The North American Car of the Year accolade is one of the most coveted accolades in the automobile industry. This years achievers will be proclaimed during the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit on 1-11-11.
Not surprisingly, the 3 finalists for the car category are, the Chevrolet Volt hybrid, the Nissan Leaf as well as the Hyundai Sonata as either a conventional gasoline power-driven or hybrid auto. In the truck segment, the three competitors are the Explorer from Ford, the Grand Cherokee from Jeep and Dodge Durango. The cars were chosen from a pool of twenty-seven and the trucks were selected from fourteen.
If the Chevy Volt succeeds, it will be the fourth occasion GM has won. Most recently, it won with the Chevy Malibu in 2008. If Hyundai wins with the Sonata, it will be the 5th time a hybrid has achieved the honor with the Ford Fusion having recently succeeded in 2010. If the Nissan Leaf advances, it will be the second time a Nissan has achieved the North American Car of the Year and the first time a pure electric car has succeeded.
The autos are evaluated by a jury of forty-nine automotive journalists from the United States and Canada. The autos are judged on driver satisfaction, safety, design, value and innovation. Ford ran away with the trophies last year, as the winners of 2010 were the Transit connect in the truck category and the Ford Fusion Hybrid for the car section.