WDET News
- North American Car and Truck Of The Year Finalists Announced
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Dec 18, 2008Automotive & Business
2009 Ford FlexThe finalists for 2009 North American Car and Truck of the Year were unveiled at Cobo Center today (Thurs.). A group of 50 automotive journalists picked the Ford Flex…Hyundai Genesis…and Volkswagen Jetta T-D-I as top cars of the year. In the truck category…the Dodge Ram…Ford F-150…and Mercedes-Benz ML-320 BlueTEC are the finalists. The winners will be announced at the Detroit International Auto Show in January. Paul Eisenstein is with the Detroit Bureau…an independent automotive news service. Eisenstein says it’s notable that two of the finalists…the Volkswagon T-D-I compact and the Mercedes BlueTEC luxury S-U-V…are diesel-powered:
“In Europe diesels account for nearly half the market. Hybrids don’t click. People don’t really get into them. Yet in the United States…diesel is an afterthought and most people don’t even know why they would want to buy a diesel. So this is I think the collective body of jurists saying you better take diesels very seriously.”
Eisenstein says the inclusion of the Hyundai Genesis…shows the Korean automaker is now competing seriously with Japanese and German companies in the luxury car market. No Japanese brands were selected as finalists.