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Top 10 Most American Cars of 2021Top 10 Most American Cars of 2021
American University has crunched the numbers on domestic content and has a list of the vehicles that it has determined as the "most American."
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American University has released its annual "most American" cars list for 2021, and there is some significant reshuffling of the order from last year, as manufacturers made changes to their sources of supply for some major components.
AU measures how American vehicles are based on seven criteria:
Profit Margin
Labor
Research and Development
Inventory, Capital, and other expenses
Engine
Transmission
Body, Chassis, and Electrical Components
U.S.-based companies get credit for the fact that profits from their vehicles remain in the country. Labor, R&D, and Inventory categories look at where the car is developed and built. Major components including the engine, transmission, and chassis components all get their own scores toward the final result.
The highest-ranking cars, logically, are U.S.-based companies assembling the cars domestically from U.S.-sourced engines, transmissions, and other parts.
Because these parts make such a difference in the score, models are specified according to which engine and transmission are used. It is typical, for example, for automatic transmissions to be built in the U.S., while manual transmissions might be imported.
About the Author
Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.
A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.
Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.
Dan, testing the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish. ANDY MORGAN/ASTON MARTIN
He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.
He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.
He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.
He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.
Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.
He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
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