Finalists named for 2008 North American Car and Truck of the Year

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

DETROIT – General Motors’ product revival continues to gain traction – at least among automotive journalists.

Four GM vehicles are among the six finalists for the 2008 North American car and truck of the year, the second straight year GM products have starred in the annual contest.

The Cadillac CTS and Chevy Malibu were named finalists for the 2008 North American Car of the Year along with the Honda Accord.

And the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid were named finalists for the North American Truck of the Year along with the Mazda CX-9.

Last year, GM won both contests. The Saturn Aura won the car of the year honors and the Chevrolet Silverado won the truck of the year award.

The awards have been given since 1994.

The North American Car and Truck of the Year will be announced Jan. 13 at a news conference at the start of media days at the Detroit auto show.

The finalists, as selected by an independent jury of 47 automotive journalists, were unveiled during a news conference today at the Detroit Economic Club. Although the awards are announced each year at the Detroit auto show, the show does not give the awards. Operating expenses for the awards are defrayed by membership dues, and there are no outside subsidies.

This year’s jury comprises 47 automotive journalists and broadcasters from across the United States and Canada, including Automotive News Executive Editor Edward Lapham, AutoWeek Interactive Editor Dale Jewett and AutoWeek Road Test Editor Natalie Neff. Automotive News and AutoWeek are published in Detroit by Crain Communications Inc.


Others vehicles considered
These were the other candidates considered by jury members for the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards:

Cars

Audi TT

Audi A5/S5

Chrysler Town & Country

Dodge Grand Caravan

Infiniti G37

Infiniti EX35

Mercedes-Benz C class

Nissan Altima coupe

Scion xB

Smart ForTwo

Subaru Impreza/WRX

Volvo C30

Trucks

Hyundai Veracruz

Jeep Liberty

Jeep Patriot

Kia Rondo

Land Rover LR2

Nissan Rogue

Saturn Vue

Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid

Toyota Tundra

Volvo XC70

[supercharged]

I seen a Buick Enclave on the road, and I will tell it deserves respect. I never, ever liked the way Buick looks, but this one is a huge improvement. It trully looks like a luxury crossover. As for Saturn, I never liked them. It's headlights remind me of cat Garfield in Sacramento Bee comics section.

Nice to see that domestic cars are dling improvement, hopefully it will not just be in a look, but also in quality. Afterall, everyone wants a car that will run 200k+ miles, not that you are gonna keep it that long, but just being confident. It helps resale value too.

[killrwheels@autogeek]

Most of the GM products designed and brought to the market over the past 18-24 months rival alot of the competition. It will need time and focus to bring clients back. Funny, Mercedes has fallen OFF the JDPowers reliability reports and Toyota recently fired a high end exec for so many faulty units. Mass production is the culprit .... give GM a chance. Great warranties, free courtesy transportation, and solid offerings.

[supercharged]

Looking forward to see Saturn Astra on the road...it will be the best looking Saturn out there..

[Gary Sword]

No sports cars? What's wrong with these people?

[justin_murphy]

I hope the new Accord get's it. It's a bad-ass car. Nice line and the interior is amazing. Motor is strong and the tranny shifts smooth. I test drove one last week.......two door.......and loved it.

[supercharged]

Originally Posted by justin30513

I hope the new Accord get's it. It's a bad-ass car. Nice line and the interior is amazing. Motor is strong and the tranny shifts smooth. I test drove one last week.......two door.......and loved it.

I've seen it and loved it! Awesome car!!!

[tgstang21]

I thought for sure the altima coupe was gonna at least come close to the accord in a photo finish, at least make it to the final 3. An infinit g37 for about half the price sounds like a good deal to me, guess not good enough.