While many families are hitting the road for the Memorial Day weekend, car shoppers can take advantage of the attractive sales being offered on new cars. This long weekend we're spotlighting the best deals on Recommended, American-made models.
Discount prices and cut-rate financing are being heavily advertised in print and on air, competing for your attention and dollars. But not all deals are as good as they may appear. A smart shopper needs to go beyond the hype and hyperbole to look at the pricing, discounts, and the quality of the car itself.
The vehicles listed below are considered Best New Car Deals, meaning there are notable discounts on these models that meet Consumer Reports criteria to be Recommended. Other trims on the vehicles listed below may also present good deals and may be worth considering. For this list, we included only those models that promise at least a 10-percent discount off the sticker price.
In conducting this analysis, we found that about half the featured models offer further discounts to qualified buyers, such as military veterans and college students, and there are also periodic regional discounts available. For the chart below, we focused on national offers, although our detailed online pricing products spell out all the specifics, including typical purchase prices in your area.
Calling a vehicle "American" is becoming increasingly difficult, with the Chevrolet Impala built in Canada, the Ford Focus sourced from Mexico, or the Ram pickup truck assembled in Michigan with an engine from Mexico and transmission from Germany. Meanwhile, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, and other brands are now manufacturing stateside. Making a patriotic car purchase may mean targeting models made in the United States, those offered by domestic brands, or potentially both. If buying "Made in the USA" is a goal, be sure to check the window sticker.
See all current Best New Car Deals, or use our New Car Selector to create your own list of vehicles by sorting and filtering by the factors that matter most to you.
The models listed are just a few of our Best New Car Deals, featuring notable discounts on models recommended by Consumer Reports. These vehicles scored well in our testing, have average or better predicted reliability, and performed well in government or insurance-industry safety tests, if evaluated.
| Make & model | Expires | MSRP | Invoice price | Customer rebate | Dealer incentive | Bottom line price |
Potential savings below MSRP
|
| Acura ILX 2.0L | 7/8/13 | $26,795 | $25,347 | No | Yes | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Acura MDX | 7/8/13 | 36,360 | 33,365 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Acura TL | 7/8/13 | 36,800 | 34,607 | No | Yes | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| BMW X5 35d | 5/31/13 | 57,625 | 53,090 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
15%+
|
| Buick Enclave AWD Convenience | 7/1/13 | 41,340 | 39,318 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Cadillac CTS 3.6L Premium RWD | 7/1/13 | 49,185 | 46,529 | No | Yes | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Chevrolet Cruze 1LT | 7/4/13 | 20,465 | 19,679 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
15%+
|
| Chevrolet Cruze Eco | 7/4/13 | 21,685 | 20,850 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
15%+
|
| Chevrolet Cruze LS | 7/4/13 | 19,035 | 18,397 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
15%+
|
| Chevrolet Equinox AWD LT w/1LT | 7/4/13 | 28,410 | 27,033 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Chevrolet Equinox AWD LT w/2LT | 7/4/13 | 30,280 | 28,809 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4WD Crew Cab | 7/4/13 | 39,930 | 37,150 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
15%+
|
| Chevrolet Suburban 4WD 1500 LT | 7/4/13 | 50,895 | 47,402 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Chevrolet Traverse AWD LT w/1LT | 7/4/13 | 36,585 | 34,799 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Dodge Durango AWD Crew | 6/3/13 | $38,240 | $36,192 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Ford Expedition EL 4WD XLT | 7/8/13 | 47,210 | 44,090 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
15%+
|
| Ford F-150 4WD XLT | 7/8/13 | 33,760 | 30,730 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
15%+
|
| Ford F-150 4WD SuperCrew XLT | 7/8/13 | 39,915 | 36,316 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
15%+
|
| Ford Mustang V6 Premium | 7/8/13 | 26,995 | 24,965 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
15%+
|
| GMC Acadia AWD SLT w/SLT-1 | 7/8/13 | 42,675 | 40,586 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| GMC Sierra 1500 4WD SLE | 7/8/13 | 34,110 | 31,792 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
15%+
|
| GMC Yukon XL 4WD 1500 SLT | 7/8/13 | 52,620 | 49,006 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Honda Odyssey EX-L | 7/8/13 | 36,055 | 33,034 | No | Yes | Get the Bottom Line Price |
15%+
|
| Honda Pilot 4WD EX-L | 7/8/13 | 37,450 | 34,306 | No | Yes | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Infiniti JX35 AWD | 6/3/13 | 43,645 | 40,494 | No | Yes | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Kia Optima LX | 6/3/13 | 22,125 | 21,175 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Kia Optima SX | 6/3/13 | 27,575 | 25,815 | Yes | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Lincoln Navigator 4WD | 7/8/13 | 61,770 | 58,732 | No | Yes | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Mitsubishi Outlander Sport AWD SE | 5/31/13 | 24,520 | 23,520 | Yes | Yes | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Toyota Camry I4 LE | 5/31/13 | 23,475 | 21,548 | No | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Toyota Camry V6 XLE | 5/31/13 | 31,260 | 28,518 | No | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE | 6/3/13 | 28,465 | 26,251 | No | Yes | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Toyota Highlander 4WD V6 Limited | 5/31/13 | 40,245 | 36,817 | No | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Toyota Venza AWD LE | 6/3/13 | 31,965 | 29,163 | No | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Toyota Venza AWD Limited | 6/3/13 | 39,865 | 36,352 | No | No | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
| Volkswagen Passat 2.5L SE | 7/1/13 | 25,840 | 24,812 | No | Yes | Get the Bottom Line Price |
10%+
|
To research these vehicles further, or to find the latest trim-level pricing on any model, visit the Consumer Reports car model pages (available to online subscribers).
To ease the buying process, consider using the Consumer Reports Build & Buy Program. For Build & Buy, participating dealers have agreed to pass along discounts provided by any applicable manufacturer incentives for the vehicle you're buying. This includes unadvertised manufacturer-to-dealer incentives, for which it's typically up to the dealer whether to keep the savings or pass them on to the customer. Available to Consumer Reports subscribers, last month the average estimated savings off MSRP was $2,741.
