Finalists for North American Car of the Year Announced

January 27, 2012

We’ve turned the corner and are now heading for the home stretch in the selection of the 2011 North American Car of the Year. Three finalists for the award have been announced. They include the Hyundai Sonata, Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf. Truck division finalists include three SUVs -- the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango and the Ford Explorer. The winners will be named at the Detroit Auto Show on January 10.

2011 marks the 18th year of the award. During its run, vehicles made by domestic auto makers won the award nine times, vehicles from European auto makers won it four times, vehicles from Japanese car makers won it three times. A Korean auto maker has won it once. Domestic made trucks won the truck of the year honors 11 times, Japanese trucks won four times, and European made trucks won twice

The vehicles considered included:

Audi A8
Buick Regal
Chevrolet Cruze
Chevrolet Volt
Hyundai Sonata/2.0T/Hybrid
Infiniti M37/56
Jaguar XJ
Kia Optima
Mazda Mazda2
Nissan Juke
Nissan Leaf
Volkswagen Jetta
Volvo S60

Trucks considered for the Truck of the Year honors were:

Dodge Durango
Ford Edge
Ford Explorer
Honda Odyssey
Hyundai Tucson
Infiniti QX56
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Kia Sorento
Kia Sportage
Lincoln MKX
Mercedes-Benz R-Class
Porsche Cayenne
Toyota Sienna
Volkswagen Touareg

Most Car of the Year awards are given by a single media outlet like Motortrend, Car and Driver, etc. However, in the case of the North American Car of the Year, the winners are selected by a coalition of automotive journalists from the United States and Canada who cover the industry for magazines, television, radio, newspapers and websites. This year’s judges include Karl Brauer of Edmunds.com, Tony Swan of Car and Driver, Lindsay Broke of Automotive Engineering International, Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press and Christopher Jensen, a freelance writer.

Last year’s winners were the Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Ford Transit Connect.