The Most American-Made Pickup Truck Gets No Respect
The most American-made pickup truck is not what you'd expect, and it’s from a Japanese automaker.
Written by Andrew Kidd
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
We've talked about who makes the most American-made vehicles in the U.S. (spoiler: it's Tesla).
But when one thinks of American vehicle buying habits, they think of the nation's obsession with trucks. And when you rank trucks on how "American-made" they are, you definitely don't think a
Honda
is going to top that list.Another spoiler: the
Honda Ridgeline
is the most American-made truck in the U.S. Jerry
has all the info you need on this Honda pickup truck.Wait, what?
That's right! According to
Cars.com
's 2022 American-Made Index—which ranks 95 vehicles based on their assembly location, parts content, engine, and transmission origins as well as workforce—the Honda Ridgeline
, assembled in Lincoln, Ala., came in at the No. 8 spot, ahead of the GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado at No. 12 and No. 13, respectively.More popular trucks, like the Ford F-150, the Chevy Silverado, and the Dodge Ram rank a lot lower on the list than one might expect. The F-150 ranks at No. 21, with assembly in Claycomo, Mo. and Dearborn, Mich.
The Ram 1500, which is assembled in Sterling Heights, Mich., ranks at No. 45. The Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, both built in Roanoke, Ind., rank near the very bottom of the list at No. 93 and 94.
Is the Honda Ridgeline a real truck?
Truck purists would probably tell you to avoid a Honda Ridgeline because it doesn't fit their definition of what a true truck is.
One of the biggest gripes about the
Ridgeline
from truck fans is its unibody frame, which means the body and frame of the truck are manufactured as one piece. This makes it more similar to a crossover than a traditional truck, which would be built with a body-on-frame chassis. That simply means the body and chassis of the truck are built separately before being mounted to one another.
Another complaint from truck purists is that the 2022 Honda Ridgeline isn't cut out for heavy-duty work or off-roading like most other "traditional" pickup trucks.
But considering the sheer number of pristine short-bed crew cab trucks on the road—ones that, at most, have only ever carried bags of mulch or the occasional 2x4 from the local home improvement store—it's a safe bet that this lack of capability wouldn't matter to you much in the long run.
What the Ridgeline does offer, as we've written before, is a roomy cabin, a comfortable ride, and a decent payload capacity of 1,583 lbs.
Made in Mexico
Why do so many of these American-brand trucks rank so low on this list? Domestic automakers have moved much of their truck production to Mexico to save money—not that consumers see much savings.
The
Center for Automotive Research
estimated in 2017 that moving production of a $25,000 mid-size car to Mexico for sale in the U.S., for example, saved about $1,200 after factoring in reduced labor costs and increased transportation costs.According to the NAFTA-era info, using non-union Mexican assembly plant labor only accounted for a savings of $600 per vehicle, while parts savings accounted for another $1,500 in savings.
That's offset slightly by the increased cost of transportation per vehicle being bumped up by $900.
What if I want to support union labor?
If you want to buy something that's decidedly American-made, you can't go wrong with purchasing a Honda Ridgeline, but the Japanese automaker closely monitors its workforce to prevent unionization.
If you want to support American (and Canadian) workers and labor unions, look into union-made American cars and trucks.
Regardless, if you're in the market for a new vehicle, you should give Jerry a call.
Jerry
customers save an average of over $800 a year to insure their vehicle. Leave the work of gathering quotes to us; the Jerry app sources quotes from 55+ insurance companies, like Nationwide, Safeco, Travelers, and more.
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