North American Car and Truck Of The Year: The Finalists

By Marty Padgett

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2012 Ford Focus

North American Car of the Year

The 2012 North American Car of the Year awards are due to be announced at next month's 2012 Detroit auto show, but the finalists are now decided--and have been announced at a press conference in Detroit.

The finalists for the North American Car of the Year are:

Ford Focus
Hyundai Elantra
VW Passat

The finalists for the North American Truck Of the Year are:

BMW X3
Honda CR-V
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque

Jurors for the award (full disclosure: I'm one) voted on a total list to 24 vehicles, including seven light trucks and 17 cars. From these finalists, three cars and three trucks, jurors will award points to their favorites, with the overall point leader winning the award.

The North American Car of the Year and Truck of the Year awards are given by a juror of 50 U.S. and Canadian automotive journalists, representing all forms of media, from online to print, to broadcast and radio.

To be eligible for the award, vehicles must be new or substantially changed to make the consideration list.

Last year's winners were the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the 2011 Ford Explorer. Finalists included the Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Sonata, Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Jurors chose this year's three finalists for each award from these lists:

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 Shortlist

BMW X3
Honda CR-V
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
Mini Countryman
Nissan Quest
Saab 9-4X