The @Toyota Camry is No. 1 on the @carsdotcom American-Made Index. Find out why: https://t.co/Y7N6d3GV1e pic.twitter.com/giMVKGvjxe- Cars.com (@carsdotcom) June 28, 2016While things may have been different in your parents' time, the Toyota of today is a surprisingly American automaker. Toyota Motor North America, Inc. is its own independent division, with its own CEO, Illinois-native Jim Lentz (also a senior managing officer at Toyota Motor Corporation, the Japanese parent-company).Toyota operates five assembly plants in the United States, as well as five engine and parts manufacturing facilities.Toyota's best-selling model is also the most American vehicle available in the U.S., according to the Cars.com American-Made Index. To qualify for the AMI, a vehicle must be assembled in the U.S., with 75 percent of its parts manufactured domestically. Only eight models qualified for the AMI this year, and at the top of the list for the second year in a row is the 2016 Toyota Camry.The Camry is assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky (TMMK), where the sedan alone supports over 6,000 full-time jobs. TMMK as a whole employs nearly 8,000 full-time workers, and has produced more than 10 million vehicles since opening in 1998.The Toyota Sienna minivan appeared at number three on the list, though it supports only 2,000 assembly-plant jobs, due to lower sales numbers.We were disappointed to find the Toyota Tacoma and Tundra trucks did not make it onto the AMI this year. Both are assembled exclusively in San Antonio, Texas with a large percentage of American parts... but apparently under 75 percent. There were, however, no trucks at all on the 2016 AMI, so Toyota may still be the most American choice, when stacked against other manufacturers moving their plants abroad.Come test drive a remarkably American vehicle at Estabrook Toyota in Moss Point.
