Japanese brands top American-made Index

For many stalwart consumers, the cry of “buy domestic” continues to be a driving motivator when shopping for a new car.

While that sentiment may ring true when talking about actual automakers, it is far from a real consideration when it comes down to the actual vehicles themselves.

For the ninth year in a row, American car shopping website Cars.com has reported its American-made Index, which ranks the actual amount of U.S. content used in the production of a new vehicle.

To be included in the list, a vehicle must contain more than 75 per cent American content. Five years ago, the list included 29 vehicles. The 2015 Index includes just seven vehicles — the lowest in the history of the report. This is mostly because manufacturers are sourcing parts from offshore suppliers.

The top most U.S.-made vehicles are: Toyota Camry, Toyota Sienna, Chevrolet Traverse, Honda Odyssey, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Corvette.

Where things get really interesting is when we have a look at the number of employees who are directly related to the construction of a model.

Production of the two Toyota models involves 7,800 workers, compared with 5,700 for all of the other models combined.

Bear in mind that this number also reflects the sales volume of the Camry over all of the other models, but that is a statement in itself. Rhys Millen wins Pikes Peak in EV It has been on the horizon for some time, but few suspected it would come so soon: an electric car has won the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Under clear skies last Sunday morning, Kiwi Rhys Millen stormed up America’s Mountain in 9:07.222, a record for an electric vehicle.

Millen’s car, the eO PP03, was developed by Latvian engineering firm Drive eO and features six electric motors that generate a staggering 1,368 horsepower and 1,593 lb.-ft. of torque. The all-wheel-drive beast requires massive batteries in order to power the machine the full distance of the climb, which causes the racer to weigh in at more than 1,200 kg.

This excessive weight means that it may be years before an electric vehicle can come close to touching Sebastian Loeb’s incredible 8:13.878 run two years ago in a heavily modified Peugeot.

Internal combustion-powered ve- hicles lose horsepower as they climb due to atmospheric conditions, but that is a small penalty compared to the weight that electric vehicles must carry.

Longtime Pikes Peak fan-favourite Nobuhiro (Monster) Tajima was the second fastest up the hill this year in his Rimack E-Runner Concept One. Third spot went to the top internal combustion-powered car, a wild open-wheel racer driven by Pikes Peak legend Paul Dallenbach.

For the second year in a row, the Pikes Peak event was marred by the death of a two-wheeled competitor. Colorado rider Carl Sorensen, 39, went off the mountain near the summit during practice for the event. U-Haul names Toronto No. 4 Canadian destination Normally when we think of a “destination,” visions of palm trees and fruity cocktails come to mind. But the good folks at U-Haul have a different idea.

For the truck and trailer rental company, a destination is where their one-way rentals end up. In other words, with an influx of new residents, U-Haul rentals are a great measure of how a community is growing.

From 2002 until 2011, Toronto scored No. 1 in the U-Haul Top 10 Canadian Destination Cities list, which ranks the top destination for rentals of the company’s one-way trucks in a calendar year. Toronto took the top spot again in 2013, but for the 2014 edition the city has dropped to fourth place. There is no word from U-Haul as to whether the number of renters coming to Toronto have dropped or if other locations have gained momentum.

No. 3 on the list was Edmonton, behind Montreal in second spot. The most popular Canadian destination will be announced at a later date at myuhaulstory.com. Google unleashes more self-driving cars Technology giant Google, arguably the leader in autonomous vehicle technology, has taken the next big step toward the future by putting cars of its own design on the road. Previously, the company’s self driving cars have been Lexus models that have been modified.

The new cars have been designed to be operated without human interaction, but have steering wheels and pedals so that a “safety driver” can ride along. For now, the prototypes are limited to 40 km/h as they motor around Mountain View, Calif. Volkswagen promises budget-friendly cars In a spiritual return to its roots as the “people’s car,” Volkswagen plans to build a family of budget-minded vehicles by 2018, the company’s chairman told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

Martin Winterkorn told the newspaper, “We will bring a budget-car family to market in 2018, with an SUV, saloon and hatchback.”

The projected price is $11,000 to $15,000 Canadian. Initially to be built and sold in China, Winterkorn said. “We will see if this is something of interest for other markets as well.” Freelance writer Gary Grant is a frequent contributor to Toronto Star Wheels.To reach Wheels Editor Norris McDonald: nmcdonald@thestar.ca