If you’re committed to buying American when shopping for a new car, better get yourself a Tesla.
Elon Musk’s EV company has been declared the “most American” automaker according to Cars.com’s long-running American-Made Index, marking the first time that an electric car brand has come out on top in the list’s 16-year history.
While the auto website doesn’t reveal its exact methodology in ranking each 2021 make and model, the five factors they account for are location of final assembly, percentage of U.S. and Canadian parts, engine’s country of origin, transmission’s country of origin, and the U.S. workforce involved in assembly.
Specifically, the Tesla Model 3 claimed the No. 1 spot, followed by the Ford Mustang, Tesla Model Y, Jeep Cherokee and Chevrolet Corvette. See the top 20 here:
- Tesla Model 3
- Ford Mustang
- Tesla Model Y
- Jeep Cherokee
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Honda Ridgeline
- Honda Odyssey
- Honda Pilot
- Honda Passport
- Toyota Tundra
- Ford Expedition
- Acura RDX
- Acura TLX
- Chevrolet Colorado
- GMC Canyon
- Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Honda Accord
- Toyota Avalon
- Lexus ES
- Lincoln Navigator
The Drive reports that the lowest-ranked models include both foreign marques like Nissan, Toyota and Honda in the bottom five and domestics like the Ram 1500 at No. 89 and and the GMC Sierra 1500 at No. 80.
But it would be wrong to even the the last-place model, the Honda Civic, an “un-American” car—there are 254 other models sold in the U.S. that didn’t even make the list at all.
