Finalists Announced for North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards

DETROIT, Dec. 17 -- The Cadillac CTS, Ford Thunderbird and Nissan Altima are finalists for the North American Car of the Year award, the organizing committee of the awards announced today (Monday, Dec. 17). The Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet TrailBlazer and Jeep Liberty are finalists for the North American Truck of the Year award.

Winners of the prestigious awards will be announced on the first press day of the North American International Auto Show 2002 in Detroit, Sunday, Jan. 6 at 11 a.m. in room W1-54 of Cobo Center.

A jury of 48 automotive journalists, representing broadcast, print and electronic media, voted last Friday for the winner. Only the three finalists in each category were announced. The accounting firm of Deloitte and Touche in Detroit, which tabulates the votes, keeps the winners secret until they are revealed at the NAIAS 2002.

The awards are open to new or significantly revised vehicles that will be on the market in North America in 2002. In September, jurors voted to narrow the field of nominees to 10 cars and 10 trucks from a list of 20 eligible cars and 16 eligible trucks by ranking them one through 10. In the final voting, jurors have 25 points they assign to vehicles in each of the car and truck categories. No more than 10 points can be given to a single vehicle. The car and truck garnering the most points win the prestigious awards.

Vehicles are judged on items including: general design; safety; fuel economy; handling and general roadworthiness; performance; comfort; assembly quality; functionality; technical innovation; driver satisfaction; and price.

Other nominees for North American Car of the Year included: Acura RSX; Audi A4; Infiniti Q45; Jaguar X-Type; Mercedes-Benz C-Coupe; Subaru Impreza WRX; and Toyota Camry. Nominees for North American Truck of the Year were the following: Dodge Ram; Ford Explorer; Honda CR-V; Land Rover Freelander; and Toyota Highlander.

Last year's winners were the Chrysler PT Cruiser among the cars and Acura MDX in the truck category.