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North American Car and Truck of the Year Award

6 December 1999

North American Car and Truck of the Year Award

    DETROIT, Dec. 6 -- By rough count, there are about 674 car of
the year awards in North America, with one or two more likely to be added by
week's end.  But only two are given by an independent group of automotive
journalists from Canada and the United States.  They are the North American
Car of the Year and the North American Truck of the Year, which were started
in 1994.
    They were founded by a group of reporters who thought consumers -- and not
advertising salespeople -- would benefit if the automotive expertise of top
automotive journalists from North America's newspapers, magazines, radio and
television shows was focused on the auto industry's newest products.  The
concept was to pick the two vehicles that set new standards in their segments,
whether that is expensive sports cars or economy cars.  Most auto company
officials admit privately (and sometimes publicly) that winning the North
American Car or North American Truck of the Year Awards is the pinnacle of
third-party validation.
    Right now the jurors are engaged in traditional activities such as kicking
the tires and rudely slamming the doors as well as other vehicular dynamic
escapades on the 14 cars and 10 trucks that were seen as the most significant.
And the industry is waiting anxiously to see which three cars and which three
trucks the 48 jurors announce as finalists on December 17, 1999.
    In making their choices, the jurors are asked to consider such factors as
innovation, safety, affordability and value for the dollar.  The winners will
be announced on Monday, January 10, at the North American International Auto
Show in Detroit.  Unlike other awards, only one person will know who wins the
prizes -- Richard M. Gabrys, the vice chairman of Deloitte & Touche, which
counts the ballots.  Members of the organizing committee and the
aforementioned tire-kicking, door-slamming jurors are available from
throughout North America for interviews before or after the awards are
announced.
    Last year's winners were the Volkswagen New Beetle and the Jeep Grand
Cherokee.
    Here are the nominees this year:

    *  North American Truck Of The Year: Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe,
Dodge Dakota Quad Cab, Ford Excursion, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Isuzu
Vehicross, Nissan Frontier Crew Cab, Nissan Xterra, Toyota Tundra.

    *  North American Car Of The Year: Audi TT, BMW X5, Cadillac Deville, Ford
Focus, Ford Taurus, Honda S2000, Jaguar S-Type, Lincoln LS, Mercedes S-Class,
Nissan Maxima, Saturn L Series, Toyota Echo, Volkswagen Golf and Volvo
S40/V40.