North American Car and Truck of the Year Finalists Named

The North American Car of the Year jury has announced its finalists for its awards for car and truck/utility of the year. From a short list of 10 cars and 12 trucks/utilities, the finalists selected include the 2015 Ford Mustang, Hyundai Genesis and Volkswagen Golf, while on the truck/utility side, the 2015 Ford F-150, Chevrolet Colorado and Lincoln MKC made the cut.

The final round of voting concludes Jan. 5 and the awards, which are given by an independent panel of 57 jurors, will be announced the morning of the first press day at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. The awards are not affiliated with the show.

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This is the 22nd year the awards will be given. The short list vehicles on the car side also include the 2015 Acura TLX, Audi A3, Chrysler 200, Honda Fit, Hyundai Sonata, Mercedes-Benz C-Classs and the Toyota Camry. On the truck/utility side, other short list contenders were the 2015 Audi Q3, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Canyon, Lexus NX, Mercedes-Benz GLA, Nissan Murano, Porsche Macan, Subaru Outback and Toyota Highlander.

Editor’s Note: The author is a member of the North American Car and Truck of Year jury.