Of the cars being considered for the North American 2011 "Car of the Year" and "Truck of the Year" awards, General Motors and Nissan are both dominating in the car department with the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, respectively. For those unfamiliar with these cars, I have written articles on both - see
The Chevy Volt and
The Nissan Leaf. In the truck department, it's Dodge with their Durango, Ford with their Explorer and the Jeep Grand Cherokee
First of all, how are these awards decided? The judges are automotive journalists from the United States and Canada who represent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and web sites. To qualify for an award, the vehicle must be all new or substantially changed. Twenty-seven new cars were eligible for the award, and I've posted the list below for the car and truck finalists.
| North American Car of the Year Finalists: |
Audi A8
Buick Regal
Chevrolet Cruze
Chevrolet Volt
Ford Fiesta
Hyundai Sonata/2.0T/Hybrid
Infiniti M37/56 | Jaguar XJ
Kia Optima
Mazda Mazda2
Nissan Juke
Nissan Leaf
Volkswagen Jetta
Volvo S60 |
| North American Truck of the Year Finalists: |
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 |
