The North American Car of the Year finalists for 2016 are the Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Civic and Mazda Miata MX-5. Finalists for the 2016 North American Truck/Utility of the Year are the Honda Pilot, Nissan Titan XD and the Volvo XC 90. Last year’s NACTOY winners were the Volkswagen Golf and the Ford F-150.
The NACTOY awards are not given by a single publication, website, radio or television station. This year they are being decided by an independent jury of 53 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada.
The awards recognize the best new vehicles of the year. Jurors vote for vehicles that are thought to set benchmarks in their segments for innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value.
Denny Moyer, Partner Deloitte & Touche, turned over the envelopes with the names of the finalists – in alphabetical order – to NACTOY officials Joann Muller and Lindsay Brooke during a news conference at the Automotive Press Association in Detroit.
The jurors voted early in December, with ballots sent directly to Deloitte. Officials at Deloitte are the only ones who know the point totals. On January 11th Michelle Collins, a partner at Deloitte, will hand over two envelopes containing the names of the winners during a news conference at the 2016 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.
Since their inception 23 years ago NACTOY has been proud to announce the winners at NAIAS, but the show is not otherwise involved in the process. The NACTOY jury is administered by an organizing committee and is funded exclusively by dues paid by the jurors. There are no paid positions.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
