Earlier this week, the finalists were named for arguably the world’s most prestigious pair of auto awards: the North American Car and Truck of the Year. In all, there were 6 nominees, each of which have garnered an early reputation as an industry leader and potential game changer.
The biggest success of the day, no doubt, belonged to Ford. Building off of a big year of debuts and industry shake-ups, Ford amazingly snagged 3 of the 6 nominees. The complete Truck of the Year nominees include: the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Colorado and Lincoln MKC. For Car of the Year, the list includes the Ford Mustang, Hyundai Genesis and Volkswagen Golf and GTI.
In an official statement, the organizers of the prestigious awards said, “The awards, now in their 22nd year, are designed to honor new benchmarks in their automotive segments in areas ranging from design and safety to innovation and value for the dollar. Fifty-seven jurors from newspapers, television and radio stations, magazines and websites voted last week, sending their ballots to Deloitte, which kept the finalists secret until today.”
Despite losing out on the Motor Trend awards earlier this month, Ford is very confident in their aluminum built F-150, as well as the rest of their nominated lineup. Judging by the nominees, it appears that the country’s most prestigious and expert critics feel the same way.”
“I think the overall selections were really good this year,” said Lindsay Brooke, senior editor for SAE International’s Automotive Engineering International magazine. “Obviously, when you have two brand new pickup trucks for the pickup category they really edge everything else out….but I think the nomination of the MKC shows that it is a really good and is much more than a really nice (Ford) Escape.”
The official winners for the award will be announced next month on January 12th at the North American International Auto Show. In case you were wondering, the winners from last years show were the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and the Chevrolet Silverado.
4Wheel Online Blog - Automotive News 