EVENT REPORT NACTOY

Top vehicles recognized as M1 Concourse hosts the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards

FINALISTS: Cadillac Lyriq, Genesis GV60, Kia EV6

WINNER: Kia EV6

The awards, which have been taking place since 1994, honor excellence in innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, user experience, driver satisfaction and value. They were traditionally announced at the North American International Auto Show, which used to take place in Motor City every January, but several years ago the NACTOY organizers decided to keep with the early-year timings after the Detroit Auto Show was rescheduled for later on the calendar.

The next NACTOY awards event will be staged at M1 Concourse on Thursday January 4, 2024. Please see www.northamericancaroftheyear.org for additional details.

RENOWNED DRIVER LYN ST JAMES recently provided an illuminating talk detailing her pioneering career in motor sport, as part of M1 Concourse’s Off The Grid speaker series. One of only nine women to have ever qualified for the Indianapolis 500, Lyn went on to compete in America’s great race no fewer than seven times – becoming the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award along the way.

An early love of driving soon led her to the racetrack as a safe, legal place to indulge her passion for speed. After staying up all night to watch the Daytona 24 Hours in 1973, she found herself inexorably drawn to competition, and signed up for a new class in the SCCA called Showroom Stock.

“You go to a dealer, buy a car, put a roll bar, five-point seatbelt and fire extinguisher in it, and go racing,” Lyn recalled. “I bought a Ford Pinto – it was the cheapest eligible car at the time – and went to driver school.”

While her first race didn’t go well – her Pinto took an excursion to the bottom of Moroso’s swamp – Lyn dug deep and would eventually win the Florida Regional Championship with the Pinto. Pretty soon she was competing at