Volt has already taken numerous awards this year.
In a first-ever move, members of the North American Car and Truck of the Year jury have chosen three alternatively-powered vehicles as the finalists in the much-watched annual industry face-off.
The Nissan Leaf battery-electric vehicle will square off against the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid, and the Hyundai Sonata for Car of the Year honors.
NACTOY’s 49 U.S. and Canadian jurors meanwhile named the dodge Durango, Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee as the three finalists for North American Truck of the Year.
While the Korean-made Sonata is offered with a choice of conventional, turbo or hybrid-electric powertrains, Hyundai gained credibility by delivering the first gasoline-electric vehicle to use a lithium-ion battery, rather than the older, nickel-metal hydride technology used in products like the Toyota Prius.
Sonata marks the second time Hyundai has landed among the NACTOY finalists, a significant achievement considering the way the brand was perceived only a few years ago. In 2009, the maker’s first luxury offering, the Hyundai Genesis Sedan captured the Car of the Year trophy.
“This shows that wasn’t just a fluke,” said Hyundai spokesman Dan Bedore, following the announcement of the NACTOY finalists at a meeting of the Detroit Automotive Press Association. “To be recognized by this diverse group of journalists is a big move for Hyundai.”
Nissan hopes to validate Leaf as a mainstream offering.
The Sonata is generally considered the also-ran among the three car finalists, the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt already battling it out on the global award circuit. Nissan’s battery car won European Car of the Year, for example, while Volt took kudos as both the Motor Trend Car of the Year and Automobile magazine’s Automobile of the Year.
Nonetheless, the NACTOY award is taken by many to be perhaps the most significant – and influential, reflecting the fact that honors are chosen by a diverse group of auto media veterans, and is less likely to be influenced by the policies of any single publication or outlet.
The Hyundai Sonata is offered with conventional, turbo and lithium-hybrid drivetrains.
“The broad criteria used by the North American Car and Truck of the Year jury certainly validates what’s we’ve come up with,” said Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman, proving Leaf “is a mainstream vehicle,” not just a niche entry.
The choice of the Ford Explorer as one of the three truck finalists underscores the challenges journalists and jurists faced this year. While the 2011 model replaces the classic Explorer SUV, the new offering is based on a car-like crossover platform, one shared with the Ford Taurus sedan. But spokesman Said Deep defended the choice, noting that what Ford has come up with is clearly designed to do what truck-based utilities have long done.
Ford, meanwhile, is “flattered to be considered,” said Deep, noting that this is the fifth entry from the maker to be named a NACTOY finalist in the last three years. The F-150 pickup was named 2009 truck of the year (Ford’s Flex barely losing car of the year honors to the Hyundai Genesis), while the Detroit maker scored a double win, last year, with the Transit Connect van and Fusion hybrid sedan.
The announcement of the truck-side finalists comes as sweet news to a struggling Chrysler, which landed two products, the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2011 Dodge Durango. Winning the coveted trophy would help validate the company’s post-bankruptcy bid to resolve quality problems and rebuild its image among potential buyers.
The winners of the 19th annual North American Car and Truck of the Year awards will be announced on January 10, 2011, at the opening of the 2011 Detroit Auto Show.