Ford Sweeps Car and Truck of the Year Awards
By Michelle Krebs January 11, 2010The Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Ford Transit Connect won the 2010 North American Car and 
Truck of the Year awards, it was announced Monday morning at the Detroit auto show.
The Fusion Hybrid won over two other finalists for the prestigious award -- the Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Golf. The Transit Connect beat out the Chevrolet Equinox and Subaru Outback.
"Winning both of these prestigious awards is confirmation that the One Ford plan is working, delivering industry-leading product for our customers," said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas.
Jurors praised the Ford Fusion Hybrid as the best hybrid on the market. They hailed the Transit Connect as a segment-busting vehicle, like no other on the market.
The jury of 49 comprises a wide range of professional journalists across North America who report on cars and the auto industry for various media outlets. The journalists created their own organization to independently determine the best new products automakers offer each year.
Established in 1994, the NACTOY awards 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.
Among those 49 jurors from Edmunds.com are: Michelle Krebs, senior analyst and editor at large for AutoObserver; Karl Brauer, Edmunds.com editor in chief; and Scott Oldham, editor in chief of Edmunds' Inside Line. Earlier this fall, journalist-jurors winnowed a very long list of new models introduced in 2009 to a shorter list of candidates.
Candidates for car of the year honors were: BMW 335d; Buick LaCrosse; Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon; Chevrolet Camaro; Ford Fusion; Ford Fusion Hybrid; Ford Taurus/Taurus SHO; Honda Insight; Kia Soul; Mazda 3/MazdaSpeed 3; Mercedes-Benz E-Class; Porsche Panamera; Subaru Legacy; Suzuki Kizashi; Toyota Prius; and Volkswagen Golf/GTI/TDI.
Candidates for truck of the year honors were: Acura ZDX; Audi Q5; Cadillac SRX; Chevrolet Equinox; Ford Transit Connect; Honda CrossTour; Land Rover LR4; Lincoln MKT; Subaru Outback; Volvo XC60.
In the 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 could receive more than nine of those points.
In the final round of voting, jurors dispersed 10 points to the three finalists in each category. The final tally had the Ford Fusion Hybrid garnering 241 points, followed by the Buick LaCrosse with 146 points and the Volkswagen Golf with 103. The Ford Transit Connect won with 213 points, followed by the Chevrolet Equinox with 183 points and the Subaru Outback with 94.
Photo by Ford
Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas, raises two trophies Monday as the automaker won the North American Car and Truck of the year awards.
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It is interesting that the 2010 Toyota Prius, redesigned, more powerful, higher milage than last year's, didn't make the finals.
Not much for Italian food around Cobo; franchise pizza is about all.
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