For the first time, a Korean automaker has won the North American Car of the Year award.
The Hyundai Genesis was named the 2009 North American Car of the Year and the Ford F-150 the 2009 North American Truck of the Year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The awards are designed to recognize the most outstanding new vehicles in their segments.
The awards are based on factors that include innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar. Because the vehicles are new, reliability is not a factor.
The awards are unique in the United States because they are given by automotive journalists who represent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and Web sites instead of a single publication. Also, unlike some other awards, the awards are financed entirely by the jurors.
In December the top three cars and trucks were announced. The car finalists were the Ford Flex, Hyundai Genesis and the Volkswagen Jetta TDI. The truck finalists were the Dodge Ram, the Ford F-150 and the Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC.
The Genesis received 189 points, the Flex received 180 and the Jetta TDI received 131.
The F-150 received 259 points, the Ram received 167 points and the Mercedes received 74 points.
This was the fifth time Ford has won the North American Truck of the Year and the third win for the F-150. The other winners were the Expedition and Escape Hybrid.
To be eligible, vehicles must be "all-new" or "substantially changed" from the previous model. This year the jury considered more than fifty 2009 vehicles and 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. Until the news conference Ms. Collins was the only person who knew the winners.
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.
