GM Sweeps North American Car & Truck of the Year Awards
Posted on 01/08/2007 under: News, General Motors
The Saturn Aura is the 2007 North American Car of the Year, while the Chevrolet Silverado is the 2007 North American Truck of the Year, it was announced today. The awards are unique in North America because, instead of being given by a single media outlet, the winners are chosen by 49 automotive journalists who represent newspapers, magazines, television shows and web sites in Canada and the United States. The winners of the awards -- first given in 1994 -- were revealed at a news conference at the world-class North American International Auto Show in Detroit. However, the show does not give the awards. The awards are designed to recognize the most outstanding vehicles of the year based on factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar. To be eligible vehicles must be new. Although dozens of new 2007 vehicles were eligible, the jurors whittled the field down to 12 cars and 15 trucks on which they voted.
The Saturn Aura got 205 points; the Honda Fit got 176 and the Toyota Camry 89 points.
The Chevrolet Silverado got 243 points; the Mazda CX-7 got 135 and the Ford Edge got 92.
Last year the North American Car of the Year was the Honda Civic while the North American Truck of the Year was the Honda Ridgeline.
In the last 14 years, domestic automakers have won the North American Car of the Year seven times. Japanese automakers have won three times and European automakers have won four times.
Domestic automakers have won North American Truck of the Year nine times. Japanese automakers have won three times and European automakers have won twice.
The jurors represent outlets such as the Toronto Star, Car and Driver magazine, AutoWeek, The Chicago Tribune, MotorWeek, USA Today, Autoline Detroit, Edmunds.com, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, Road & Track magazine, the San Jose Mercury News, Edmunds.com, Consumer Guide, the Boston Globe, Automotive News, Popular Mechanics and Fortune.
Here are the vehicles on which the jurors voted:
2007 North American Car of the Year
Chrysler Sebring
Dodge Caliber
Honda Fit
Hyundai Elantra
Infiniti G35
Jaguar XK/XKR
Lexus LS 460
Mercedes-Benz S-class
Nissan Altima
Nissan Versa
Saturn Aura
Toyota Camry
2007 North American Truck of the Year
Acura MDX
Acura RDX
Audi Q7
BMW X5
Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban
Chevrolet Silverado
Dodge Nitro
Ford Edge
GMC Acadia
Honda CR-V
Hyundai Santa Fe
Jeep Wrangler
Mazda CX-7
Saturn Vue Green Line
Toyota FJ Cruiser
Source: North American Car & Truck of The Year
