2009 North American Car and Truck of the Year Winners Announced

Posted on 11 January 2009 by


winners

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

This post was written by:

- who has written 329 posts on Gear Diary.

David is the editor of AutoworldToday at Today Newspapers in the Dallas suburbs. He is also a webmaster and photographer. He got started doing photography for the newspaper while working as a firefighter/paramedic in one of his towns, and he came to the newspaper group full time in 1992. David entered automotive journalism in 1998 and became AutoworldToday editor in 2002. On the average, he drives some 100 new vehicles each year.He enjoys the great outdoors and as an avid fly fisherman, as is his girlfriend Tish. He especially enjoys nature photography and is inspired by the works of Ansel Adams.

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  • AutoworldDavid

    These awards come as no surprise to me. We tested each of these vehicles this past year, along with much of the competition, and wholeheartedly agree with the outcome. Hyundai has a hit on its hands with the Genesis – a Lexus/Bimmer/Benz knockoff at half the price – and Ford takes the cake as this is truck of the year not truck that most rides like a car of the year. Congrats to both.

  • http://www.buyautotruckaccessories.com Truck Accessories

    So based on the contestants in this competition, it seems clear that "North American" car/truck of the year is really "Car/truck of the year, which is sold in North America." I have to wonder if there's a competition of sorts that only grades cars against their domestic counterparts, instead of comparing apples to oranges. Granted, the automotive market is clearly global and everyone competes, but for someone who likes to buy domestic, it seems like a true NA car of the year award would be a good addition.