The 10 Least 'American' Cars From Detroit's Major Automakers
According to recently released rankings from American University's Kogod School of Business, some models sold by America's most iconic brands are less "made in America" than many of their Japanese and German counterparts.
The rankings considered data including where an automaker is headquartered and where it assembles its vehicles, produces parts, and conducts research and development.
They also evaluated the final destination of an automaker's profits. The report argues "the true impact of these [design and manufacturing] activities [by foreign automakers] on the U.S. economy is reduced by the repatriation of profits back to the automaker's home country." Everything that's done in the U.S. earns points, scored out of 100.
According to Kogod, the most "American" cars in the world are Ford's F-Series pickup and Chevrolet's Corvette, each with a domestic content score of 87.5 out of 100.
The same rankings also concluded that the most "made in America" of the foreign -randed cars are three Hondas and a pair of Toyotas that scored 78.5 out of 100.
But many cars carrying American badges scored far lower than some foreign competitors.
This is because Detroit's big three all operate extensive design, development, and manufacturing facilities around the world, including plants in Australia, China, Thailand, Mexico, the U.K., Germany, Belgium, and Spain. Most of the time, vehicles designed and built overseas are sold abroad, but occasionally they do make their way to our shores.