2012 North American Car and Truck of the Year Nominees Announced

Colum Wood
by Colum Wood

The annual North American Car and Truck of the Year awards has just released its short list for 2012, selecting 17 cars and seven trucks that will compete for the prestigious prize.

In the running for the 2012 North American Car of the Year are three from Hyundai (the Accent, Elantra and Veloster), two from Audi (A6 and A7), two from Volkswagen (Passat and Beetle) and two from Toyota ( Camry and Prius v). Others on the list include two GM models, the Buick Verano and Chevrolet Sonic, while two Chrysler group nominees include the Chrysler 300 and Fiat 500. Rounding out the list is the Ford Focus, Kia Rio, Scion iQ and Subaru Impreza. Notably absent from the list is the all-new Honda Civic.

The 2012 North American Truck of the Year short list includes just one vehicle from seven different automakers: the BMW X3, Honda CR-V, Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, Mercedes M-Class, MINI Countryman, Nissan Quest and Saab 9-4X.

The three finalists in each category will be announced later this year with the winners being announced at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Last year the Chevrolet Volt took home 2011 Car of the Year, with the Ford Explorer as 2011 Truck of the Year.

See the full list of nominees after the jump:

2012 North American Car of the Year:

  • Audi A6
  • Audi A7
  • Buick Verano
  • Chevrolet Sonic
  • Chrysler 300/SRT-8
  • Fiat 500
  • Ford Focus
  • Hyundai Accent
  • Hyundai Elantra
  • Hyundai Veloster
  • Kia Rio/Rio 5
  • Scion iQ
  • Subaru Impreza
  • Toyota Camry
  • Toyota Prius V
  • VW Beetle
  • VW Passat

2012 North American Truck of the Year:

  • BMW X3
  • Honda CR-V
  • Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
  • Mercedes-Benz M-Class
  • Mini Countryman
  • Nissan Quest
  • Saab 9-4X
Colum Wood
Colum Wood

With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.

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