UCN
Used Car News
usedcarnews
2/3/2020
Top Vehicles of the Year Honored in Motown By Jeffrey Bellant
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DETROIT – Chevrolet, Jeep and Kia won top honors at the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) awards here at the TCF Center last month. In past years, the awards took place during the press preview event for the North American International Auto Show. This year, the NAIAS moves to June in Detroit, so the NACTOY event held center stage in January. The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray joined the new Jeep Gladiator and the Kia Telluride in sharing the stage as the 2020 winners. The mid-engine Corvette beat out the Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Supra for Car of the Year. Tadge Juechter, chief engineer, accepted the award on behalf of the Corvette team, describing them as “this passionate, dedicated, creative and powerful group that have been pouring their heart and soul into this car.” He added, at press time, the manufacturing team in Bowling Green, Ky., was getting ready to add a second shift to meet the demand for the car. “We’re proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish,” Juechter said. The new Jeep Gladiator won Truck of the Year, beating out fellow domestic finalists including the return of the Ford Ranger and the Ram Heavy Duty pickup.
Jim Morrison, head of Jeep in North America, accepted the award, describing it as a “blockbuster.” He praised the team at FCA that put a “culmination of Jeep and truck together” to make the awardwinning vehicle. Kia Telluride finished ahead of the Hyundai Palisade and the Lincoln Navigator for top utility honors. Michael Cole, president of Kia Motors, was at the podium to receive the NACTOY trophy. “Thank you to the NACTOY jurors,” he said. “This is a true accolade that anyone would be proud to receive. “It’s so special since it’s our first NACTOY award.” The KIA Stinger was nominated
in 2018 but did not win. Cole also gave thanks to the Kia team involved in the vehicle’s creation, which was made domestically. “It was designed, engineered, and assembled here in North America, the U.S.,” Cole said. “Since its launch a year ago, the Telluride’s demand has continued to outstrip supply,” he said. Cole added the award is also special since Kia had not previously been in the midsized SUV space, which represents 11 percent of the total U.S. market. It helps to change the image of the brand which has been known for smaller cars and sedans. Cole said. Winners of NACTOY are chosen by a panel of 50 respected jurors from print, online, radio and broadcast media across the United States and Canada – rather than by a single publication or media outlet. Jurors voted on the finalists based on segment leadership, innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar. NACTOY outgoing-president Lauren Fix; vice president Chris Paukert and secretary-treasurer Kirk Bell, unsealed the envelopes, revealing the three winners. Fix said even though many cities wanted to bring the NACTOY event to their locations, she said Detroit was natural to continue as host of the event. She said of the city, “this is our spiritual home.”
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