North American Car of the Year

December 16th, 2011 - Daniel Barron

A jury, which consists of no more than 50 automotive journalists from Canada and the U.S., narrowed the field down from a list of 17 cars and seven trucks.

From top, Volkswagen Passat, Hyundai Elantra, and Ford Focus

From top, Volkswagen Passat, Hyundai Elantra, and Ford Focus

Ford, Hyundai, VW vie for honours

The Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra and Volkswagen Passat have been named as the three finalists for the 2012 North American Car of the Year. The winner will be announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.

The 2012 North American Truck of the Year finalists are the BMW X3, Honda CR-V, and the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque.

A jury, which consists of no more than 50 automotive journalists from Canada and the U.S., narrowed the field down from a list of 17 cars and seven trucks. The same jury will now vote for an overall winner from the three finalists in both categories.

This will be the 19th year for the awards. In the past 18 years, North American automakers have dominated, winning North American Car of the Year ten times and North American Truck of the Year 12 times. Japanese automakers have combined for seven awards total, and European automakers six. Hyundai is the only Korean automaker to win when it came away with a victory in 2009 for its Genesis sedan.

To be eligible a vehicle must be all new or substantially changed. Last year’s winners were the Chevrolet Volt and Ford Explorer.

The full list of vehicles on which jurors voted is as follows:

North American Car of the Year:
Audi A6
Audi A7
Buick Verano
Chevrolet Sonic
Chrysler 300/SRT-8
Fiat 500
Ford Focus
Hyundai Accent
Hyundai Elantra
Hyundai Veloster
Kia Rio/Rio 5
Scion iQ
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Camry
Toyota Prius V
VW Beetle
VW Passat

North American Truck of the Year:
BMW X3
Honda CR-V
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
Mini Countryman
Nissan Quest
Saab 9-4X

Follow us on twitter!

3 comments

  1. Fred says:

    This is really stupid. You call this the North American Car of the year, yet you only have 4 car and no trucks in the competition. Come on, A Mini Countryman is considered a truck.
    This is the most misleading competiton ever

  2. Howard Bowman says:

    Clueless…..the ‘trucks’ are not trucks at all: Since the judges are incapable of determining that, why credit their opinions on even the cars?

  3. Dave says:

    What a joke this is. Not sure who the 50 are but this is not even wroth reading.

Leave a comment