VW Golf, Ford F-150 named North American Car and Truck of the Year - Detroit Free Press
The Volkswagen Golf is the North American Car of the Year, beating out the Ford Mustang and Hyundai Genesis. And the North American Truck of the Year is the Ford F-150 against finalists Lincoln MKC and Chevrolet Colorado. Ford was the only automaker with a chance to sweep the awards selected by an independent jury of 57 automotive journalists. Last year Ford was shut out of the awards and had no finalists. On the truck side, the nominees for the award set up a grudge match between the full-size F-150 pickup, which has the industry's first aluminum body, and the Chevrolet Colorado, a mid-size pickup that was just named Motor Trend Truck of the Year. "You know how important the F-150 is to our business," said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of The Americas, accounting for 20% of Ford's volume in the U. S. And analysts estimate it accounts for as much as 90% of profits. The Golf is also a value story, Horn said of the small car that starts at $17,995 and runs to $35,000 for the Golf R coming in a few weeks. Source: www.freep.com
