North American Car And Truck Of The Year (Contenders)

Of the cars being considered for the North American 2011 "Car of the Year" and "Truck of the Year" awards, General Motors and Nissan are both dominating in the car department with the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, respectively. For those unfamiliar with these cars, I have written articles on both - see The Chevy Volt and The Nissan Leaf. In the truck department, it's Dodge with their Durango, Ford with their Explorer and the Jeep Grand Cherokee

First of all, how are these awards decided? The judges are automotive journalists from the United States and Canada who represent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and web sites. To qualify for an award, the vehicle must be all new or substantially changed. Twenty-seven new cars were eligible for the award, and I've posted the list below for the car and truck finalists.

North American Car of the Year Finalists:
Audi A8 Buick Regal Chevrolet Cruze Chevrolet Volt Ford Fiesta Hyundai Sonata/2.0T/Hybrid Infiniti M37/56	Jaguar XJ Kia Optima Mazda Mazda2 Nissan Juke Nissan Leaf Volkswagen Jetta Volvo S60

North American Truck of the Year Finalists:
Dodge Durango Ford Edge Ford Explorer Honda Odyssey Hyundai Tucson Infiniti QX56 Jeep Grand Cherokee	Kia Sorento Kia Sportage Lincoln MKX Mercedes-Benz R-Class Porsche Cayenne Toyota Sienna Volkswagen Touareg