North American COTY, TOTY Finalists Announced

50 automotive writers and journalists from Canada and U.S. have voted to name their selection for the prestigious 2009 North American Car (COTY) and Truck (TOTY) of the Year awards, with the winners to be revealed in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Voting takes place early December and each juror has 25 points to distribute for car and 25 for truck nominees. No more than 10 points may be awarded to any one vehicle, and the 10-point maximum can be bestowed only once. However, the juror must award all 25 points.

This year 14 cars were nominated along with 11 trucks.

The three car finalists are:

• Ford Flex
• Hyundai Genesis
• Volkswagen Jetta TDI

The three truck finalists are:

• Ford F-150
• Dodge Ram
• Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC

To be eligible, vehicles must be “all-new” or “substantially changed” from the previous model. This year the jury considered more than 50 vehicles and finally settled on 14 cars and 11 trucks that deserved to be on the ballot.

Michelle Collins, Vice Chairman Automotive at Deloitte & Touche, was responsible for counting the ballots, which jurors sent directly to the accounting firm. Only Ms. Collins will know who the winner is when the awards are announced at the NAIAS on January 11th.

Last year the North American Car of the Year was the Chevrolet Malibu and the North American Truck of the Year was the Mazda CX-9.

Who do I think will win? The Hyundai Genesis will win the COTY while the TOTY will go to the Ford F-150.

Source: North American Car & Truck of the Year