The winners of the 2022 Cars and Trucks of the Year award and the North American Utility Vehicle Award were announced today, and NACTOY announced during a joint press conference at Huntington Place in Detroit the results of the vehicle of the year award winners. After three rounds of independently verified voting after hundreds of hours of driving test, research and evaluation, the winners are:
North American Car of the Year: Honda Civic North
American Truck of the Year: Ford Maverick
North American Utility Car of the Year: Ford Bronco
Founded in 1994 in North America, the North American Car of the Year is a non-profit organization. The awards have the longest history in the New Car Awards world. Nactui is not affiliated with any publication. The cars are judged by 50 automotive journalists from a variety of print, electronic, radio and television media in the United States and Canada.
This organization is known by the acronym NACTOY, which stands for the North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year Award. About the 2022 award, NACTOY President Gary Witzenburg said: “The year 2021 was a very important year in automotive history.” “We have seen attractive new, ground-breaking electric vehicles from nearly every brand along with the emergence of new vehicle segments and impressive redesigns of familiar models.”
“Meanwhile, a number of completely new manufacturers are proving that they can compete with well-known automakers even with their first product offerings. Today’s winners represent our collective opinion of what is best for customers today, and we sincerely congratulate the automotive industry on this very impressive year.”
According to Naktoi, this year, 36 vehicles were submitted to the preliminary list of eligible cars. The first round of voting reduced the number to 23 semi-finalists, and the second vote was given to nine finalists who deserve high prizes, with three cars in each category.
Judges voted these three vehicles as category winners based on sector leadership, innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for money. The votes were secretly counted by Deloitte LLP and kept secret until envelopes were opened during today’s event. Here is a closer look at each winning category:
North American Car of the Year – Honda Civic
This year, the jury had to choose between three very different cars. The all-new 2022 Honda Civic introduced new improvements to the popular compact car, while Volkswagen emphasized enjoyable driving performance with the Mk VIII Golf GTI and Golf R. The third car competing in this race was the Lucid Air – a car that many jurors said A luxury electric car that will truly change the rules of the game. But for 2022, the jury gave the Honda Civic the most votes.
“If automakers are limited to building one car model, then it should be Honda Civic,” said the head of the organization. It combines all the positive attributes you can think of – low cost, high fuel efficiency, amenities, comfort, reliability and driving pleasure in between. . And you can find out everything about Honda Civic through the comprehensive evaluation of the Civic on our website .
“The new Civic shows Honda at its best,” said Lawrence Ulrich. Bulletproof, brilliantly designed, the Civic is fun to drive and is the kind of affordable car that every automaker should aspire to.” The Car of the Year award is expected to propel the compact compact car into the highest-earning car in NACTOY history.
“The Honda Civic has always set the standards by which other compact cars are measured, and this all-new vehicle has raised that benchmark in every conceivable way,” said Michael Kestmaker, Associate Vice President of Honda National Sales for Honda Motor Company of America.
As the North American Car of the Year award, the all-new Civic became the fourth Honda in six years to win the NACTOY award. The most recent was the Honda Accord, which won the 2018 North American Car of the Year award. Another honoree in this stretch is the Honda Ridgeline in 2017.
It is noteworthy that the Honda Civic has won the NACTOY award three times, the first in 2008, and the Civic won the same award in 2016. This year’s award, the compact sedan has won the NACTOY three times. More than any other car at the North American Car of the Year Awards, including big cars like the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Corvette.
Indeed, Honda has redesigned the iconic Civic from the inside out, offering a smooth-looking car with character that contrasts with its sweet little price tag. It also makes for a great driving experience thanks to the optional 1.5-liter turbocharged engine, which delivers 180 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. And when that’s combined with the fact that the turbo is also back for 42 mpg highway, it wasn’t a huge surprise that the Civic climbed again.
North American Pickup Truck of the Year – Ford Maverick
In most years, the truck segment had the fewest competitors, and there was a clear favorite in the vote. But this year was different. For the 2022 awards, jurors faced a choice between the Rivian R1T, a new electric vehicle in the form of a full-capable pickup from an entirely new automaker, that competed alongside Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz, two crossovers. Completely different and surprisingly capable, it was based on redefining and revitalizing the smaller pickup truck segment. And after the votes were counted, the Ford Maverick was the winner.
“ Ford is revitalizing the pickup truck segment with one of the most demanding packages you can buy in 2022 ,” said arbitrator Karl Brauer. “ Ford Maverick’s efficient packaging provides a very practical and city-friendly truck with an impressive list of standard equipment , even in basic equipment. But the Maverick’s most impressive standard feature is value – an increasingly rare feature in modern cars.”
While judge Dan Carney said, “The Ford Maverick Hybrid establishes the first new car segment since the Chrysler minivan in the eighties. Potential contenders in this segment were too expensive, too thirsty, or too precious. The Maverick is the first entry-level, efficient, affordable vehicle that delivers a utility pickup truck.”
“The Ford Maverick Hybrid establishes the first new class of car since the Chrysler minivan in the 1980s,” added juror Dan Carney. “Potential contenders in this segment were too expensive, too thirsty, or too expensive. But the Maverick is the first entry-level, efficient and affordable vehicle to offer a utility pickup truck.”
The award is the latest in a number of awards that the 2022 Ford Maverick has received in recent months, winning an awards list that includes this year’s Green Truck Award, two 2022 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy awards, Best New Model and Best New Compact Truck. Topped KBB’s Most Considered Electric Vehicles list.
North American Utility Vehicle of the Year – Ford Bronco
For the second year in a row, Ford has won two awards at the North American Auto, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards. This class covered all bases. The two finalists competed against the powerful Ford Bronco, and the list included a refined Genesis GV70 and the old-fashioned Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric car. And this year, the Ford Bronco’s powerhouse, which is back with a fresh new look, was entrusted to the jury.
“The Ford Bronco is a reliable competitor to the Jeep Wrangler that also brings the looks and electronic prowess to take over the more expensive Land Rover Defender,” said judge Henry Payne. And if the bad guys in the James Bond movie had a Sasquatch package in a Ford Bronco, James Bond could have gotten into trouble.”
On the Ford Bronco’s victory, judge Jack R said: “The Ford Bronco has fulfilled the promise of its legendary name. Rather than giving the public a tepid placeholder with a nostalgic tagline, Ford pulled all the ideas for its development in order to create a highly reliable competitor to that other off-road brand .”
About the North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle Corporation
The awards aim to honor the year’s most outstanding new cars. These vehicles are benchmarks in their segments based on factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar. The organization awards three prizes. They are: “North American Car of the Year™”, “North American Truck of the Year™”, and “North American Utility Vehicle of the Year”. The awards are unique in that they are awarded by an independent jury of motoring journalists from the United States and are completely independent from any other media or entities.
Will Honda Submit Its HR-V 2023 for the Nactui Award?
There is no doubt that Honda has its sights set on another award for Best North American Car or Truck next year. Its lead candidate could be the all-new HR-V, which Honda expects to launch sometime this year. Honda says 2022 is the “year of the crossover,” which suggests there may be more contenders for the NACTOY award on the horizon.
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