The short-listed contenders for the 2013 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year awards have been revealed, with a few surprises. The winners will be announced on 14 January 2013 ahead of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The 2012 award went to the Hyundai Elantra for the car category, and the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque for the truck segment.
For the car segment, the following 11 models have been short-listed: the BMW 3 Series, Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Malibu, Dodge Dart, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Lincoln MKZ, Nissan Altima, Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ and Toyota Avalon. The list is split pretty much between US brands and Japanese, with BMW the one representative from Europe.
In the newly renamed Truck/Utility segment (the new name reflecting the inclusion of crossover and utility models as well as the traditional body-on-frame trucks), the list has been narrowed down to ten contenders: the Acura RDX, Audi Allroad, BMW X1, Ford C-Max, Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe, Infiniti JX35, Mazda CX-5, Nissan Pathfinder, and Ram 1500.
The winners will be decided by a jury of 50 automotive journalists from the US and Canada. Cars are evaluated on the basis of innovation, comfort, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for money.
