Jeep Cherokee on list of top cars in Japan

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio-built Jeep Cherokee has been named one of the top 10 cars in Japan.

It's the first time an American-made vehicle has appeared on the list.

The (Toledo) Blade (http://bit.ly/1ug9NxU ) reports that the Toledo-built Cherokee showed up at No. 8 on the list compiled by Japanese automotive journalists. This year's winner was the Mazda 2, a subcompact five-door.

It's an important milestone for Jeep because Japan is the world's third-largest automotive market and buyers there tend to be fiercely loyal to Japanese domestic brands. Just 6 percent of 3.7 million new vehicles sold in the country over the year's first nine months were from companies outside of Japan.

Through September, Jeep had sold about 747,000 vehicles worldwide — a 41-percent increase over the same point last year.