All Four Tesla Models Are Ranked As The ‘Most American’ Vehicles For 2023

It used to be that new cars, trucks and SUVs fell into one of two categories, “domestic” or “import.” Any Chevrolet, Ford or Dodge vehicle was considered a 100% American ride, while imports from BMW, Volkswagen and Toyota all arrived in the U.S. fresh off the boat like so many immigrants looking for success in a new country.

But the lines began to blur back in the 1960’s when U.S. car companies began to import vehicles—especially small cars to remain competitive at a time when most Detroit cars were block-long affairs—and rebadged them under their own brand names. Soon we had German-made Opels being sold as Buicks, Mitsubishis affixed with Dodge and Plymouth badges, and Chevys coming from Japan’s Suzuki and South Korea’s Daewoo.

Once the global economy began to take root and automakers began sourcing components from virtually anywhere in the world, with automakers from other nations setting up shop in the U.S. to assemble their vehicles using local labor, the lines between domestic and import began to blur even further. Today, a given model carrying a European or Asian-brand nameplate may actually have more domestic content than a vehicle coming from a Detroit-based automaker.

As would be expected, this situation creates confusion for U.S. consumers at a time when a recent Cars.com survey revealed that half of car shoppers indicated they will pay more for a vehicle that creates U.S. jobs.

To help shoppers looking to support the U.S. economy, Cars.com compiled their annual American-Made Index that details which cars, trucks and SUVs in fact can be considered the “most-American” vehicles for the 2023 model year.

As it turns out, the top four spots in the 2023 index are all full-electric Teslas, built in the U.S. using the highest percentage of American parts and labor in the industry.

Of note, what most might consider the most American vehicle of all, the industry’s top-selling Ford F-150 full-size pickup truck, winds up at number 66 on the website’s domestic content list, while the Honda Ridgeline and Toyota Tundra pickups sit far higher on the list by virtue of being built in the U.S. using higher percentages of local content.

Cars.com evaluated 388 vehicles from the 2023 model year and identified 100 considered to be domestic models by virtue of their assembly location, parts sourcing as determined by the American Automobile Labeling Act, U.S. factory employment relative to vehicle production, and engine and transmission sourcing, with the latter including the global origin of batteries used in electrified models.

Much of this information is required by federal law to be included on the pricing sticker affixed to all light-duty vehicles sold in the U.S.. Consumers can also log onto the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website to unearth the percentages of domestic and foreign content in cars from past and current model years.

One catch here is that the above-mentioned federal labeling act treats Canadian parts and assembly as essentially coming from the U.S. (but not from our other North American neighbor, Mexico) so it might be more appropriate to treat the list as being the “most Canadian-American” vehicles.

Perhaps surprisingly, by this criteria 17 out of the 25 top-ranked models for 2023 come from what would otherwise be considered import brands, with only a single model among them—the Dodge Durango SUV—being built in the “Motor City” of Detroit.

Regardless, in the spirit of the upcoming 4^th of July holiday, here’s an eye-opening look at the 25 “most American” models and where they are built, according to Cars.com’s 2023 American-Made Index:

1. Tesla Model Y: Austin, Texas; Fremont California
2. Tesla Model 3: Fremont, California
3. Tesla Model X: Fremont, California
4. Tesla Model S: Fremont, California
5. Honda Passport: Lincoln, Alabama
6. Volkswagen ID.4: Chattanooga, Tennessee
7. Honda Odyssey: Lincoln, Alabama
8. Acura MDX: East Liberty Ohio; Marysville Ohio
9. Honda Ridgeline: Lincoln, Alabama
10. Acura RDX: East Liberty, Ohio
11. Honda Accord: Marysville, Ohio
12. Toyota Tundra: San Antonio, Texas
13. Acura Integra: Marysville, Ohio
14. Acura TLX: Marysville, Ohio
15. Honda Pilot: Lincoln, Alabama
16. Lincoln Corsair: Louisville, Kentucky
17. Kia K5: West Point, Georgia
18. Toyota Sequoia Hybrid: San Antonio, Texas
19. Chevrolet Corvette: Bowling Green, Kentucky
20. Nissan Pathfinder: Smyrna, Tennessee
21. Dodge Durango: Detroit, Michigan
22. Toyota Highlander: Princeton, Indiana
23. Infiniti QX60: Smyrna, Tennessee
24. Kia Sportage: West Point, Georgia
25. Jeep Wrangler: Toledo, Ohio

Source: Cars.com