Lucas Bell 
While it may seem contrary to expectations, cars made by American automakers aren’t always the most American cars on the market. When you look deeper into where parts are sourced or where a vehicle is actually assembled, it often doesn’t shake out that way. However, Cars.com have just published their 2020 American-Made Index, and the Ford Ranger has taken the top prize.
The plucky Ford Ranger managed to best the 91-model field of cars that are built here in the states in 2020. The AMI is based on five criteria: final assembly location, percentage of parts from the U.S. and Canada, the country of origin for available engines, the country of origin for available transmissions, and U.S. manufacturing employees relative to the automaker’s global footprint.
The Ford Ranger scored well thanks to the increases of U.S. part sourcing for the truck’s 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine, as well as having a majority U.S.-origin parts list for the transmission. Overall the midsize truck gets 70 percent of its parts from either the U.S. or Canada, and is assembled at Ford’s Wayne truck plant.
Other cars that rounded out the top five include the Jeep Cherokee, the Tesla Model 3 and Model S, and the Honda Odyssey. It is worth noting that this is the first time that Tesla has participated in the American-Made Index, and that the company tied with Honda for having the most vehicles in the top 10 with three.
For our performance minded readers, you can take some pride in the fact that Chevrolet’s new mid-engined sports car was also featured in the top 10. The C8 Corvette was able to secure the number eight spot, something we are sure they are proud of in Bowling Green.
For the complete results of the 2020 American-Made Index, you can click the link here to see how other models compare. Should you be interested in buying a truly American-made vehicle, it’s not a bad place to start.
