North American Car/Truck of the Year Vote Deadline Is Today
December 03, 2007

At 5 p.m. EST today (Monday, Dec. 3), journalist-jurors must have their votes cast for the 2008 North American Car and Truck of the Year award.

It’ll be a couple weeks before the six finalists – three cars and three trucks -- are announced; that will be done at on at the Detroit Economic Club luncheon on Wednesday, Dec. 12. At that time, jurors will vote again, ranking the three picks in each category.

Winners will be announced on the first press day of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 13.

Award Focus: Value, Affordability

Established in 1994, the NACTOY awards, originally patterned after the European Car of the Year award but tweaked throughout the years, honor vehicles that set new standards or become new benchmarks in their class. Each vehicle is judged and ranked by various categories.

Those include general design, safety, fuel economy, handling and general roadworthiness, performance, comfort, assembly quality, functionality, technical innovation, driver satisfaction and price. Value for the dollar and affordability are particularly important factors.

The jury of roughly 50 people comprises a wide range of professional journalists across North America who report on cars and the auto industry. They created their own organization to independently determine the best new products automakers offer each year.

Earlier this fall, journalist-jurors winnowed a very long list of new models introduced in 2007 to a short list of candidates that consists of 15 cars, including minivans, and 13 trucks, which also includes sport utilities and crossovers.

In this second round of voting, journalist-jurors dispersed 25 points to the various candidates in the two categories. Jurors can give a maximum of 10 points to one vehicle, but
no other vehicle may receive more than nine of those points.

2008 Candidates: How Would You Vote?

2008 North American Car of the Year Candidates
Audi TT
Audi A5/S5
Cadillac CTS
Chevrolet Malibu
Chrysler Town & Country
Dodge Grand Caravan
Honda Accord
Infiniti G37
Infiniti EX35
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Nissan Altima Coupe
Scion xB
Smart ForTwo
Subaru Impreza/WRX
Volvo C30

2008 North American Truck of the Year Candidates
Buick Enclave
Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid
Hyundai Veracruz
Jeep Liberty
Jeep Patriot
Kia Rondo
Land Rover LR2
Mazda CX-9
Nissan Rogue
Saturn Vue
Toyota Highlander/Hybrid
Toyota Tundra
Volvo XC70

NACTOY Past Winners

Domestic automakers have won North American Car of the Year seven times. Japanese automakers have won three times. European automakers have won four times.

Domestic automakers won North American Truck of the year nine times, Japanese automakers have won three times (Honda and Acura took two of those) and European automakers have won twice.
In the totals above Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep are counted as domestic automakers. Volvo and Mercedes-Benz are included in the European category, even though Ford owns Volvo and Mercedes was part of DaimlerChrysler.

General Motors swept both categories in 2007; Honda took both awards home for 2006.

For 2007 the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Honda Fit, Saturn Aura and the Toyota Camry. The winner was the Saturn Aura.

For 2007 the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Ford Edge, the Chevrolet Silverado and the Mazda CX-7.  The winner was the Chevrolet Silverado.

For 2006  the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Honda Civic, Ford Fusion and Pontiac Solstice. The winner was the Honda Civic.

For 2006  the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Honda Ridgeline, the Nissan Xterra and the Ford Explorer.  The winner was the Honda Ridgeline.

For 2005, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Chevrolet Corvette, the Chrysler 300/300C and the Ford Mustang. The winner was the Chrysler 300/300C.

For 2005, the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Ford Freestyle, the Land Rover LR3 and the Ford Escape Hybrid. The winner was the Ford Escape Hybrid.

For 2004, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Toyota Prius, the Mazda RX-8 and the Cadillac XLR. The winner was the Toyota Prius.

For 2004, the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Ford F-150, the Nissan Titan and the Cadillac SRX. The winner was the Ford F-150.

For 2003, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Infiniti G35 Coupe, the Nissan 350Z and the Mini Cooper and Cooper S. The winner was the Mini Cooper/Cooper S.

For 2003, the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Volvo XC90, the Hummer H2 and the Honda Element and the Nissan Murano, which tied. The winner was the Volvo XC90.

For 2002, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Nissan Altima, the Ford Thunderbird and the Cadillac CTS. The winner was the Nissan Altima.

For 2002, the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Chevrolet Avalanche, the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and the Jeep Liberty. The winner was the Chevrolet TrailBlazer.

For 2001, the finalists for North American Car of the Year were the Chrysler PT Cruiser, the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius. The winner  was the Chrysler PT Cruiser.

For 2001, the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Acura MDX, the Ford Escape and the Toyota Sequoia. The winner was the Acura MDX.

For 2000, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Ford Focus, the Audi TT and the Lincoln LS. The winner was the Ford Focus.

For 2000, the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Nissan Xterra, the Dodge Dakota Quad Cab and the Toyota Tundra. The winner was the Nissan Xterra.

For 1999, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Volkswagen New Beetle, the Honda Odyssey and the Chrysler 300M. The winner was the Volkswagen New Beetle.

For 1999, the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra. The winner was the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

For 1998, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Chevrolet Corvette, the Audi A6 and the Lexus GS300/400. The winner was the Chevrolet Corvette.

For 1998, the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Mercedes-Benz ML 320, the Dodge Durango and the Subaru Forester. The winner was the Mercedes-Benz ML 320.

For 1997, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Mercedes-Benz SLK, the Jaguar XK8 and the BMW 5-Series. The winner was the Mercedes-Benz SLK.

For 1997, the finalist for the North American Truck of the Year were the Ford Expedition, the Dodge Dakota and the Toyota RAV 4. The winner was the Ford Expedition. 

For 1996, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Chrysler minivans, Ford Taurus/ Mercury Sable and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The winner was the Chrysler minivan.

For 1996, the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Ford F-150, the GMC Yukon/Chevrolet Tahoe and the Range Rover 4.0 SE. The winner  was the Ford F-150.

For 1995, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Chrysler Cirrus, the Ford Contour and the Oldsmobile Aurora. The winner was the Chrysler Cirrus.

For 1995, the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Chevrolet Blazer, the Ford Explorer and the Ford Windstar. The winner was the Chevrolet Blazer.

For 1994, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the Chevrolet Camaro and the Toyota Supra. The winner was the Mercedes C-Class.

For 1994, the finalists for North American Truck of the Year were the Dodge Ram pickup, the Chevrolet S-10/GMC Sonoma and the Land Rover Defender 90.  The winner was the Dodge Ram. 

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