North American Car/Truck of the Year Finalists Announced

DETROIT, Dec. 10, 2013 -- General Motors dominated the finalists for the 2014 North American Car of the Year, taking two of the three spots. It also took one of the three spots for 2014 North American Truck/Utility of the Year.

Forty-eight automotive journalists from the United States and Canada voted the Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Mazda3 finalists for the 2014 North American Car of the Year.

The journalists voted the Acura MDX, Chevrolet Silverado and Jeep Cherokee the finalists for the 2014 North American Truck/Utility of the Year.

The awards – first given in 1994 - are unique in North America because - instead of being given by a single publication, web site, radio or television program - they are given by automotive journalists representing all of those outlets in two countries.

The awards 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 "all new" or "substantially changed."

Early in December jurors sent their ballots to Deloitte & Touche. The accounting firm kept the finalists secret until today.

At a news conference at the Automotive Press Association luncheon in Detroit Diane DeFrancis, a partner at Deloitte, handed two sealed envelopes over to Joann Muller, one of the NACTOY judges and the Detroit Bureau Chief of Forbes Media, who made the announcements.

Now there will be a second round of voting on the three car and three truck/utility finalists. Those ballots also go to Deloitte officials, who will keep the winners secret until a news conference on Monday, January 13 th at the North American International Auto Show.

The list of eligible vehicles originally included 28 cars and 18 truck/utilities. In September the jurors voted to focus on 12 cars and 12 truck/utilities and those vehicles were on the ballot.

They were:

North American Car of the Year

BMW 4 Series
Cadillac CTS
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
Chevrolet Impala
Infiniti Q50
Jaguar F-Type
Kia Cadenza
Lexus IS
Mazda3
Mazda6
Mercedes-Benz CLA
Toyota Corolla

North American Truck/Utility of the Year

Acura MDX
BMW X5
Buick Encore
Chevrolet Silverado
GMC Sierra
Hyundai Santa Fe LWB
Jeep Cherokee
Kia Sorento
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
Nissan Rogue
Subaru Forester
Toyota Tundra