{"id":29322,"date":"2022-06-11T08:06:44","date_gmt":"2022-06-11T12:06:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=29322"},"modified":"2022-06-11T08:06:44","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T12:06:44","slug":"north-american-car-truck-and-utility-vehicle-of-the-year-contenders-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/north-american-car-truck-and-utility-vehicle-of-the-year-contenders-released","title":{"rendered":"North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year contenders released"},"content":{"rendered":"

Offerings for the prestigious, 2023 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards look like a sprawling, cruise line buffet.<\/p>\n

The 47 entrants \u2014 tying a record set in 2019 \u2014 announced Thursday reflect historic trends in the industry as international manufacturers, startups\u00a0and a torrent of electric vehicles vie for the attention of the world\u2019s richest consumer market. Electronic advancements, government regulations\u00a0and battery technologies are changing the market amid unprecedented gas prices and supply-chain challenges.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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Only eight entrants are from U.S. brands, five\u00a0are from startups, 19 are electric vehicles, and 31 are SUVs. Seventeen of the entries are all-new or substantially-modified badges.<\/p>\n

“This high number of eligible vehicles highlights the wide range of choices consumers have among new vehicles driven primarily by increased offerings of EVs, continued popularity of SUVs, and arrivals of new automakers,\u201d said NACTOY President Gary Witzenburg, who heads a jury pool of 50 independent journalists from the U.S. and Canada, including the author of this article. \u201cWe look forward to evaluating this diverse list to determine this year’s winners.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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While only eight entrants are from North American brands, many foreign badges are assembled in the United States, including the Honda CR-V, Kia Sportage\u00a0and Toyota Sequoia. Of the American badges \u2014 Cadillac Lyriq, Fisker Ocean, Rivian R1S, Chevrolet Silverado ZR2, Ford F-150 Lightning, Jeep Wagoneer (long wheelbase), Jeep Grand Wagoneer (long wheelbase)\u00a0and Lordstown Endurance \u2014 three are electric startups.<\/p>\n

Together with the VF 8 and VF 9 models from Vietnam\u2019s VinFast brand, these rookies hope to replicate the success of Tesla, which has dominated the emerging EV market since its introduction of the Model S sedan a decade ago.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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SUVs dominate the NACTOY list, as nearly 7 of 10 vehicles sold in the U.S. are of the sport ute variety. Early favorites include the all-new\u00a02023 Cadillac Lyriq \u2014 the first EV from Caddy as the brand goes all-electric by the end of this decade \u2014 as well as remakes from popular, mainstream models like the Ohio-made Honda CR-V and Georgia-assembled Kia Sportage.<\/p>\n

Seeking to make EVs mainstream, manufacturers have flooded the segment with electric entries, including notables like the Audi Q4 e-tron, Fisker Ocean, Kia EV6, Nissan Ariya, Rivian R1S, Subaru Solterra, and Toyota bZ4X.<\/p>\n

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“Once again the SUV category has the most eligible vehicles, but this list of confirmed vehicles demonstrates that automakers continue to believe in the future of the car category,” said NACTOY Secretary Nicole Wakelin.<\/p>\n

Yet, none of those 13 car entries will come from U.S. makers, as they have nearly abandoned sedans. Standouts for Car of the Year include the Acura Integra \u2014 revived after a 17-year hiatus \u2014 BMW i4 eDrive 40i, Genesis G80, Mercedes EQE, Nissan Z, Subaru WRX, and dramatic Maserati MC20 mid-engine supercar.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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After showcasing a new breed of unibody-based trucks in 2022 \u2014 the Ford Maverick, Hyundai Santa Cruz\u00a0and Rivian R1T were finalists \u2014 the category is back to all, ladder-frame bruisers for 2023. The twist? Two of the three are battery-powered.<\/p>\n

The Ford F-150 Lightning should be a shoo-in for Truck of the Year over the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 and Lordstown Endurance EV.<\/p>\n

\"As<\/p>\n
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Drawing its jury from independent writers and broadcast journalists \u2014 rather than a single publication \u2014 the unique NACTOY awards are among the industry\u2019s most coveted.<\/p>\n

To be eligible for the prize, vehicles must be all or substantially new and available for purchase before the end of the \u201823 calendar year. NACTOY jurors will narrow the list with a preliminary vote in September as they test vehicles across the continent, then winnow the field to semifinalists in each category after a comprehensive October comparison program. A final three are then announced in each category in November and winners unveiled next January.<\/p>\n

The winners for the 2022 model year were Honda Civic as Car of the Year, Ford Maverick as Truck of the Year, and Ford Bronco for Utility.<\/p>\n

List of eligible\u00a02023 entrants:<\/p>\n

Car of the Year<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acura Integra<\/p>\n

BMW i4 eDrive 40i<\/p>\n

BMW i4 M50i<\/p>\n

Genesis G80<\/p>\n

Genesis G90<\/p>\n

Maserati MC20<\/p>\n

Mercedes C Class<\/p>\n

Mercedes EQE<\/p>\n

Nissan Z<\/p>\n

Porsche Cayman GT4 RS<\/p>\n

Porsche 911 GTS<\/p>\n

Subaru WRX<\/p>\n

Toyota GR Corolla<\/p>\n

Truck of the Year<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chevrolet Silverado ZR2<\/p>\n

Ford F-150 Lightning<\/p>\n

Lordstown Endurance<\/p>\n

Utility Vehicle of the Year<\/strong><\/p>\n

Audi Q4 e-tron<\/p>\n

BMW iX xDrive M50i<\/p>\n

Cadillac Lyriq<\/p>\n

Fisker Ocean<\/p>\n

Genesis GV60<\/p>\n

Honda CR-V<\/p>\n

Honda HR-V<\/p>\n

Honda Pilot<\/p>\n

Kia Sportage<\/p>\n

Kia Niro<\/p>\n

Kia EV6<\/p>\n

Jeep Wagoneer (long wheelbase)<\/p>\n

Jeep Grand Wagoneer (long wheelbase)<\/p>\n

Land Rover Range Rover<\/p>\n

Land Rover Range Rover SV<\/p>\n

Land Rover Range Rover Sport<\/p>\n

Land Rover Defender 130<\/p>\n

Lexus LX600<\/p>\n

Lexus RX<\/p>\n

Mazda CX-50<\/p>\n

Nissan Ariya<\/p>\n

Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT<\/p>\n

Rivian R1S<\/p>\n

Subaru Solterra<\/p>\n

Toyota Sequoia<\/p>\n

Toyota bZ4X<\/p>\n

Toyota Corolla Cross<\/p>\n

Vinfast VF 8<\/p>\n

Vinfast VF 9<\/p>\n

Volvo C40 Recharge<\/p>\n

Additional Utility vehicle TBA<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Offerings for the prestigious, 2023 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards look like a sprawling, cruise line buffet. The 47 entrants \u2014 tying a record set in 2019 \u2014 announced Thursday reflect historic trends in the industry as international manufacturers, startups\u00a0and a torrent of electric vehicles vie for the attention […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29322"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29322"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29323,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29322\/revisions\/29323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}