The 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque seems to be a vehicle that was groomed to receive the distinguished North American Truck of the year award. With its unique styling and much anticipated release last year, the 2012 Range Rover Evoque embodied a new sense of styling for a cross-over utility vehicle.

This will be Land Rover’s third time receiving the North American Truck of the Year crown, which they will proudly accept for a truly innovative crossover. The 2 other finalist for the North American Truck of the Year came down to the BMW X3 and Honda CR-V.

What are your thoughts of this year’s North American Truck of the Year award coming down to a selection of car-based utility vehicles with the 2012 Range Rover Evoque taking home the win?

The 2012 Ford Focus, North American Car of the Year finalist. Image: Ford Motor Comapny

Each year, a panel of automotive journalists picks the one car (and one truck) that stands out above the rest of the herd in North America. Unlike awards given by individual media outlets, the NACTOY award is significant because it’s based on the consensus of 50 different viewpoints. To be considered, a vehicle must be all-new or substantially revised from a former model, must go on sale shortly after the announcement of the award and must have projected annual sales of 5,000 units for cars or 2,000 units for trucks.

From a list of 17 candidate automobiles, this year’s jury has selected the Ford Focus, the Hyundai Elantra and Volkswagen Passat as finalists for the North American Car of the Year. In the Truck category, finalists are the BMW X3, the Honda CR-V and the Range Rover Evoque. Final selections will be announced during the Detroit Auto Show, where the awards will be presented.

This year’s car list contained some interesting choices. Why the judges picked the Hyundai Elantra over the far-less-conventional Hyundai Veloster is beyond us, and we also have no idea why the new Passat beat out the new Beetle. In the truck category, pickings were somewhat slim, and we’re still scratching our heads over how the Mini Countryman made the truck list.

In retrospect, a glance at the eligible candidates shows that 2012 wasn’t a great year for new cars or new trucks. Let’s hope that 2013 brings a bit more innovation in terms of automotive design and engineering.

North American Car of the Year Finalists:
Audi A6
Audi A7
Buick Verano
Chevrolet Sonic
Chrysler 300/SRT-8
Fiat 500
Ford Focus
Hyundai Accent
Hyundai Elantra
Hyundai Veloster
Kia Rio/Rio 5
Scion iQ
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Camry
Toyota Prius V
VW Beetle
VW Passat

North American Truck of the Year Finalists:
BMW X3
Honda CR-V
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
Mini Countryman
Nissan Quest
Saab 9-4X

The launch of the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit starts off with the announcement of the North American Car and Truck of the Year. Making it to the finish line, the Hyundai Genesis and Ford F-150 were just named as the North American Car and Truck of the Year for 2009.

The awards were selected in part of being “the most outstanding vehicles of the year based on factors that include innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar.” For a shot at the title, eligible vehicles must be “all-new” or “substantially changed”.

Ford must be very happy to hear this in being one of America’s Big 3 that has been in the news for the past several months in talks about THE BAILOUT. Hyundai has to be very proud of the major accomplishments over the past few years in jumping over hurdles that were owned by foreign car makers such as Toyota and Honda. With the new accomplishments we can look forward to everyone else catching their breath in the ultimate automotive race as we embark on a new technologies to carry us into the fuel efficient future.

Press Release on the Hyundai Genesis and Ford F-150 Winning North American Car and Truck of the Year below after the jump…

News Release Issued: January 11, 2009 10:33 AM EST

2009 North American Car and Truck of the Year Winners Announced

DETROIT, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ — A jury of 50 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada has selected the Hyundai Genesis as the 2009 North American Car of the Year and the Ford F-150 as the 2009 North American Truck of the Year.

The awards are designed to recognize the most outstanding new vehicles in their segments.

The awards are based on factors that include innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar. Because the vehicles are new, reliability is not a factor.

The awards are unique in the United States because they are given by automotive journalists who represent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and web sites instead of a single publication. Also, unlike some other awards, the awards are financed entirely by the jurors.

The winners were announced today at a news conference at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, however, the show does not give the awards and the voting does not take place there.

In December the top three cars and trucks were announced. The car finalists were the Ford Flex, Hyundai Genesis and the Volkswagen Jetta TDI.
The truck finalists were the Dodge Ram, the Ford F-150 and the Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC.

The Genesis received 189 points, the Flex received 180 and the Jetta TDI received 131.

The F-150 received 259 points, the Ram received 167 points and the Mercedes received 74 points.

The awards were first given in 1994.

Today was the first time a Korean automaker has won.

Today was the fifth time Ford has won the North American Truck of the Year and the third win for the F-150. The other winners were the Expedition and Escape Hybrid.

To be eligible, vehicles must be “all-new” or “substantially changed”
from the previous model. This year the jury considered more than fifty 2009 vehicles and settled on 14 cars and 11 trucks that deserved to be on the ballot.

Michelle Collins, Vice Chairman Automotive at Deloitte & Touche, was responsible for counting the ballots, which jurors sent directly to the accounting firm. Until the news conference Ms. Collins was the only person who knew the winners.

Last year the North American Car of the Year was the Chevrolet Malibu and the North American Truck of the Year was the Mazda CX-9.

Excluding today:

* Hybrids have been honored twice.

* Domestic automakers have won North American Car of the Year eight times.
Japanese automakers have won three times. European automakers have won
four times. A Korean automaker has never won.

* Domestic automakers have won North American Truck of the Year nine
times. Japanese automakers have won four times. European automakers have
won twice. A Korean automaker has never won.

Here are the vehicles on which the jurors voted:

2009 North American Car of the Year nominees

Audi A4

BMW 1 Series

Cadillac CTS-V

Dodge Challenger

Ford Flex

Honda Fit

Hyundai Genesis

Jaguar XF

Lincoln MKS

Mazda 6

Nissan GT-R

Pontiac G8

Toyota Venza

Volkswagen Jetta TDI

2009 North American Truck of the Year nominees

BMW X6

Chevrolet Traverse

Dodge Ram

Ford F-150

Honda Pilot

Infiniti FX35/50

Kia Borrego

Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC

Nissan Murano

Subaru Forester

Volkswagen Tiguan

More information on the awards — including the names of jurors as well as previous finalists and winners — is available at:
www.northamericancaroftheyear.org.

SOURCE: North American Car and Truck of the Year Organizing Committee

Web site: http://www.northamericancaroftheyear.org/