The 2024 Made in America Auto Index from the Kogod School of Business is out, and General Motors was among the most American manufacturers. The Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickup trucks were deemed the most American among all of GM’s models.
The Kogod School of Business determines just how American a given model is based on the sourcing of its parts. This information comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The American Automotive Labeling Act of 1994 (AALA) states that all cars sold in the US market must report and display on the car the sourcing of exclusive U.S./Canadian content, the location of assembly, and where the engine and transmission are sourced.
Tesla has been dominating this list for years, and 2024 is no exception. The top three models on the list are all Teslas; Model 3 Performance is number one, Model Y and Model Y Long Range are tied for number two, and the controversial Cybertruck ranks number three. The Model S and Model X are tied with the automatic variants of the Ford Mustang GT for fourth place.
The Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon are in a surprising tie for seventh place with the Volkswagen ID.4 electric crossover. The VW shot up in the rankings because the USDM model is now built in Tennessee rather than Germany.
GM models further down on the list include the Chevy Corvette (the Z06 is the most American variant), the Cadillac CT4 and CT5 sedans, and a handful of recently discontinued models like the Chevy Camaro, Chevy Malibu, and Cadillac XT4. The T1-based full-size SUVs like the Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade also performed pretty well.
The Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon rank well on the American index because they’re assembled at the GM Wentzville plant in Missouri, the turbocharged 2.7L I4 L3B engine is built at the GM Spring Hill plant in Tennessee, and the 8L45 8-speed automatic transmission is built at the GM Toledo transmission plant in Ohio. That makes these trucks as American as their respective brands suggest.
Comment
Besides just looking at American vs foreign parts, they should include where the engineering is done and where the profits accrue to. The Colorado and Canyon are a lot more American than the Volkswagen crossover even though they scored it as a tie.