Every year American University's Kogod School of Business leads research into the automotive industry to determine just how American a particular vehicle is. While it's easy to simply look on a window sticker or Google a factory to determine where an auto is built, that's not all that goes into this research.

That's because these folks leverage a more holistic approach to determine how American a vehicle is.

That includes research & development, its parts and where they're sourced as well as the total economic impact a specific model has on the American economy. This approach yields some interesting results.

Take, for example, the Chevrolet Corvette. An automatic gearbox variant ranks in first place; however, a manual transmission comes in ninth.

Having said that, we're just a wee bit curious: Does a vehicle's American-ness MATTER to YOU when you're making an all-new purchase? Or, do you see the economy as globally connected anyway?

What say you, Spies?

What percentage of your vehicle's value contributes to the overall well-being of the U.S. economy and why does this information matter to you?

Kogod's 2018 Made in America Auto Index seeks to answer these questions by evaluating the domestic content of vehicles sold in the US. The index takes into account other aspects of vehicle manufacturing that are not accounted for in other measures.

Seven criteria are considered, including profit margin, labor, and research and development location, among others.