Hyundai Genesis and Ford F-150 Win North American Car, Truck of the Year Awards
January 11, 2009
By Michelle Krebs
The Hyundai Genesis and Ford F-150 are winners of the 2009 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards, respectively. The winners were announced Sunday morning at a press conference kicking off the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The Genesis was the first Korean car in the 16-year history of the award to win. It was selected from three finalists that also included the Ford Flex and Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
The F-150 was selected from three finalists that also included the Dodge Ram and Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC.
Journalist-jurors praised the Genesis for its value in the near-luxury segment and a coming of age of Korean brands in terns of engineering, quality and craftsmanship.
"The new Hyundai Genesis would be an impressive luxury sedan if it came from a traditional luxury brand and cost as much as its competitors," said Karl Brauer, one of the 50 jurors for the award and editor of Edmunds.com, parent of AutoObserver. "That it represents Hyundai's first foray into this competitive class of vehicle, and is offered at a lower price with comparable features and equipment, makes it a standout model for 2009."
The North American Car and Truck of the Year awards are the only independent awards; others are given by specific publications. Jurors consist of 50 journalists from across North America who cover various aspects of the auto business, from reviewing products to chronicling industry events for print, radio, television or online media.
Jurors praised the F-150, the best-selling vehicle in American for 32 years in a row, for remaining the gold standard for work pickup trucks and ratcheting it up a notch yet again.
In addition to the first Korean automaker winning, this year's competition also was the first to have diesel-powered vehicles as finalist. Two of the six finalists (the Volkswagen Jetta TDI and the Mercedes-Benz M-Class BlueTec) are new, clean diesels that can be sold in all 50 states.
To be eligible, vehicles must be "all-new" or "substantially changed" from the previous model. This year the jury considered more than 50 vehicles and finally settled on 14 cars and 11 trucks that deserved to be on the ballot.
Candidates for the 2009 North American Car of the Year are the: Audi A4; BMW 1 Series; Cadillac CTS-V; Dodge Challenger; Ford Flex; Honda Fit; Hyundai Genesis;
Jaguar XF; Lincoln MKS; Mazda6; Nissan GT-R; Pontiac G8; Toyota Venza; and Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
Candidates for the 2009 North American Truck of the Year were the: BMW X6; Chevrolet Traverse; Dodge Ram; Ford F-150; Honda Pilot; Infiniti FX35/50; Kia Borrego; Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTec; Nissan Murano; Subaru Forester; and Volkswagen Tiguan.
Jurors distributed 25 votes, with no vehicle receiving more than 10 points, to their favorite cars and 25 votes for their favorite trucks. The highest vote getters were three finalists.
Jurors then cast another vote for their top choice for each category. Jurors had 10 points for the car category and 10 points for trucks to distribute. The votes could be cast for one vehicle or distributed among the three.
Only officials from the Detroit office of the accounting firm of Deloitte knew the winners before they were announced Sunday. The Genesis received 189 votes followed by the Flex with 180 and the Jetta with 131. The F-150 received 259 votes followed by the Ram with 167 and the BL320 BlueTec with 74.
The North American Car and Truck of the Year awards honor new models that set standards and benchmarks in their class. Top criteria in the competition are value for the dollar and affordability. Vehicles also are judged on: general design, safety, fuel economy, handling and general roadworthiness, performance, comfort, assembly quality, functionality, technical innovation, driver satisfaction and price.
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