Racing to victory? The 7th-generation Porsche 911 is one of 45 vehicles up for the 2013 NACTOY awards.
A total of 45 different cars, trucks and crossovers will square off in one of the toughest battles outside the showroom: the competition for the annual North American Car and Truck of the Year trophies.
The two awards are presented each year by a jury consisting of 50 U.S. and Canadian auto writers and are generally hailed as the most independent and unbiased in a slew of honors handed out each year to vehicles sold in North America.
The 2013 NACTOY line-up this year covers the gamut from A to T, from the new Acura ILX entry-luxury sedan to the Toyota RAV4-EV battery-electric vehicle. There are 30 models that fall into the passenger car category and another 15 in the truck list – a significant increase over the 2012 truck line-up.
Imports - like the 2013 Nissan Altima - have a major presence on both the car and truck lists this year.
Notably, five models are dedicated battery-based vehicles, whether “conventional” hybrids like the Toyota Prius C, or pure battery-electric vehicles such as the Ford Focus Electric and Honda Fit EV. The list also include a start-up manufacturer qualifying for the first time: California-based Tesla with its Model S battery car.
There are a number of other models, such as the Chevrolet Malibu and the Toyota Avalon, which will be offered with optional hybrid drivelines.
The 2013 NACTOY list underscores the increasing shift back to passenger cars – and the shoot-out taking place in the critical midsize sedan segment. Among the offerings in that class eligible for the 2013 trophy are the Malibu, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord and Nissan Altima – the maker of the latter declaring its intent to topple the long-time midsize king-of-the-hill, the Toyota Camry, which was one of the models included in the 2012 North American Car of the Year vote.
There are a number of battery-based vehicles on this year's list, including the Toyota RAV4-EV
Members of the North American Car and Truck of the Year jury – of which, in full disclosure, I am included – will narrow down the initial “Long List” through a series of votes over the next six months after test driving all 45 vehicles. The final results of what is the awards’ 20th anniversary will be announced at the opening ceremonies of the Detroit Auto Show next January.
Over the years, Detroit automakers have won Car of the Year honors 10 times, Japanese makers nabbing three trophies and Europeans taking home four. In January 2012, the Hyundai Elantra claimed victory – the second win for the Korean maker.
On the truck side, Detroit brands have won a dozen trophies, Japanese brands four and Europeans three. (The truck category was added a year after the launch of what was originally known as the North American Car of the Year, reflecting the fact that trucks were then accounting for about half the overall U.S. and Canadian market.)
Tesla debuts on the NACTOY Long List with the launch of its new Model S.
For 2012, the truck award went to the Range Rover Evoque, notably the first-ever crossover vehicle produced by Britain’s Land Rover. That underscores another significant change in the market – and a challenge facing NACTOY jurors: the rise of the crossover.
The term is a somewhat nebulous one and covers vehicles that aren’t quite trucks or conventional passenger cars. But the vast majority of those are crossover-utility vehicles that effectively replace traditional, body-on-frame SUVs and thus remain in the North American Truck of the Year category.
That includes models like the Acura RDX and Mercedes-Benz GLK. Significantly, manufacturers have been rapidly migrating from frame-based platforms to crossover unibody “architectures” – this year with models including the Ford Escape and the Nissan Pathfinder.
The new Ram 1500 -- shown here at its debut -- one of only two classic, body-on-frame truck entrants.
Using the classic body-on-frame definition there are only two traditional truck models in the category this year: the big Mercedes G-Class – known to most other markets as the Gelandewagen – and the newly updated Ram 1500 pickup.
Other notable details from the 2013 NACTOY short list:
- An even dozen of the 30 passenger car entrants fall into the luxury category, while seven of the 15 truck entrants come from high-line marques;
- Half of the passenger car list comes from Asia – 12 from Japan, three from Korea – along with five European models;
- Where Detroit makers once overwhelmingly dominated the truck side there are now six Japanese names on the list, one Korean and five Europeans;
- The 2013 Car of the Year long list includes a number of very short vehicles, reflecting the downsizing of the market with products like the new Chevrolet Spark and Honda Fit EV.
Here’s the full list of models on the NACTOY Long List:
2013 North American Car of the Year Long List
Acura ILX
BMW 3-series sedan
BMW 6-series Gran Coupe
Cadillac ATS
Cadillac XTS
Chevrolet Malibu
Chevrolet Spark
Dodge Dart
Ford Fusion
Ford Focus electric
Honda Accord
Honda Fit EV
Hyundai Azera
Hyundai Elantra GT
Kia Cadenza
Lexus ES
Lexus GS
Lincoln MKZ
Mazda 6
Mercedes SL
Nissan Altima
Nissan Sentra
Porsche 911
Porsche Boxster
Scion FR-S
SRT Viper
Subaru BRZ
Tesla S
Toyota Avalon
Toyota Yaris
Toyota Prius C
2013 North American Truck/Utility Long List
Acura RDX
Audi allroad
BMW X1
Ford Escape
Ford C-Max
Hyundai Santa Fe
Infiniti JX 35
Mazda CX-5
Mercedes GL
Mercedes GLK
Mercedes G Class
Nissan Pathfinder
Ram 1500
Subaru SV Crosstrek
Toyota RAV4 EV