Indiana Knows its Cars

Have you ever wondered what the breakdown of domestic cars versus imports was in your state, or even your county? Well, someone at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business sure did. The school has released a study that breaks down motor vehicle registrations by automaker and county. The results show a state where Chevy reigns supreme and domestic nameplates make up 80% of the cars on the road. That’s compared to an almost 50/50 split nationwide between domestic and import registrations.

The numbers proved some cultural stereotypes true, with affluent counties registering more luxury cars than elsewhere. While Chevy, with 17.7%, and Ford, with 14.5%, were the state leaders, counties that used to house Chrysler manufacturing plants — and are still home to retired Chrysler employees with access to employee discounts — have a dramatically higher number of Chryslers. Makes sense to us.

All these careful calculations are pretty impressive, but it could just be a complex new way to sell more of those annoying Calvin & Hobbes stickers.

[Hoosiers Strongly Prefer Domestic Autos, inContext]