NA Car of the Year Finalists Are Volt, Sonata and Leaf
By Michelle Krebs December 16, 2010
The Chevrolet Volt, Hyundai Sonata and Nissan Leaf are finalists for the 2011 North American Car of the Year awards.
Finalists for the 2011 North American Truck of the Year award are the Dodge Durango, Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The half-dozen finalists for the prestigious awards were announced Thursday at an Automotive Press Association luncheon sponsored by organizers of the 2011 North American International Auto Show. The winners will be announced at the first press conference of the Detroit auto show on Jan. 10.
All three finalists for the Car of the Year award come in some version of electrification: the Volt is electric driven with a gasoline engine to extend range; the Sonata comes in a hybrid version; and the Leaf is all electric.
The truck side shows how far Chrysler has come from its near death through bankruptcy to have two of the three finalists.
The awards are unique in the United States because -- instead of being given by a single media outlet -- they are awarded by automotive journalists from the United States and Canada who represent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and web sites.
The jury of 49 comprises a wide range of professional journalists across North America who report on cars and the auto industry. Among the 49 jurors from Edmunds.com are: Scott Oldham, Edmunds.com editor-in-chief; Karl Brauer, Edmunds senior analyst and editor at large; and Michelle Krebs, senior analyst and AutoObserver editor-in-chief. Brauer will serve as the emcee for the Jan. 10 announcement of the award winners at the Detroit auto show.
The Candidates
Initially, 27 new cars were eligible for the 2011 North American Car of the Year award. Early this fall, jurors voted on those they thought deserved additional consideration or what is known 
as the "short list." That narrowed the field to 14 semi-finalist cars, which were on the December ballot.
General Motors and Nissan each had three models on the short list. There were four European models, four domestic and four from Japan. Two were from Korea.
2011 North American Car of the Year Short List
Audi A8
Buick Regal
Chevrolet Cruze
Chevrolet Volt
Ford Fiesta
Hyundai Sonata/2.0T/Hybrid
Infiniti M37/56
Jaguar XJ
Kia Optima
Mazda Mazda2
Nissan Juke
Nissan Leaf
Volkswagen Jetta
Volvo S60
In the fall, jurors did not vote on the trucks because there were only 14 and it did not seem necessary to narrow the field from that original list. The Truck of the Year short list represented a wide assortment of truck-like vehicles, from small crossovers to minivans to big SUVs, but no pickup trucks.
North American Truck of the Year Short List
Dodge Durango
Ford Edge
Ford Explorer
Honda Odyssey
Hyundai Tucson
Infiniti QX56
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Kia Sorento
Kia Sportage
Lincoln MKX
Mercedes-Benz R-Class
Porsche Cayenne
Toyota Sienna
Volkswagen Touareg
The Voting
In the recently held round of voting, each journalist-juror dispersed 25 points to the various candidates in the two categories. Jurors could give a maximum of 10 points to one vehicle in each category, but no other vehicle could receive more than nine of those points. 
In the upcoming final round of voting, jurors will disperse 10 points to the three finalists in each category.
History of the Awards
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.
The awards are funded exclusively by the jurors. During its 18 years of existence:
Domestic automakers have won North American Car of the Year nine times. European automakers have won four times, Japanese automakers have won three times. A Korean automaker has won once.
Domestic automakers have won North American Truck of the Year 11 times. Japanese automakers have won four times. European automakers have won twice.
Michelle Krebs is a long-time juror on the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.
Photos by manufacturers
1 - Chevrolet Volt (Photo by GM)
2 - Hyundai Sonata (Photo by Hyundai)
3 - Nissan Leaf (Photo by Nissan)
4 - Dodge Durango (Photo by Chrysler)
5 - Ford Explorer (Photo by Ford)
6 - Jeep Grand Cherokee (Photo by Chrysler)
LEAVE A COMMENT
COTY: I give 6 points to the Leaf for being the first mass-production all-electric vehicle in the US. I give the remaining 4 points to the Volt for its innovative powertrain. The Sonata gets 0 because there's nothing new or groundbreaking in it.
TOTY: 5 points to the Cherokee for what it means to Chrysler and the American (Italian?) auto industry. 3 points to the Explorer for what it means to Ford and the ground-up redesign of an icon. 2 points to the Durango, because I'm sure it will be just like the Cherokee, but I've seen absolutely none on the road. I really don't know for TOTY though. None of these three seem truly deserving.
The Sonata deserves to be the Car Of The Year. What a break through for Hyundai in terms of quality and design.
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