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Finalists for North American Car and Truck of the Year

The finalists have been named for the 2011 North American Car of the Year Award. Coming as no surprise, the top three cars named in the race is the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf and Hyundai Sonata. All of which have been given many prestigious awards throughout the year, with the Volt and the Leaf racking up numerous awards for their technological advancements over other cars. 

The finalists for Truck of the Year have also been named. The Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Explorer and Dodge Durango all are competing for the title. 

In order to become a finalist, the decision is made by 49 people who represent a number of sectors in the automotive world. Including those who work for automotive magazines, automotive television, as well as those that are in the radio industry. The criteria that is used to judge these finalists will be based on the innovation of the vehicle, safety, handling, driver satisfaction as well as value for the amount of money that these vehicles cost. Winners are going to be announced the opening day for media at the Detroit Auto Show, on January 10th. 

Last year the winner of the North American Car of the Year Award went to the Ford Fushion, Truck of the Year Award went to the Ford Transit Connect. This was a huge victory for Ford, as it was only the third time in 17 years that one company won both awards.

Many are speculating now which car will win the award, of the three finalists most people are arguing that the competition is really between the Volt and the Leaf since they both utilize such advanced technology. However, for value, you can't beat the Sonata. So really, it is any one's ball game at this point. Truck wise, it is a toss up as all three vehicles are basically within the same price range and offer about the same extras and so on.