It’s Official: American Sports Cars Are The Most Fun To Own
America may not build as many sports cars as it once did, but the ones still alive appear to be doing an excellent job of making their owners grin like children. The Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Corvette were two of only four models named in the sporty-car categories of the 2026 J.D. Power U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study. The Mustang finished first among regular sporty cars, while the Corvette ranked second in the premium category behind the Porsche 911.
That means America’s two biggest performance icons beat every named sporty-car rival except one very angry German beetle.
The Ford Mustang Is America’s Happiest Sporty Car
The Mustang ranked highest in the regular Sporty Car category, beating the MINI Cooper and winning the award for the second year in a row. Every other eligible sports car scored below the segment average, meaning the Mustang didn’t just scrape through—it left most of the field somewhere behind the grandstands.
It really isn’t hard to understand why owners are happy.
The 2026 Mustang EcoBoost produces 315 horsepower and 350 lb-ft from a turbocharged 2.3-liter engine, while the Mustang GT offers up to 486 horsepower from its naturally aspirated 5.0-liter Coyote V8. The Dark Horse turns things up to 500 horsepower and remains available with a six-speed manual.
There is even an electronic drift brake, because Ford understands that some adults never grow up. They just gain access to financing.
The Mustang remains loud, dramatic, rear-wheel drive, and slightly antisocial. In other words, it still has everything needed to turn a grocery run into a qualifying lap.
The Chevrolet Corvette Nearly Beat The Porsche 911
In the Premium Sporty Car category, the Porsche 911 finished first, with the Chevrolet Corvette coming in second. Once again, no other eligible model scored at or above the segment average. That left the 911 and Corvette alone at the front while the rest of the premium sports-car field disappeared below the cutoff line. Losing to the Porsche 911 is hardly embarrassing. It has spent decades becoming one of the most complete performance cars ever built.
The bigger story here though is that the Corvette was the only other premium sporty car capable of hanging with it.
The mid-engine Corvette Stingray offers up to 495 horsepower and can hit 60 mph in as little as 2.9 seconds. The Z06 produces 670 horsepower, while the twin-turbocharged ZR1 goes completely feral with 1,064 horsepower and a claimed 233-mph top speed. It turns out owners are rather happy when their Chevrolet has the engine behind their head and enough power to rearrange their internal organs.
This Study Is About Feelings, Not Repair Bills
The APEAL Study isn’t primarily about reliability, resale value, or repair costs. Instead, it measures how owners feel about their vehicles after 90 days.
Drivers are asked about 37 attributes, including comfort, styling, technology, driving characteristics, and the excitement they feel when stepping on the accelerator.
Basically, J.D. Power wanted to know whether owners still loved their cars after the honeymoon period started wearing off.
The 2026 study surveyed 78,514 owners of new model-year vehicles. Overall satisfaction rose seven points to 858 out of 1,000, marking the third consecutive annual increase and the biggest improvement since 2018.
Interiors improved the most, followed by exterior styling and ease of getting in and out.
Apparently, horsepower still matters, but owners are also extremely passionate about cupholders and climbing out of their cars without needing assistance from the fire department.
American Performance Cars Still Have Personality
Chevrolet scored 850 points in the overall mass-market brand ranking, while Ford earned 849. Both finished above the segment average of 846, although MINI led the entire category with 875 points. Porsche topped the premium brands with 896 points, which helps explain why the 911 managed to keep the Corvette behind it.
Still, the model-level results prove that American performance carsremain very good at delivering something increasingly rare: personality.
The Mustang is still a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive troublemaker with an available manual transmission. The Corvette has evolved into a mid-engine supercar capable of embarrassing machines wearing much more prestigious badges.
One is a blue-collar tire assassin. The other is America’s middle finger to the European exotic-car establishment. According to their owners, both are doing a spectacular job of making every drive feel like an event.
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