"Made In" America More Important To Car Shoppers Than "Made By" U.S. Manufacturer
According to the July edition of the Shopper Insights Report from AutoTrader.com, forty-one percent of car shoppers recently surveyed say that it is important to purchase a vehicle built in the U.S. by U.S. workers, versus twenty-eight percent who say it is important to purchase a vehicle made by a U.S. automaker.
The top three reasons shoppers say that it is important to purchase a vehicle that is physically "Made in America" are: Protects American jobs (seventy-eight percent); Supports the American economy (seventy-four percent); and Keeps American dollars at home (sixty-two percent).
The survey revealed that while "American made" is generally seen by consumers as a car made in the U.S. by a U.S. automaker, a vehicle that is made in the U.S. by a foreign automaker is more likely to be seen as "American made" (fifty-seven percent) than one from a U.S. automaker that was built outside the U.S. (forty-three percent).
There are several great cars made by both foreign and domestic automakers that are manufactured in the U.S., so the site offered up a list of their favorites: five with U.S. nameplates and five with foreign nameplates.
Top Five Vehicles Made in the U.S. by U.S. Manufacturers
- 2013 Chevrolet Malibu (Detroit, MI)
- 2013 Ford Escape (Louisville, KY)
- 2013 Dodge Dart (Belvidere, IL)
- 2013 SRT Viper (Detroit, MI)
- 2013 Buick Enclave (Lansing, MI)
Top Five Vehicles Made in the U.S. by Foreign Manufacturers
- 2012 Volkswagen Passat (Chattanooga, TN)
- 2012 Kia Optima (West Point, GA)
- 2012 BMW X3 (Spartanburg, SC)
- 2012 Honda Odyssey (Lincoln, AL)
- 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML-Class (Tuscaloosa, AL)