You can sip it, zip it, drive it.

American brands do more than just fill our lives.

They shape who we are.

And as the nation marks its 250th anniversary, we decided to take a look at the brands that capture America's ingenuity and drive.

From Motown to motorcycles, these names tell a uniquely

American story. Narrowing it down to the 50 most iconic, that was the tough part.

Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Thursday, April 16th,

2026. Joining me to zigzag through some of the names in USA Today's iconic brand series is

business editor Jim Nelson and business reporter Ricardo Torres with a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,

part of the USA Today Network. It's so good to have you both here.

Thanks for having us.

Jim, at what point do you think a brand becomes more than a business and becomes part of America's identity?

And being on the team that got the final say, was it easy to land on the top 50 or was that something that kept you up at night?

Let me just say this. I've looked at the list so many times and there are brands on the list that maybe I agree with, maybe I disagree with.

There are brands that are missing that I wish we're on the West.

This isn't a scientific process, but it's kind of an emotional process, right?

Those of us who study the history of business and so forth know that there are brands that

resonate so much with the American consumer that go back generations. There's a guy in the Ford Motor Company

profile that one of our Detroit writers did. Such a great piece. The story is kicked off by a guy who's

a musician who wrote a song about how much he loves Ford'sds and virtually every car that guy has owned has

been a Ford. And it's that kind of resonance that I think that it's not just buying something

at the store. Sometimes it's the store that makes you feel good or the brand that makes you feel

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