A group ofindependent automotive journalists from
Canada and the
United States has namedthe finalists for the North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards, whichwill be given out at the
Detroit auto show in January.
For NorthAmerican Car of The Year, the finalists are the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette, theChrysler 300/300C and the Ford Mustang For NorthAmerica Truck of The Year, the finalists are the Ford Escape Hybrid, the Ford Freestyleand the Land Rover LR3.The winners of whatis widely understood to be the most prestigious and influential awards in NorthAmerica will be announced on January 9 at the North American International AutoShow, which is not otherwise involved in the awards. Unlike otherawards, the winner is not known by anyone in the media or the car industryuntil the envelopes are opened.Each year since1992, the jury of journalists representing newspapers, magazines and television(which includes me) honors a new car and a new truck that are benchmarks intheir segments for performance in areas including innovation, value for thedollar, safety, ride and handling.
Last year'sNorth American Car of the Year was the Toyota Prius, while the North AmericanTruck of the Year was the Ford F-150. This year the 48journalists voted on 17 cars and 12 trucks, with the ballots going to StevenLaughman, a partner at the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche, to becounted.Unlike other awardsprograms (including the Canadian car of the year award), none of the money tooperate, administer or promote the North American awards comes from any carcompany or other business. The process is completely funded by dues paid by thejurors.In early October,the jurors were asked to consider the dozens of new vehicles that came out thisyear and select the ones they thought were the most important. Those vehiclesbecame the list from which the finalists were picked. Before thathappened, the nominated vehicles were brought together in
Detroit for a jurors test session in lateOctober.
For NorthAmerican Car of the Year, the nominees were: Acura RLAudi A6 BMW 6-SeriesBuick Allure/LaCrosseCadillac STSChevroletCorvetteChrysler300/300CDodge MagnumFord FiveHundredFord Mustang Honda AccordHybridHonda Odyssey
Pontiac G6Porsche 911Scion tCSubaru LegacyVolvo S40/V50