There was a time when TTAC had excellent access to press cars; back when we were flying under the radar. And then I mentioned the striking similarity between the Subaru B9 Tribeca’s front end and a vagina. But even when I had a first-class seat on the four-wheeled gravy train, my local supplier had trouble feeding my Jones this time of year. The seasonal drought came courtesy of the North American Car and Truck of the Year Award (NACOTY). The peer-selected jurors– many of whom never met a junket they didn’t not disclose– get first crack at week-long stints in, well, everything. This despite the fact that winning the award is no guarantee of sales success– and can someone please explain how the Chevy Malibu won the ’08 gong when it’s a mild reskin of the NACOTY award-winning Saturn Aura? In short, I’m not a big fan. While we gear-up for TTAC’s Ten Worst awards, it’s still interesting to see what all these middle-aged (plus) white men think constitutes automotive excellence. Shortlist, cars: Audi A4, BMW 1 Series, Cadillac CTS-V, Dodge Challenger, Ford Flex, Honda Fit, Hyundai Genesis, Jaguar XF, Lincoln MKS, Mazda 6, Nissan GT-R, Pontiac G8, Toyota Venza, Volkswagen Jetta TDI. Shortlist trucks: BMW X6, Chevrolet Traverse, Dodge Ram, Ford F-150, Honda Pilot, Infiniti FX35/50, Kia Borrego, Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTec, Nissan Murano, Saturn 2-Mode Hybrid, Subaru Forester, Volkswagen Tiguan.
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North American Car of the Year:
BMW 120i M Sport (3 puertas)
http://www.bmw.com.mx/com/en/
North American Truck of the Year:
Chevrolet Tornado
http://www.opel.es/content_data/LAAM/MX/es/GMMGM/showroom/chevrolet/modelos/tornado/diseno.html
Mexico is in North America.
Car: Genesis-finally something new
Truck: Infiniti FX
One only needs to look at the list of past winners to know that this award is just part of the silly season.
http://www.northamericancaroftheyear.org/nactoy-past.html
I spotted two X6’s yesterday in LA. It looks like a moon buggy. Kinda cool, but definitely dorky.
Car: Pontiac G8
Truck: Ford F150
They picked a PT Crudder for an award? Gaah, whatever they say doesn’t matter.
It’s like the Euro awards that always pick a cheap-as-chips econobox as the “best car” of the year, and that includes consideration of high end stuff. No it’s not the best car, it’s just the best car you can afford to buy new and run economically on a low income salary. But that isn’t their mandate, strangely. Who knows what kind of payola is being thrown around and what kind of numbnut newspaper “auto journalists” are allowed to vote.
I applaud TTAC for being refreshing, irreverent, and having the editorial freedom to “tell it like it is.” However, some of your reviewers are a little over-the-top, and some of their prose speaks more to an apparent desire to show their readers what clever writers they are, rather than to focus on the product they’re reviewing. Case in point, these “pearls” from the recent Caddy STS review: “The STS’s new grill evokes images of a polyester-clad used car salesman’s teeth-laden, insincere smile,” and “STS’ conservative contours are a lukewarm bottle of piss.” Puh-leeze! I’m all for originality, but let’s exercise a little more discretion and judiciousness in what is, should be, and purports to be, a CAR REVIEW. There’s so much that’s good about what TTAC is, that it shouldn’t be cheapened or sullied by excessive flights of fancy or puerile prose. That said, keep up the good work – your site is indeed the best on the net!
I am hoping that the car is either the CTS-V, the Genesis or the G8 GT.
Truck…F-150 has no chance…Ram has a very good chance.
The Flex is a station wagon built on a car platform and the only award it should win is the “Most Redundant Vehicle Award”.
The Challenger only has it’s body going for it…not worthy of NACOTY at all.
The Lincoln Taurus does nothing that sets it apart from the competition, is slow, and FWD. Too mamn negatives to win NACOTY.
The Traverse is already out…in three other forms (Buick, GMC, Saturn)…just that fact alone should disqualify it from the NATOTY.
The rest…I don’t know.
I am not really digging the categories. The same thing bothers me about MotorTrend’s COTY and TOTY awards, cars are easily definable, but under what definition of a truck are we operating? MotorTrend somehow managed to shoehorn a minivan into the truck category, along with a bunch of soft roaders. This selection at least found a way to skip over the minivan…
However, what makes the Flex a car, but the Forester or the Traverse a truck? How do you compare an F-150, a Ram, and a Murano objectively when they are intended for wildly different purposes? I could see body on frame or utility minded unibody RWD style SUVs lumped in with trucks, so the Borrego would fit, but ‘tall-wagon’ CUVs are so different in capabilities and dynamics from trucks and true SUVs that it’s like throwing ATVs into the car category (they both have four wheels and sit relatively low to the ground after all).
For a true truck the F-150 should win simply because it is the best true truck in the category, i.e. it is the best workhorse, with the most capability and the highest ratings of any of the vehicles listed when it comes to things trucks should do, such as tow, haul, go over and through things in 4wd, etc. However, the X6 would (and should) shame it driven on a track. Softroaders either need a new category, or need to go in with the cars.
eyeonthetarget: Automotive reviews have a long history of over-the-top prose. These days everybody seems to want to sound like Dan Neil. Truth be told, some of TTAC’s writers try too hard to be colorful. While it can generally be an advantage writing for a blog, because you don’t have to worry about corporate censors, there’s also the danger of going too far.
When do colorful metaphors work? For one thing, when they don’t sound forced — they convey in vivid terms an important quality about the car rather than distracting from the review with “look how clever I am” side trips. A sense of humor also helps if it doesn’t lapse into mean-spirited snarkiness. Dan’s critiques are so effective partly because he doesn’t come across as arrogant and heartless.
All writers need to find their “voice,” and before they do their prose can read like the literary equivalent of early adolescence. I personally don’t mind reading their experiments here at TTAC if the writers don’t mind a bit of constructive feedback on both content and style.
Agreed, Dr Lemming. Jeremy Clarkson does a good job not going overboard, because he always chooses a single metaphor for the entire car, and then subsequently explains why said metaphor is appropriate. Giles Smith does some funny stuff, too. They’re both on timesonline.co.uk. Still, Jeremy’s reviews sometimes have nothing to do with the car and he only writes them once a week, while TTAC is alot more focused and entertaining.
Dr. Lemming: Couldn’t have said it better myself. Interested in writing car reviews? :)
romanjetfighter :
The statement “Jeremy Clarkson does a good job not going overboard” is in itself one of the most ‘overboard’ things I’ve read in a while.
“Motor Trend somehow managed to shoehorn a minivan into the truck category…”
In 1996 MT gave the Dodge Caravan it’s COTY award, so at least back then it viewed minivans as cars instead of the EPA’s outdated classification of truck.
Car: Hyundai Genesis
Truck: Dodge Ram
It’s a close run between the Hyundai Genesis and the Honda Fit. The Genesis is new and I’ve yet to actually physically see and play with it but it looks oh so promising. On the other hand the 1g Fit was the best small car sold in the US and the new one is even better.
My truck vote goes for the X6 (pictued)
There is no other vehicle on the list that so appropriately answers the call of the working world when a heavy-duty hauling and towing machine is needed. Like the tough-as-nails Dodge Power Wagons of the 40’s and 50’s, the classic 1972 Chevrolet Cheyenne and the Ford Super Duty of the 1990’s the BMX X6 carries the utilitarian torch into the future. It is the X6’s amazing durability and generous cargo proportions complimented by its un-matched four-wheel-drive system and off-road prowess that ensure its title as 2008 Truck of the Year. All hail.