North American Car of the Year logo

North American Car of the Year logo

This is a momentous year for the 2013 NACTOY awards: The name of the truck award has officially changed to North American Truck/Utility of the Year. Despite this nomenclature change, the finalists in the category continue to bear little or no resemblance to the title of the award.

All joking aside (but seriously, who considers the Ford C-Max either a truck or a utility?), the awards are important for the car makers as well as for car shoppers, as they give the winner a platform to stand on all year long.

The finalists, pared from a much longer list in each category, then again from a short list, can already claim the honor of making the shortest list of all. But only one can win in each category.

Without further ado, the finalists are:

North American Car of the Year

  • Cadillac ATS
  • Ford Fusion
  • Honda Accord
 
North American Truck/Utility of the Year
  • Ford C-Max
  • Mazda CX-5
  • Ram 1500


While our own Best Car To Buy 2013 isn't on the list of North American Car of the Year finalists, we can't really argue with any of the ones that did make it--a strong crop of new cars, including one of the best from the performance and luxury segments: our runner-up for the Best Car To Buy award, the 2013 Cadillac ATS. In the more mainstream range, our sister site, The Car Connection, named the 2013 Ford Fusion as its Best Car To Buy 2013.

Look for the winners in both car and truck/utility categories to be announced in mid-January at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show.

North American Truck/Utility of the Year logo

North American Truck/Utility of the Year logo