July 4 Deals: What’s the Best Deal on an American-Made Car?

For those of you itching to replace your car before pulling out the sparklers and Springsteen this Independence Day, better bring the walking shoes: There’s a lot of empty pavement at your local auto mall. An ongoing microchip shortage has crimped vehicle inventory, leaving prices elevated as dealers face meager supply on both the new and used side. The Department of Labor said used-car prices spiked nearly 30% year-over-year in May, while J.D. Power projected that average incentives on new vehicles would plunge nearly 28% as a ratio of MSRP over the two years prior. (We’d compare it to May 2020, but that was hardly a normal month.)

Related: 2021 Cars.com American-Made Index: Which Cars Are Most American?

But what if you’re still looking for a deal and, in the spirit of the season, you want to support American-made cars and trucks? Lucky for you, Cars.com released its 2021 American-Made Index just days ago, ranking 90 American-made vehicles out of 344 models available on the market for 2021. We combed the top half of the index — 45 models in all — to spot deals that run through the Fourth of July. 

They’re expectedly slim: It’s a sellers market, and many advertised incentives expire June 30 instead of the ensuing holiday weekend. Still, that doesn’t mean we found none. Cruise below to find a few options among the AMI’s 45 top-ranked vehicles.

Honda Passport

• Factory discount: $1,250
• Approximate price after savings: $32,500 to $48,500
• Approximate factory savings: 3-4%
• Offer ends: July 6

One of four Honda models in the AMI’s top 10, the Alabama-built Passport SUV landed at No. 9 on this year’s index. In a rare move for Honda, which typically confines factory-to-customer offers to lease and financing deals, the Passport has a cash discount of $1,250 in the form of down-payment or lease assistance through July 6; cash buyers can get a prepaid debit card for that amount, effectively securing a commensurate discount after the fact. Any way you cut it, that amounts to just 3-4% off the two-row SUV — not much compared to the industry’s deep discounts a year ago, but such are the times. As an alternative, creditworthy shoppers can get 0% financing for 36 months (1.9% for up to 60 months) from Honda’s financing arm.

Hyundai Sonata

• Factory discount: $1,500 to $2,000 in most areas
• Approximate price after savings: $23,500 to $33,500 in most areas
• Approximate factory savings: 5-7% in most areas
• Offer ends: July 6

The Alabama-built Sonata proved Hyundai’s top-ranked model on the AMI, landing at No. 39. (The Santa Fe SUV came a couple of slots later, at 41, while the Elantra sedan landed at 83.) Now through July 6, Hyundai is offering $1,500 off lower trim levels for the Sonata in most, though not all, markets we surveyed. The automaker is offering $2,000 on higher trim levels — the SEL Plus and Limited, which account for 43% of new 2021 model-year Sonata inventory on Cars.com as of this writing. That amounts to 5-7% off the mid-size sedan, depending on specifics, and shoppers who finance at standard rates through the automaker can get even more, as Hyundai throws in another $500 in most regions we surveyed to sweeten the deal. As an alternative, creditworthy shoppers can get 0% financing for 60 months plus $1,000 in bonus cash and, in some regions, deferred payments for the first 90 days on a broad spectrum of Sonata trims. Unfortunately most shoppers who want the high-performance Sonata N Line will have to negotiate from full price, as most offers in regions we checked exclude the N Line.

The Sonata Hybrid is eligible for similar deals, though it’s imported from South Korea and thus unrated in the 2021 American-Made Index.

Toyota Avalon

• Factory discount: $1,500 to $2,000 in most areas
• Approximate price after savings: $35,000 to $44,500
• Approximate factory savings: 3-5%
• Offer ends: July 6

One of a dozen models from Toyota and its Lexus luxury division to make the index, the Avalon landed at No. 18 for 2021. Now through July 6, Toyota is offering $1,500 to $2,000 off the full-size sedan in most areas we surveyed, though some areas require shoppers to finance at standard rates through the automaker to get the cash. In most regions, those who finance or lease their Avalon can also get another $1,000, though some areas restrict that extra offer to select trim levels. Alternately, creditworthy shoppers can get 0.9% financing for 60 months in most regions, though a few areas have higher rates or no offers at all.

Brands to Check Out on July 1

Brands typically change incentives to start the next sales month, so it’s a small wonder that a few extended their current incentives through Independence Day at all. Plenty of others we surveyed end their current advertised incentives on June 30. Among them are GM, whose Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC divisions are represented in the AMI’s top 45 vehicles; Lexus, whose ES sedan landed at No. 19; and Stellantis, whose Dodge, Jeep and Ram divisions also landed cars in the AMI’s top 45. Needless to say, we don’t have visibility into their July 4 offers at the time of this writing, so head over to their websites to see local offers come July 1.

More From Cars.com:

• Car Shopping: How Long Will the Inventory Shortage Last?
• Why Are Car Trade-in Values Skyrocketing?
• How to Get the Best Offer for Your Trade-In
• 2021 Cars.com American-Made Index: What About the Least American Cars?
• 2021 Cars.com American-Made Index: Ranking by Class

How We Look for Deals

To look for Fourth of July deals, we surveyed the top 45 models in the 2021 American-Made Index in late June for advertised factory cash discounts and low-interest-rate financing offers that extend through the July 4 weekend. We highlight offers that are especially high for the price of the car; after all, $3,000 is a lot more on a Ford Escape than a Ford Expedition.

Incentives data come from automakers’ websites. Remember, our numbers are current as of publication for the markets we survey (generally Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York). They reflect advertised customer discounts, not unadvertised factory-to-dealer cash. Discount financing typically requires qualifying credit, too, and incentives may vary by region and trim level; automakers may also change them later in the month. In sum: Your discounts may vary, so check with your local dealer for specifics.

Related Video: Cars.com’s 2021 American-Made Index

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.