North American Car and Truck of the Year: These are the Finalists

4809 Views 41 Replies 27 Participants Last post by syr74, Dec 13, 2014

Envoy4Life

Discussion Starter · Dec 11, 2014

North American Car and Truck of the Year: These are the Finalists.
Carscoops
By: Andreas Tsaousis
December 10, 2014

As 2014 is coming to an end, it’s time for all sorts of “Car of the Year” contests to start arriving. Of these, one of the most prominent is the North American Car and Truck of the year, which runs for the 22nd year in a row.

Denny Moyer, a partner of accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, disclosed today the names of the six finalists, three for each of the two categories, to the Detroit Free Press automotive critic and member of the NACTOY member Mark Phelan. Those were selected by 57 jurors from newspapers, TV and radio stations, websites and magazines who sent their ballots last week to Deloitte.

The finalists for the 2015 North America Car of the Year are the Ford Mustang, Hyundai Genesis sedan and VW Golf, and for the 2015 NA Truck/Utility of the Year, the Chevrolet Colorado, Ford F-150 and Lincoln MKC.

Last year, the Corvette Stingray won the Car category, with 211 points, ahead of the Mazda3 (185 points) and Cadillac CTS (94 points) and the Chevrolet Silverado beat the Jeep Cherokee and Acura MDX, earning 219 points to its rivals’ 174 and 97 respectively.

The 2015 winners will be announced on Monday, January 12, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

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Envoy4Life

Discussion Starter · #2 · Dec 11, 2014

Predictions:

NACOTY:

Ford Mustang

NATOTY:

Ford F-150

On that note, go MKC!

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Reactions: 1

dslay04

· #3 · Dec 11, 2014

I'm betting on the Colorado

Reactions: 1

marinerbc

· #4 · Dec 11, 2014

Hyundai Genesis deserves it...

Ford F-150..aluminum body. Game changer.

usayjim2

· #5 · Dec 11, 2014

The real game changer for 2015 , the best selling vehicle in North America , Ford F-150 !

V8GMT360 Guy

· #6 · Dec 11, 2014

dslay04 said:
I'm betting on the Colorado

Agreed; it has already beat F150 for another high profile award; here's hoping that trend continues. Would be a HUGE knock to Ford to lose multiple accolades they probably think should automatically be theirs.

Reactions: 3

camaro_freak

· #7 · Dec 11, 2014

Colorado better take it!

Reactions: 1

paul8488

· #8 · Dec 11, 2014

I suspect it will be Colorado and Golf, though that's not what I would vote for...

Reactions: 1

63GrandSport001

· #9 · Dec 11, 2014

The F-150 going with so much aluminum certainly deserves appreciation as far as the technical hurdles needed to pull that off. Though the Colorado especially once it gets its diesel engine is kind of a game changer, its like the mid size truck that can replace the lower end full size trucks.

sfbreh

· #10 · Dec 11, 2014

Probably Colorado/Golf. Genesis and MKC have no business being there.

F150 is much ado about nothing, Mustang is a better interior with a cool Ecoboost and a ****tier GT.

Golf is the better "new car", Colorado is a fresher take on the segment (and debatably more useful) than an oversized aluminum monster with okay gas mileage.

If and when the hybrid hits, that'll take Truck of the Year. As is... no.

camaro_freak said:
Colorado better take it!

It probably will.

Reactions: 2

MN12Fan

· #11 · Dec 11, 2014

2014 isn't quite over and yet the F-150 has already sold more examples this year than the previous Colorado did during its entire existence. The F-150 may not be perfect, but the changes for 2015 are far more relevant to its segment than that of the Colorado. Using aluminum so extensively on a product of such high volume is unique and takes guts. As good as the Colorado is, it's just a strong effort in a segment where only a minimal effort has been the status quo for several years.

Reactions: 4

richmond2000

· #12 · Dec 11, 2014

MN12Fan said:
2014 isn't quite over and yet the F-150 has already sold more examples this year than the previous Colorado did during its entire existence. The F-150 may not be perfect, but the changes for 2015 are far more relevant to its segment than that of the Colorado. Using aluminum so extensively on a product of such high volume is unique and takes guts. As good as the Colorado is, it's just a strong effort in a segment where only a minimal effort has been the status quo for several years.

personally I think they should look at the truck compared to its segment and does the AL F150 offer a lot to the consumer VS the 14 OR the competition
I say NO where as the Colorado DOES offer a MUCH improved truck over it s"A" predecessor and "B" the competitors

Reactions: 2

paul8488

· #13 · Dec 11, 2014

sfbreh said:
Golf is the better "new car", Colorado is a fresher take on the segment (and debatably more useful) than an oversized aluminum monster with okay gas mileage.

Over 1 million over-sized monsters were sold last year, leading me to conclude that this is the size of truck people want. I quite like the idea of a smaller truck option, and GM was smart to introduce one that it unquestionably top of the class, but trucks are huge because people want huge trucks.

paul8488

· #14 · Dec 11, 2014

MN12Fan said:
As good as the Colorado is, it's just a strong effort in a segment where only a minimal effort has been the status quo for several years.

Good point; the Colorado is best in a very weak class; fullsize trucks are amongst the best vehicles in the industry (at least the GM, Ram and Ford ones), so being measurably better is harder than in the crappy midsize class that hasn't evolved in a decade and no manufacturer took seriously anymore.

Not saying tha Colorado isn't an excellent truck, because it is, but it's easy to be head and shoulders above when you're standing next to midgets...

ksr

· #15 · Dec 11, 2014

Envoy4Life said:
Predictions:

NACOTY:

Ford Mustang

NATOTY:

Ford F-150

On that note, go MKC!

I think you are probably correct on both counts. I think that the Mustang deserves it.

MT made a very good case for the Colorado though, and with their vote being unanimous the Colorado may have a shot at this award as well. I don't think that the F-150 really delivered on expectations.

The Ford, despite the aluminum, doesn't really move the bar vs. its competition in very measurable ways. Unless you're talking about repair costs, and then in a negative way. The Colorado may revitalize a segment that was nearly dead. It's a smaller truck, but not so small that it wouldn't serve most people's needs, even as a work truck. And the impact on fuel economy of a smaller truck (replacing larger trucks) would be greater than the fairly disappointing real-world results that the F-150 has shown so far.

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derek77

· #16 · Dec 11, 2014

MN12Fan said:
2014 isn't quite over and yet the F-150 has already sold more examples this year than the previous Colorado did during its entire existence. The F-150 may not be perfect, but the changes for 2015 are far more relevant to its segment than that of the Colorado. Using aluminum so extensively on a product of such high volume is unique and takes guts. As good as the Colorado is, it's just a strong effort in a segment where only a minimal effort has been the status quo for several years.

I'm not sure how you can say the changes to the F150 are far more relevant to its segment than the Colorado, but at the same time say the Colorado is competing with weak efforts from Toyota and Nissan. Everything about the Colorado (powertrain, interior, exterior, tech) raises the bar of the mid-size truck segment. While the F150 most relevant addition is aluminum, not that it's an irrelevant addition.

paul8488 said:
Good point; the Colorado is best in a very weak class; fullsize trucks are amongst the best vehicles in the industry (at least the GM, Ram and Ford ones), so being measurably better is harder than in the crappy midsize class that hasn't evolved in a decade and no manufacturer took seriously anymore.

Not saying tha Colorado isn't an excellent truck, because it is, but it's easy to be head and shoulders above when you're standing next to midgets...

All true. But is the Colorado competing against the Tacoma and Frontier for Truck of the Year? If the criteria is how well the finalists compete against their class, and fault that finalist because the rest of the class sucks, the Truck/Car of the Year contest is flawed.

Does the Colorado not offer content and comfort of a full-sized truck in a smaller, better driving package? I must have saw a dozen comparisons comparing the Colorado and F150 before the first review of either. And even after, you see the comparisons to the F150 in reviews after they are out. So why can't they compare against each other here?

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gopedxr7

· #17 · Dec 11, 2014

mustang and F150. nobody cares about the lincoln brand or the hyundai.

both the mustang and f150 are very different from the cars they replaced and have made changes that are first in their products history. the f150 made a huge step foward in a segment that has been the same for years. the turbo engines and aluminum use is unique.

while the colorado has won the motor trend award, and is a really nice truck, it would be more deserving it the f150 was not on the same list

paul8488

· #18 · Dec 11, 2014

derek77 said:
All true. But is the Colorado competing against the Tacoma and Frontier for Truck of the Year? If the criteria is how well the finalists compete against their class, and fault that finalist because the rest of the class sucks, the Truck/Car of the Year contest is flawed.

Does the Colorado not offer content and comfort of a full-sized truck in a smaller, better driving package? I must have saw a dozen comparisons comparing the Colorado and F150 before the first review of either. And even after, you see the comparisons to the F150 in reviews after they are out. So why can't they compare against each other here?

Oh I'm not really questioning the MT results; they make their argument and I can't find obvious fault with it (even if I'd disagree). I just think that the Colorado is so much better than its competition than the F-150 is than its own competition that some people discredit the F-150 as a lame rehash, when it's far from that, and will have more impact on the industry long-term than the Colorado.

bonecrrusher

· #19 · Dec 11, 2014

F150 and Mustang.

AMERICA 123

· #20 · Dec 11, 2014 (Edited)

dslay04 said:
I'm betting on the Colorado

Chevrolet's well deserved sweep last year + how much the F150 matters to Ford make that.... a little more difficult although it should not.

marinerbc said:
Hyundai Genesis deserves it...

Genesis or Golf is a tough call ............Mustang on the otherhand, came out with too much left to do.

sfbreh said:
Probably Colorado/Golf. Genesis and MKC have no business being there.

F150 is much ado about nothing, Mustang is a better interior with a cool Ecoboost and a ****tier GT.

Golf is the better "new car", Colorado is a fresher take on the segment (and debatably more useful) than an oversized aluminum monster with okay gas mileage.

If and when the hybrid hits, that'll take Truck of the Year. As is... no.

It probably will.

Given this -

***************

* Quote *

VW leads N. American car, truck of year semifinalists

Michael Wayland, The Detroit News 2:42 p.m. EDT September 23, 2014

Volkswagen leads this year's semifinalists for the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.

The German automaker has four vehicles on the jury's short lists of 10 cars and 12 trucks competing for the awards, which historically have gone to domestic automakers. The jury is comprised of dozens of automotive journalists.

Following VW, Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Toyota Motor Corp. each have three short-list finalists. The Detroit automakers have seven vehicles on the two lists, including Chrysler Group LLC's 200 midsize sedan.

The lists will each be reduced to three finalists each in the car and truck categories in December, with winners announced in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The awards are intended to recognize a car and truck that set new benchmarks in the classes in which they compete. Jurors evaluate the vehicles on factors including value for the dollar, innovation, handling, performance, safety and driver satisfaction.

Cars on the 2015 short list are the Acura TLX, Audi A3, Chrysler 200, Ford Mustang, Honda Fit, Hyundai Genesis sedan, Hyundai Sonata, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Toyota Camry and Volkswagen Golf/GTI.

Trucks on the short list are the Audi Q3, Chevrolet Colorado, Chevrolet Tahoe, Ford F-150, GMC Canyon, Lexus NX, Lincoln MKC, Mercedes-Benz GLA Class, Nissan Murano, Porsche Macan, Subaru Outback and Toyota Highlander.

Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Karl Brauer, a NACTOY juror, said the vehicles still in the running are a good representation of how strong the entire industry is right now.

"You have a good mix of strong cars and trucks," he said during a Tuesday morning phone interview. "It will be interesting to see who makes the final three. There's just so many viable cars."

Chevrolet swept the 2014 awards with the Corvette and Silverado.

[email protected]

(313) 222-2504

* End Quote *

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bu...to-show/2014/09/23/nactoy-shortlist/16106931/

**********

Seems Ford received a gimme for the MKC and perhaps or perhaps not.......... for the Mustang sorry to say......... from all angles.

Genesis deserves to be there as much or more than Mustang or any of the other cars who did not make the final cut.

Canyon or Canyon + Colorado - given the full details of the award ratings ( not included here ) is the no brainier winner amongst the three truck finalists in much the same way it won out in the other one.

Then again, to each his own.

I will say this.

Genesis in a tweaked and slightly refocused form is........ or wins the informal award for coming closest to what one would wish Chrysler, GM, or Ford offered - and do not.

Includes a first class safety profile that is more than embarrassing to many, many higher end alternatives ( and brands ) who can ( still ) be very grateful it is still sold out of a Hyundai store.

One of the very few that makes a well deserved upper 1 % @ Informed for Life.

Not puttin' it on a pedestal such as it is ( especially ) - just sayin'.

Got the fundamentals.

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