| Story Filed:1/8/2006 10:40 AM |
| North American Car/Truck of the Year |
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In a single automaker sweep, the Honda Civic and Ridgeline pickup took both awards this morning in Detroit. The Japan-based automaker was the big winner at the first press conference on the floor of the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit as the Civic and Ridgeline were named car and truck award winners, respectively, for 2006.This is the first time in the 13-year history of the North American Car and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) awards that a single car brand won in both categories. Honda executives beamed over their twin wins, and they also seemed a bit shocked at the history-making occasion.“We certainly hoped for one [award]; we didn’t expect two,” said Jon Mendel, senior vice president of automotive operations at American Honda Motor Co. “I don’t know how you top this.”The awards come just a week after American Honda reported a 12th straight year of annual sales increases in the U.S. American Honda also sells vehicles under the Acura brand.The Civic, which for years has been America’s top-selling small car, was re-engineered and restyled for an eighth-generation in the 2006 model year. With a starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $14,360, the Civic won over Ford’s new Fusion sedan by just 40 points.Specifically, the tally from an international group of automotive journalists showed the Civic received 244 points, while the Fusion received 204 points and the Pontiac Solstice roadster garnered 134 points.In the truck category, Honda’s Ridgeline pickup had a commanding point total over the other finalists.With a starting MSRP of $27,700, the Ridgeline is Honda’s first pickup and received 296 points from the journalists.It was followed by the Nissan Xterra SUV with 120 points and the Ford Explorer with 119 points.The NACTOY awards are unique because they are not given by a single publication, radio or television station. Rather, they are given by 49 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada.Winning vehicles are selected based on such factors as innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar. To be eligible vehicles must be “all new” or “substantially changed” from the previous model. Dozens of 2006 vehicles were eligible, but NACTOY jurors whittled the field down to 14 cars and 14 trucks on which they voted. Each juror had 25 points to assign for the car category and another 25 points to assign for the truck category.Steve Laughman, a partner at Deloitte & Touche, was responsible for counting the ballots and was, until the winners were announced this morning, the only person who knew which vehicles won.Last year, the North American Car of the Year was the Chrysler 300/300C, while the North American Truck of the Year was the Ford Escape Hybrid.Since the awards began, domestic automakers had won the North American Car of the Year six times. Japanese automakers have won three times, and European automakers have won four times.On the truck side, domestic automakers have won North American Truck of the Year eight times. Japanese companies have won three times and European automakers have won twice.MSN Autos writers Dan Jedlicka and Ann Job, and Marc Lachapelle, editor of Sympatico / MSN Autos Canada, are members of the NACTOY jury. Other jurors represent such media outlets as the Toronto Star, Car and Driver magazine, AutoWeek, The Chicago Tribune, MotorWeek, USA Today, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, Road & Track magazine and the San Jose Mercury News. |
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Honda Civic
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Honda Ridgeline
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