North American Car and Truck of the Year awards: Make Room for Sport Utility Vehicles

DETROIT, June 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year (NACTOY) jury has added a third category to honor the most outstanding new sport utility vehicle introduced each year.   The 2017 awards for car, truck and sport utility vehicle of the year will be announced Jan. 9 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

"SUVs' booming popularity is changing the auto industry," said Mark Phelan, NACTOY president.  "Customers use SUVs for everything from work to family transportation to off-road recreation. The NACTOY jury recognizes that with the new award."

The North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year awards honor excellence in innovation, design, safety, performance, driver satisfaction and value.  Initiated in 1994, they are the industry's longest running awards program judged by 60 professional automotive journalists from the United States and Canada who work for magazines, television, radio, newspapers and web sites.

"The jury's diversity of viewpoints and experience makes NACTOY unique, and uniquely valuable to people who are shopping for just the right vehicle," Phelan said. "That was the vision of the jury's founder, Chris Jensen, longtime auto writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and New York Times."

The awards were overseen by an organizing committee until this year, when that structure was replaced with officers: a president, vice president and secretary treasurer. The officers are: president Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press auto critic; vice president Matt DeLorenzo, managing editor, news, Kelley Blue Book; and secretary treasurer Lauren Fix, the Car Coach and automotive critic for multiple television and radio outlets. Former organizing committee members Chris Jensen, Tony Swan and Lindsay Brooke form a temporary advisory committee to assist the officers.

The process of selecting the car, truck and SUV of the year starts in June by identifying vehicles eligible for the awards. It includes three rounds of voting. Three finalists for each award will be announced Dec. 6. The winners will be revealed Jan. 9.
The voting for finalists and Car, Truck and SUV of the year is tallied by Deloitte.

For more information, go to: www.northamericancaroftheyear.org

The North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year Awards honor excellence in innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value.  The award, initiated in 1994, is the industry's longest running awards program judged by a diverse group of professional automotive journalists who regularly evaluate vehicles for magazines, television, radio, newspapers and web sites.

SOURCE North American Car & Truck of the Year

Related Links

http://www.northamericancaroftheyear.org