Chevrolet Volt, Ford Explorer named Detroit Free Press Car and Truck of the Year

As more and more Car and Truck of the Year awards pour in from a variety of major publications, it's no shock that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt continues to take home top honors as the best car of 2011. Both Motor Trend and Automobile have deemed the Volt their Car of the Year, and General Motors' high-profile EV is even a finalist for the prestigious North American Car of the Year award. (Our readers, however, would apparently rather see that honor go to the 2011 Hyundai Sonata). Thus, it's no surprise that the Volt was just named Car of the Year by The Detroit Free Press.

Similarly, the 2011 Ford Explorer is in the running for North American Truck of the Year, and the Detroit Free Press is honoring it as the best 'truck' of 2011. Freep auto critic Mark Phelan states that in the road ahead, automakers must choose the "right shade of green" for each type of vehicle. Phelan explains:

"The Volt allows most owners to go weeks or months without stopping at a gas pump. The Explorer recasts America's best-selling SUV in a fuel-efficient new form based on the same chassis as the Ford Taurus large sedan."

Interestingly, The Detroit Free Press details its second and third place choices for Car of the Year, with the Hyundai Sonata and Nissan Leaf taking those spots, respectively. These two vehicles are finalists for the North American Car of the Year award, and we're wondering if the Free Press' predictions foreshadow the decisions that the NACTOY judges will make (Note: Phelan is a member of the jury). We'll have the answer to that in just a few weeks, but for now, we tip our hats to the Volt and Explorer on taking home the Detroit Free Press awards.

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Silverado HD Named 2011 Motor Trend Truck of the Year

The Chevrolet Silverado HD is the 2011 Motor Trend Truck of the Year, completing a rare same-year sweep of the prestigious car and truck awards. Chevrolet also earned the 2011 Motor Trend Car of the Year award.

The truck award was presented to GM CEO Dan Akerson before the 111^th Army-Navy Game at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. Chevrolet is the Official Vehicle of the Army-Navy Game.

“On the outside the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD appears to have been given a subtle makeover, but it’s what’s under the skin that makes this truck a winner,” said Motor Trend Editor-in-Chief Angus MacKenzie. “Chevy engineers focused on three key areas – powertrain, frame, and suspension – to deliver a truck with significantly improved capability and more refinement.”

The new 2011 Silverado HD built in Flint, Mich., and Fort Wayne, Ind., was introduced this summer, featuring new frame and suspension designs, and a more powerful Duramax diesel engine with 397 horsepower, 765 lb.-ft. of torque, and 11 percent better fuel-economy.  As a result, the 2011 Silverado HD is capable of towing up to 21,700 pounds, or carrying 6,635 pounds of payload. The new Silverado HD also offers available confidence- and control-related features specifically for towing including electronic trailer sway control, hill start assist and smart exhaust brake system.

“With more capability and technology than ever before, we believe the Chevrolet Silverado HD sets the bar for heavy-duty trucks,” said Akerson. “It’s a great honor to have such a respected authority as Motor Trend agree.”

The full report from Motor Trend appears in the February issue of the magazine (on newsstands in early January) and online at www.motortrend.com. Chevrolet also earned the 2011 Motor Trend Car of the Year award for the Volt, the industry’s first electric car with extended-range capability.

It is the first time since 2006 that one brand has won both Motor Trend Car and Truck of the Year awards in the same year. Chevrolet and Buick won both awards in 1979.

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2011 Chevrolet Cruze Named ‘Urban Car of the Year’

The all-new Chevrolet Cruze is the Urban Car of the Year as voted by judges at Decisive Media and an independent panel of 15 automotive journalists.

Cruze features the spaciousness and amenities of a midsize car with the fuel economy of a compact. The Cruze Eco model features a new Ecotec 1.4L turbo engine that delivers an Environmental Protection Agency-estimated 42 miles per gallon on the highway, leads the segment in fuel economy. It also is a segment leader in safety features, including 10 standard air bags.

 “If you really want to see evidence of a turnaround at GM, look no farther than Cruze,” said Lyndon Conrad Bell, editor in chief of Decisive Auto. “Handsome styling, an attractive interior, competent powertrains, an enjoyable driving experience, exceptional practicality, and ready affordability all come together to make the Chevrolet Cruze Decisive Auto’s 2011 Urban Car of The Year.”

 “I was very impressed after driving the new Chevrolet Cruze for the first time,” said Randi Payton, publisher of Decisive Media. “I immediately saw it as a contender for Urban Car of the Year and there was no doubt in my mind that our 15 judges would think so too. When the votes were tallied, my predictions rang true.”

“We set out to redefine the compact segment with Cruze by offering customers more of the features they want for less money than comparably equipped competitive models,” said Margaret Brooks, Chevrolet Small Car marketing director. “The Cruze offers significantly more value than the competition – with more standard equipment, segment leading safety features, segment leading fuel economy and a fun-to-drive ride characteristic.”

Cruze pricing ranges from $16,995 to $22,695.

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Chevrolet Volt named AUTOMOBILE Magazine 2011 Automobile of the Year

The Chevrolet Volt is the AUTOMOBILE Magazine 2011 Automobile of the Year. The award will be presented to Joel Ewanick, GM U.S. Marketing Vice President, on Wednesday at the Los Angeles International Auto Show.

In naming the Volt their Automobile of the Year, AUTOMOBILE Magazineeditors wrote:

“This is the most sophisticated, most important vehicle on the road today. It won’t just change what we drive, but also how we drive. Owners will plug in at night, heat or cool their cabin before they leave the garage, and adopt new driving styles to maximize their electric range. Then, when the battery is depleted, they’ll mindlessly motor on; free of the limitations that accompanies pure electric vehicles.”

As the world’s first mass-produced electric vehicle with extended range, the Volt has a total driving range of about 350 miles. For the first 25 to 50 miles, the Volt drives gas- and tailpipe-emissions-free using electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery. When the Volt’s battery runs low, a gasoline-powered engine/generator seamlessly operates to extend the driving range more than 300 miles on a full tank.

“We are very grateful for this prestigious recognition from AUTOMOBILE Magazine,” said Ewanick, who drove a Volt 2,394 miles from Detroit to Los Angeles for the show. “Automobile of the Year is a testament to the pioneering technology of the Volt, as well as the talent, intelligence and hard work of everyone at GM who made it a reality.”

The Volt was first shown as a concept in January, 2007 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. In June of that year, GM’s Board of Directors approved the start of product development for the Volt and the Voltec electric propulsion system.

In September, 2008, the production version of the Volt debuted during GM’s Centennial celebration. This month, retail production of the Chevrolet begins at Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, with the first retail customer deliveries in December.

The full report from AUTOMOBILE Magazine appears in the January issue of the magazine (on newsstands in early-December) and online at www.automobilemagazine.com.

Chevrolet last received the AUTOMOBILE Magazine Automobile of the Year in 2001 for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

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Chevrolet Volt Named 2011 Green Car of the Year

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt electric car with extended-range capability today was named Green Car Journal’s Green Car of the Year®. The Volt is the first electric vehicle to win the award.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com.  “The electric vehicles that were test marketed in the 1990s tantalized us, but were without a solid business case.  What a difference a decade makes.” 

The Volt runs purely on electricity for 25 to 50 miles on a single charge before a 1.4-liter gasoline engine/generator seamlessly engages to create electricity to drive the wheels for an additional 300 miles on a full tank of gas. The Volt’s extended-range capability addresses the range anxiety concerns associated with battery-only electric vehicles.

"The Green Car of the Year® award validates the Chevrolet team's promise to deliver a practical electric vehicle," said Joel Ewanick, General Motors vice president, U.S. Marketing, who drove a Volt 2,394 miles from Detroit to the Los Angeles International Auto Show, where he accepted the award Thursday. "The Volt's a transformational technology that will lead our industry into a new age of vehicle electrification."

Other finalists for Green Car honors were: the Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, and Nissan LEAF. The Green Car of the Year® jury was comprised of six environmental and automotive experts along with Green Car Journal editors.

The Chevrolet Tahoe 2-Mode Hybrid is a previous winner of the Green Car award.

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Chevy Volt named Motor Trend Car of the Year

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle has been named Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine, for General Motors’ second title in four years.

The Volt beat out contenders that include the Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Sonata, Lincoln MKZ hybrid, BMW 5 Series, Jaguar XJ, Infiniti M and Audi A8.

One of the Detroit 3 won the award every year from 1986 to 2002, until the Infiniti G35 broke that trend in 2003. Since then, domestic and foreign automakers’ models have split the award evenly, with the 2010 Ford Fusion midsized sedan winning last year.

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Chevy Cruze finalist for World Car of the Year,
Camaro finalist for World Car Design of the Year

According to TheAutoChannel.com, the World Car Awards announced that Chevrolet Cruze is a finalist for the prestigious World Car of the Year Award, and the Chevrolet Camaro is a finalist for the World Car Design of the Year Award. The winners will be announced at the New york International Auto Show on Thursday, April 1.

The Cruze is one of the 10 finalists for the World Car of the Year Award, as selected by a jury of 59 international automotive journalists, based on their experience with each candidate as part of their professional work. The jury members constitute a balance of representation from Asia, Europe, North American, South America, as well as other parts of the world.

The jurors' next step is to re-evaluate the "top ten" cars, in preparation for a final round of voting in February. They will specifically rate each vehicle in terms of overall merit, value, safety, environmental responsibility, emotional appeal, and significance.

"Being a finalist for the World Car of the Year confirms the momentum behind Cruze," says Jim Campbell, Chevrolet General Manager. "More than 125,000 customers in Asia and Europe have already chosen the all-new Cruze. That strong acceptance on the world stage makes us confident that Cruze will be successful here in the U.S. as well when it goes on sale in the third quarter of this year."

Cruze has already earned the top rating of five stars from the European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP). According to EuroNCAP, Cruze is the first passenger car to receive maximum scores in both the frontal offset collision test and side impact crash test since EuroNCAP began providing crash test ratings in 1997. Cruze also received best-in-class, five-star crash safety ratings in the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) testing in Australia, and the Chinese New Car Assessment Program (C-NCAP) testing in China.

The is one of four finalists for the World Car Design of the Year, as selected by a jury of five design experts from around the world. The 59 World Car Awards jurors will now vote on the expert's design recommendations.

"It's rather humbling to be nominated for the best new design in the world," says Tom Peters, executive director, GM performance cars and full-size trucks. "The nomination is a tribute to the passion of many individuals who worked so hard to make the dream of the new Camaro come to life."

According to Yahoo!, Camaro was the most-searched vehicle in 2009. Camaro has also received the Popular Mechanics Automotive Excellence Award, and was named an All-Star by Automobile Magazine. Since its introduction in 2009, Camaro has outsold Mustang for seven straight months.