Honda Ridgeline Is More American Than Chevrolet Silverado

Each year theAmerican University's Kogod School of Businessconducts a study to find the most American car in the USA. And no, it's not a Ford F-150 with a V8 engine, and a Bald Eagle painted on the hood.

It's an actual scientific study that looks at the percentage of components sourced in the USA. This year the research was done by Frank DuBois, who ranked and evaluated more than 500 models. The study focuses on where a car is built and from what; it even looks at where a manufacturer's headquarters is located and where the research and development occur.

For what purpose? According toKogod, the information is meant to help consumers make a decision when they buy a new car and to understand the impact it has on the American economy. To put it simply, the US economy gains more if you purchase the most American model instead of acar designed and built in China.

We suspect a percentage of customers out there place this high on their list of criteria, making theMade in America Auto Indexextremely relevant. In the wake of the pandemic, perhaps even more so.

So what is the most American car you can buy? Unsurprisingly, it's a Ford. Last year it was the Ford Ranger, but the midsize truck has since dropped 15 spots. The most American car you can buy is theFord MustangGT 5.0-liter V8 with a manual transmission. That's how deep this report drills down, right down to the trim and transmission.

The report gives the score as a percentage out of 100. AMini Cooperhatch would score 0%, for example. It was designed and built in Oxford in the UK.

The Mustang 5.0 manual scored an impressive 88.5% total, 2.5 percentage points above theCorvette黄貂鱼. Back in 2018,the Corvette was the most American car you could buy. The top five cars all score 80% or above.