Joe Hinrichs, Ford's President of the Americas, celebrates winning truck of the year with F-150.

The year is off to a good start for both Volkswagen and Ford Motor Co., the two makers coming home with new trophies as winners of the closely watched North American Car and Truck of the Year awards, with the Golf “family” and the new F-150 pickup.

The announcements came at the opening of this year’s Detroit Auto Show, an event that is likely to see the debut of some of the contenders for next year’s best-of cars, trucks and crossovers, with more than 45 different vehicles set to make their global debut/

For both Ford and VW, Monday’s victories provide more than just another trophy for the closet. They serve as justification for some significant, if risky, strategic moves.

“This really recognizes our strategy,” which saw the German maker develop an all-new platform that is larger, yet lighter, better handling and more fuel-efficient, said Michael Horn, president of Volkswagen of America.

The North American Car of the Year award actually recognized the entire Golf “family,” which includes not only the standard Golf, but the diesel version and the sporty GTI, among others. And that line-up, noted Horn, will get bigger with the addition of the e-, or battery-electric, Golf, and a high-performance Golf R.

Michael Horn, President of Volkswagen of America, which was honored for its Golf "family."

The German maker’s victory echoes a number of other awards the Golf family has won in recent months, including Motor Trend Car of the Year. And it could prove especially important considering Volkswagen’s unexpected slide in the otherwise booming U.S. market over the last several years. That has proved a serious problem for the parent company which has set out an ambitious goal to become the world’s top-selling automaker.

Volkswagen topped two other strong contenders in the car of the year category, including the second-generation Hyundai Genesis, which was named the award winner when it originally debuted.

The other nominee, the Ford Mustang, has taken its share of honors, as well, and was considered the top challenger to the VW Golf.

(GM charges into Detroit Auto Show with second-gen Chevrolet Volt plug-in. Click Here to check it out.)

Ford had a bittersweet victory, then, as the results of voting by NACTOY’s 57 U.S. and Canadian jurors was announced, the maker taking home the North American Truck of the Year trophy.

(Nissan hopes to make inroads with new Titan pickup debuting in Detroit. Click Here for a closer look.)

The 2015 F-150 represents one of the biggest risks the Detroit maker has taken in decades, Ford migrating from a conventional steel body to one made of lightweight aluminum. That has helped it shave as much as 750 pounds off the weight of various F-150 variants, boosting both mileage and towing and hauling capabilities.

But there have been plenty of questions raised about how the new Ford pickup will hold up in a work environment. Meanwhile, the process of changing over to aluminum required an extensive effort that has cost Ford substantial lost production – a significant issue considering the overall F-Series line represents nearly 20% of its total U.S. sales volume.

Going into the 2015 model-year, Ford had high hopes of getting some key endorsements for its decision, but it has lost several important ones. The Motor Trend Truck of the Year trophy, for one, went to the new midsize Chevrolet Colorado pickup.

So, hearing the F-150 named at the NACTOY ceremony came as a relief to Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s President of the Americas. “I’m proud we were recognized among  very competitive set,” he said after the announcement.

“We innovated in a lot of ways,” he added, saying it is “very important any time you get recognized.”

(Click Here for news on Jaguar Land Rover’s plans to launch a line of new US diesels.)

VW Golf, Ford F-150 Nab North America Car, Truck of the Year

Victory bittersweet for Ford as Mustang misses podium.

By Paul A. Eisenstein

Posted: 1/12/15

The year is off to a good start for both Volkswagen and Ford Motor Co., the two makers coming home with new trophies as winners of the closely watched North American Car and Truck of the Year awards, with the Golf “family” and the .

The announcements came at the opening of this year’s Detroit Auto Show, an event that is likely to see the debut of some of the contenders for next year’s best-of cars, trucks and crossovers, with more than 45 different vehicles set to make their global debut/

For both Ford and VW, Monday’s victories provide more than just another trophy for the closet. They serve as justification for some significant, if risky, strategic moves.

“This really recognizes our strategy,” which saw the German maker develop an all-new platform that is larger, yet lighter, better handling and more fuel-efficient, said Michael Horn, president of Volkswagen of America.

The North American Car of the Year award actually recognized the entire Golf “family,” which includes not only the standard Golf, but the diesel version and the sporty GTI, among others. And that line-up, noted Horn, will get bigger with the addition of the e-, or battery-electric, Golf, and a high-performance Golf R.

The German maker’s victory echoes a number of other awards the Golf family has won in recent months, including Motor Trend Car of the Year. And it could prove especially important considering Volkswagen’s unexpected slide in the otherwise booming U.S. market over the last several years. That has proved a serious problem for the parent company which has set out an ambitious goal to become the world’s top-selling automaker.

Volkswagen topped two other strong contenders in the car of the year category, including the second-generation Hyundai Genesis, which was named the award winner when it originally debuted.

The other nominee, the Ford Mustang, has taken its share of honors, as well, and was considered the top challenger to the VW Golf.

Ford had a bittersweet victory, then, as the results of voting by NACTOY’s 57 U.S. and Canadian jurors was announced, the maker taking home the North American Truck of the Year trophy.

The 2015 F-150 represents one of the biggest risks the Detroit maker has taken in decades, Ford migrating from a conventional steel body to one made of lightweight aluminum. That has helped it shave as much as 750 pounds off the weight of various F-150 variants, boosting both mileage and towing and hauling capabilities.

But there have been plenty of questions raised about how the new Ford pickup will hold up in a work environment. Meanwhile, the process of changing over to aluminum required an extensive effort that has cost Ford substantial lost production – a significant issue considering the overall F-Series line represents nearly 20% of its total U.S. sales volume.

Going into the 2015 model-year, Ford had high hopes of getting some key endorsements for its decision, but it has lost several important ones. The Motor Trend Truck of the Year trophy, for one, went to the new midsize Chevrolet Colorado pickup.

So, hearing the F-150 named at the NACTOY ceremony came as a relief to Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s President of the Americas. “I’m proud we were recognized among  very competitive set,” he said after the announcement.

“We innovated in a lot of ways,” he added, saying it is “very important any time you get recognized.”