This post is adapted from the blog of CarMax, a Priceonomics Content Platform customer. Want to learn more about the platform? Contact us here.
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What’s the most desired car in America?
One way to determine this would be to look at which cars people search for most often online. We decided to analyze carmax.com search trends across the country to see which used cars, used trucks, and vehicle features are America’s most wanted so far in 2019.1
Our Most Wanted Vehicles So Far This Year
What was the most-searched vehicle on carmax.com from sea to shining sea? That would be the Ford F-150 pickup. Whether Americans are thinking about hauling cargo, making a grocery run, or towing a boat, they love surfing our site for F-150s.
Data source: CarMax
Our Most Wanted Vehicle Features
When it comes to the most sought-after vehicle features, four-wheel drive (4WD) /all-wheel drive (AWD) and leather seats dominate searches nationwide. According to our data, many Americans see themselves sitting tall and proud in a leather seat when they fire up their 4WD Ford F-150. The least-searched feature? Remote start capability.
Data source: CarMax
Our Most Wanted Vehicles By Region
We also looked at the most-searched cars by region. Spoiler alert: In four of our five regions, people are mostly looking for—you guessed it—the Ford F-150.
The Northeast is the lone exception. The car that comes in second nationally climbs to the top in this region. The Jeep Wrangler is the most-searched car in half of these states. Another popular Jeep, the Grand Cherokee, puts the Jeep nameplate at the top in six of 10 Northeast states. Also noteworthy? Maine residents are fond of the Ford Mustang. Maybe they see themselves cruising the more than 3,400 miles of Maine coastline in this legendary ride.
Down the road in the Southeast, the Ford F-150 dominates. From the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia to the bayous of Louisiana, folks are longing for this light-duty, full-size pickup. The only other vehicle to make our Southeast list is the Honda Accord, as popular in Mississippi as blue crabs and gulf shrimp.
Moving over to the middle of the country, it’s an all-American sweep. Midwestern shoppers are searching for the Ford F-150, the Jeep Wrangler, and two Chevrolet models, the Equinox and the Silverado 1500.
The Ford F-150 keeps on trucking in the Southwest and West, where it’s the most-searched vehicle in 10 of 11 states. Californians go down the road less traveled, searching mostly for the Honda Civic.
Overall, looking at our most-searched data so far this year, the Ford F-150 is way ahead of the pack. Jeep Wrangler, the top choice as recently as 2017, remains near the top of the list. And four of our top 10 vehicle searches on carmax.com are trucks. Nationwide, the most-searched feature is 4WD and AWD. If you’re interested in learning more about these popular options check out our recent article The 4WD/AWD index.
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