North American Car Utility and Truck of the Year Awards Archives

2021 North American Car, Truck & Utility of the Year

*To know more, visit www.bhpetrol.com.my.*

The diverse nature of the huge North American car market means it has many brands present and when it comes to picking winners for the annual North American Car & Truck of the Year awards, the domestic American brands certainly have a lot of challengers from foreign makes. Running since 1994, these awards are the longest-running new-vehicle awards not associated with a single publication, website, radio or television station.

As trucks are an important segment of the North American market, there are three separate awards: North American Car of the Year, North American Truck of the Year, and North American Utility of the Year which was introduced in 2017 for the growing SUV segment.

In fact, even in the first year of the awards, it was a German make – Mercedes-Benz which won the title with its C-Class. Foreign makes have won the North American Car of the Year awards 11 times in 27 years, and in the 28^th year, Korean carmaker Hyundai (including the Genesis brand) collects the title for the fourth time with its latest Elantra.

Second time for Hyundai Elantra in North American Car of the Year awards.

This is the second time the Hyundai model has won Car of the Year, the first being in 2012. Only two cars have won the award more than once (the Chevrolet Corvette and Honda Civic). Hyundai also won an overall award for North American Utility of the Year with its Kona SUV in 2019.

For the 2021 North American Utility and Truck of the Year, Ford has two winners – the all-electric Mustang Mach-E and the new F-150. It seems a bit odd that the Mustang is positioned and presented as a Utility Vehicle as, historically, it has been a sportscar – and a legendary one too. Nevertheless, Ford has not left out the performance for which the model has been known and admired, with a high-performance electric powertrain.

“This recognition for Mustang Mach-E and F-150 is validation not only for our brand, but also for our Ford team, which continues to innovate and deliver on its commitment to creating must-have products and services,” said Kumar Galhotra, President, Ford Americas and IMG. “The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards are among the most prestigious in the industry and such an honour serves as a capstone achievement for years of hard work for the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 teams.”

To know more about Ford models available in Malaysia, visit www.sdacford.com.my.

For the 2021 event, the jurors tested and evaluated more than 40 new vehicles before voting the top three models of each category to be finalists. The jury is made up of automotive journalists from numerous outlets in the USA and Canada. They evaluate the finalists based on segment leadership, innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar.

*Mercedes-Benz C-Class was the first North American Car of the Year when it started in 1994.*

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is North American Car of the Year for the third time

It’s not surprising that the all-new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray has been selected as the 2020 North American Car of the Year. This model, like the Ford Mustang, are icons of American sportscars and the latest generation has impressed with not only its revolutionary mid-engine design but also for its level of refinement and impressive performance.

The Corvette was previously honoured with this award in 1998 for the introduction of the fifth generation and again in 2014 for the introduction of the seventh generation.

“The 2020 Corvette represents a new era for the iconic brand,” said Lauren Fix, North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year President, representing the 50-member jury. “The excitement from consumers has been overwhelming. From a journalist’s perspective, this is one of the best-built GM products that exemplifies what it means to be the North American Car of the Year.”

First award for Kia
The Kia Telluride was named 2020 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year, the first time Kia has received this award. The 3-row SUV has also received many other since arriving at dealerships in North America early last year.

The Telluride prevailed over a field of 12 semi-finalists and 3 finalists in the utility category. Since going on sale, nearly 60,000 units have been delivered. The model was conceived, designed, developed, and is built in the USA. It’s also the first Kia vehicle to be exported from the USA.

Awards program since 1994
The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year Awards honour excellence in innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, driver satisfaction and value. Founded in 1994 by Christopher Jensen, who also formed the first committee, the awards are judged by approximately 50 professional automotive journalists from the USA and Canada who work for independent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and industry websites.

To be eligible, vehicles must be all-new or substantially new and must be available at dealerships close to the announcement of the awards. After evaluating the field of competitors, jurors vote individually by way of Deloitte to determine finalists and winners in each category.

All-new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray unveiled – and it’s finally a mid-engine sportscar!

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