2013 North American Car & Truck/Utility of the Year Award winners announced

Successors to Hyundai Elantra and Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, winners of the 2012 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards respectively, were just announced at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Considered to be one of the most prestigious awards in the automotive industry, the winners of the North American Car of the Year (NACOTY) and North American Truck/Utility of the Year (NATOTY) titles are chosen by a panel of journalists from USA and Canada representing magazines, newspapers, television, radio and websites. This is the 20th year of the awards that are financed by the jurorsí dues, an organization that doesn't accept advertising or fees from any of the manufacturers.

To be eligible for this award, a car or truck should be either all-new or substantially changed in the previous year with a retail price that's less than $ 100,000. In the initial round of shortlisting, the jurors brought down the list of candidates to 11 cars and 10 trucks on which they voted individually. In the next round of screening, the list of contenders were trimmed to just three for each title. The finalists for the Car of the Year award were Cadillac ATS, Ford Fusion and Honda Accord, while Ford C-Max, Mazda CX-5 and Ram 1500 were the finalists for Truck/Utility of the Year.

As is the custom, the winners were announced and subsequently crowned at a press conference held on the opening day of the Detroit Motor Show.

General Motors' constant efforts of pumping in huge amounts of investment and aiding the development process saw it's luxury brand Cadillac win the 2013 North American Car of the Year award for the ATS model. Competing with German stalwarts such as the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi A4, the Cadillac ATS is said to have fared reasonably well and has, apparently, beaten the expectations of its fans and customers. Taking forward the brand's popular "Art and Science" design concept into the compact luxury sedan space, the ATS is the smallest Cadillac yet that's designed and developed to expand the brand into a globally popular segment.

Honda's brilliant new Accord finished runner-up to the Cadillac ATS, while Ford's striking new Fusion finished third.

2013 NACOTY RESULTS:

1. Cadillac ATS - 207
2. Honda Accord - 159
3. Ford Fusion - 124

PREVIOUS NACOTY WINNERS:

* 2012 - Hyundai Elantra
* 2011 - Chevrolet Volt
* 2010 - Ford Fusion Hybrid
* 2009 - Hyundai Genesis
* 2008 - Chevrolet Malibu

Competing for the 2013 North American Truck/Utility of the Year award, the Ram 1500 stream-rolled the competition to emerge on top, with the Mazda CX-5 finishing runner-up and the Ford C-Max, the other finalist, ending up a distant third.

Chrysler's redesign of the Ram Truck brand's entry into the full-size, light-duty pickup truck segment, the 1500, has emerged as a force to reckon with, boasting significantly-improved mechanicals inside and out. The addition of Chrysler's award-winning Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 engine under the hood has given the 1500 class-leading fuel efficiency, apart from improved power and torque ratings. The design of the 1500, something that Americans have fallen in love with over and over again, has been left largely untouched. In short, the Ram 1500 is said to be giving sleepless nights to the big-selling light-duty pickup trucks like the Ford F150 and Chevrolet Silverado.

2013 NATOTY RESULTS:

1. Ram 1500 - 261
2. Mazda CX-5 - 142
3. Ford C-Max - 87

PREVIOUS NATOTY WINNERS:

* 2012 - Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
* 2011 - Ford Explorer
* 2010 - Ford Transit Connect
* 2009 - Ford F-150
* 2008 - Mazda CX-9

While both the 2012 winners, the Hyundai Elantra and Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, made it to India in the same year, there are absolutely no chances of the 2013 winners ending up on Indian shores.