Americans have a large list of car makes, or brands, to choose from when it comes to shopping for a car. Our analysis found that certain car makes tend to skew a bit more expensive than others. For example, we found Honda and GMC vehicles tended to be cheaper to insure than luxury brands such as Mercedes and Tesla.

>> LEARN MORE: How a Vehicle's Make and Model Impact Car Insurance Premiums

Conventional wisdom says that large or fast vehicles are usually more expensive to insure. Interestingly however, a standard size pickup truck actually proved to be cheaper — on average — to insure than compact cars.

Below you can see which types of car are usually cheaper to insure:

Insurers set their prices based on how likely they predict that a driver of a certain vehicle will get into an accident or file a claim. If drivers of a particular model file claims at a high rate, then everyone who drives that car — even if they themselves have a good driving record — will have to pay more. This is why sports cars, that are more likely to be involved in accidents because of their high performance, often are expensive to insure.

Vehicles that cost more to repair — or have high market values — will also often have higher insurance rates. This is because insurance companies will anticipate having to pay out more for any comprehensive and collision insurance claims — which covers the cost to repair or replace your vehicle — for high-cost cars. Because of this heightened risk for insurers, they increase premiums.

Lastly, car theft also plays a role in your rates. Some cars get stolen more than others, so if you are driving one of those cars your rates are probably going to be higher. However drivers should keep in mind that there are many other factors at play that impact auto insurance rates, such as age.

>> LEARN MORE: Comparing Car Insurance Rates