#187, Cars.com index: Tesla, the most American made

Tesla innovation has changed the automotive world with a lot of industry firsts. Its latest designation is the top spot on the latest American Made Index (AMI). Introduced 16 years ago by the editors of Cars.com, the AMI analyzes a range of factors to determine the  percentage of new cars and trucks made American The Tesla Model 3 has a new title: the most Anerican made Kelsey Mays, the assistant managing editor at the online motoring website that debuted in 1998, is our guest on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. He discusses with co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia the latest index result and Tesla's top spot. "We like to think that the index is fairly relevant," says Mays, a staffer since 2006. "When we survey consumers this year we found out 72 percent said that the domestic nature of a vehicle is an important part of their shopping position." "The whole point of it is to really help the consumer deduce what the economic contribution to a given vehicle he or she may buy turn out to be." Tesla Gets Top American Made Honors Using a five-point criteria, the Tesla Model 3 became the first electric vehicle to claim the top sport considering where a vehicle is assembled to the amount of American and Canadian made parts. Three other components of what Mays calls a matrix also determine the index rankings. The top-five positions on the AMI for 2021 include: Tesla Model 3 (Fremont, California), Ford Mustang (Flat Rock, Michigan), Tesla Model Y (Fremont, California), Jeep Cherokee (Belvidere, Illinois) and Chevrolet Corvette (Bowling Green, Kentucky). According to the AMI findings, 68 percent of car shoppers said they would consider an electric or hybrid vehicle as their next car. Additionally, 29 percent of respondents found it unpatriotic not to buy American. Please join co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia and Mays as we examine this year's ratings, including some surprising results as well as what Tesla's designation means to the auto industry. Visit Cars.com to read the complete index. The Weekly Driver Podcast encourages and appreciates feedback from our listeners. Please forward episode links to family, friends and colleagues. And you are welcome to repost links from the podcast to your social media accounts. The idea of more eyeballs on more content works for us. Support our podcast by shopping on Amazon.com. A graphic display at the bottom of the post links to automotive selections of the online retailer. But there's also a search function for anything available directly from the site. If you shop via this site, we receive a small commission. It helps us continue to produce independent content. The site began in 2004 and includes more than 700 reviews. The podcast is in its third year, and we've had a diverse collection of guests — famous athletes, vintage car collectors, manufacturer CEOs, automotive book authors, industry analysts, a movie stuntman and episodes from auto shows and car auctions. Please send comments and suggestions for new episodes to James Raia via email: james@jamesraia.com. All podcast episodes are archived on theweeklydriver.com/podcast Every episode is also available on your preferred podcast platform. Several of the more prominent platforms are listed below. Amazon.com Google Play iheartradio iTunes Spotify