New data from car research firm iSeeCars shows America’s most-loved vehicles based on how long they’re kept by the original owners. GM vehicles are completely absent from the list, and only one vehicle from an American brand – the Ford Escape Hybrid – made it on the list of the top 13 most-loved cars.
As is often the case with studies involving long-lasting cars that owners hold on to for a long time, Toyota dominates the list. Toyota is the number one most-love brand, and Lexus is number three. If we count Lexus, Toyota products make up eight of the top 10 most-loved cars list, including the entirety of the top five, three of which are hybrids.
The overall average of new cars kept by the original owner for 15+ years is only 3.7 percent. The Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which tops the list, almost doubles that share at 7.0 percent. That number is 5.5 percent or higher for the rest of the top 13 cars on the list.
The methodology of this study favors mainstream cars with long production histories that average Americans use daily for commuting and family hauling. We’ll explain why this could be part of the reason GM is absent from the list. Here’s how iSeeCars describes its methodology for this study:
iSeeCars analyzed over 929,000 cars from model years 1981-2009 sold from January – September 2024. The percentage of cars sold by their original owners was calculated (“original-owner” cars were bought as new by the owner) and used to rank each model. Low volume models, heavy-duty vehicles, and vehicles not in production as of the 2023 model year were excluded from further analysis.
One low-volume vehicle that many owners keep for a long time is the Chevy Corvette, which appears to be excluded from the study. If three-quarter-ton and one-ton trucks are included in the “heavy-duty vehicles” category, then that excludes two more GM models that are commonly kept by one owner for many years: the Chevy Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD.
Finally, since vehicles not in production for the 2023 model year aren’t included, then we can’t help but wonder if the beloved Chevy/GMC C/K Series trucks would make the list. Other vehicles that aren’t counted because of this rule include many Cadillac models, since they change their names so frequently, and Buick sedans, which have been absent from the U.S. market since the 2020 Buick Regal was discontinued in North America.
Comments
Deserved for giving up on Camaro.
They’ve said it’s coming back as a pos 4 door EV. I hope GM goes bankrupt again.
You listening GM?
iSeeCars are a bunch of lightweights, anyways.
I guess it means something if you think it does.
Absolutely deserved for killing off all there cars and the Camaro putting every emphasis on profits and EV’s!
Makes me want to buy a GM even more.
Anybody will love a cheaply made vehicle that is easy to pay for, and easily discarded like toilet paper after a “dump”.
Correlation does not equal causation. Keeping a car for a long time could be due to that brand having more frugal buyers, vehicles not holding value as well that makes an upgrade not make sense financially as soon, ect. Let’s be honest Toyota buyers don’t care about a modern, nice interior and are typically cheap, which is why they buy the Toyota’s in the first place.