that featured more than 1,500 cheering employees.” “Today we celebrate the dedication of our Alabama team in bringing a very innovative new pickup truck to market,” said Jeff Tomko, President of Honda Manufacturing of Alabama. “I congratulate all of our associates for their commitment to our customers as the Ridgeline returns with new features that will deliver even more of what today’s truck customers want and need.” Honda is hoping to take a bigger bite of the sizzling U.S. light truck market

The announcement of Ford’s decision to build a new plant in Mexico created a political firestorm this month, yet it forged ahead anyway. The automaker has been in the political spotlight from the left and right since last summer when it said it planned to move production of the Ford Focus from Michigan outside of the U.S. by 2018. The reaction on Tuesday was swift and predictable after Ford said it would invest $1.6 billion to build a new plant in Mexico on the day voters headed to the Wisconsin polls in a heated presidential primary. Ford — which says it wants to increase profit on small cars — was undeterred. Read more: 6 reasons why Ford and other international

LORDSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – The 50th anniversary celebration of the General Motors Lordstown plant will continue with an open house and a car show next weekend. The open house at the plant will be on Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. “We encourage all the public to come out to not only celebrate 50 years in the auto industry, but to come and see how the all-new Chevy Cruze is being built here in Lordstown,” said Tim O’Hara, Vice President of UAW Local 1112. Workers will be making cars on the day of the open house. Any children attending must be at least 10 years old and if they are under 18, they have to be accompanied by an

Fiat Chrysler began building Jeep Cherokees again Friday after a shortage of steering wheels interrupted several days of production of the midsize SUV earlier in the week. Workers at FCA’s Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio resumed Cherokee production on the second shift Friday, a spokeswoman for the automaker said. They will continue to build Cherokees on Saturday and the company is canvassing for volunteers to run an additional production shift on Sunday to make up for some of the lost output, the spokeswoman said. The steering wheels are manufactured in Mexico by Key Safety Systems Inc., headquartered in Sterling Heights, Mich. Key Safety Systems is No. 91 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 suppliers to North America,

Emphasizing the importance of advanced materials in automotive design, the National Science Foundation this month awarded a Michigan community college $200,000 for lightweight vehicle manufacturing education. The money awarded May 10 will pay for Washtenaw Community College curriculum related to making bodies-in-white and other auto parts out of lighter, stronger materials. The grant also will fund the addition of lightweighting as a consideration into a regional (Great Lakes) auto design challenge. “Through our conversations with business leaders in the automotive industry, we understand the imminent needs for employees equipped with skills in the area of lightweight materials,” WCC President Rose B. Bellanca said in a statement last week. “This NSF grant will allow us to create curricula and professional development

One of every 14 jobs in a 15-county region stretching from Bowling Green to Hopkinsville is in automobile-related industries, and Kentucky is now the third-largest state in the country in terms of the size of its auto industry. Those were some of the messages delivered Thursday at a Regional Economic Briefing at Western Kentucky University’s Augenstein Almuni Center hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The briefing spotlighted the state’s auto industry but also included information about the nation’s and region’s overall economic picture. Dave Tatman, executive director of the Kentucky Automotive Industry Association, said Kentucky trails only Ohio and Michigan in terms of producing vehicles and adds $14.3 billion – or 7.8 percent – to the gross

The luxury crossover coupe segment has been inexplicably hot lately, as rumors of most luxury automakers adding more of these high-riding fastback sedans to their lineups have been spreading like wildfire. One model that needs no rumor is the GLC-Class Coupe, as Mercedes-Benz confirmed this model long ago. Today, we get our first glimpse at its body, thanks to an image that the automaker mistakenly posted to one of its Facebook pages. While the image itself reveals nothing that we didn’t already expect, as the model features the business front of the GLC-Class that we already know and the party rear of the crossover coupe class. This slanted rear glass may look cool, but it dramatically limits the amount of