NEWS RELEASE

North American Car and Truck of the Year Winners Announced 

DETROIT, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of 49 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada has selected the 2004 Toyota Prius as the 2004 North American Car of the Year and the 2004 Ford F-150 as the North American Truck of the Year.
 

The awards honor vehicles that establish new benchmarks in areas including design, innovation, safety and handling.
 

Now in their tenth year, they are the only independent, international awards in North America.
 

Instead of coming from a single publication they are given by veteran automotive journalists representing newspapers, magazines, radio and television. Most of those journalists have been covering the auto industry for at least two decades.
 

The winners were announced January 4th at a news conference at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, although the auto show is not otherwise involved.
 

The jurors considered 17 cars and 13 trucks. The three car finalists were the Toyota Prius, Mazda RX-8 and Cadillac XLR. The three truck finalists were the Nissan Titan, the Ford F-150 and the Cadillac SRX.
 

The jurors voted early in December, sending their ballots to Richard Gabrys, the vice chairman of the accounting firm of Deloitte. Gabrys counted the ballots but kept the winners secret until the news conference, when the sealed envelopes containing the names of the winners were opened by Tony Swan, the executive editor of Car and Driver magazine and a juror.
 

The Prius received 298 points, compared to 167 for the RX-8 and 113 for the XLR.
 

The Ford F-150 received 317 points, compared to 249 for the Titan and 198 for the SRX.
 

A fact sheet follows, along with this year's eligible vehicles and a list of previous winners.
 

FACT SHEET
 

NAME - The awards are the "North American Car of the Year" and "North American Truck of the Year," not "Car of the Year."
 

WHO GIVES THE AWARDS? - This year the awards were given by a group of 49 full-time automotive journalists from Canada and the United States. While the awards are announced at the North American International Auto Show, the show does not give the awards.
 

HOW ARE THE AWARDS CHOSEN? - The awards are designed to recognize the most outstanding vehicles of the year based on factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar.
 

ELIGIBILITY - Vehicles must be new or "substantially changed" from the previous model.
 

HOW DO THE JURORS VOTE? - Jurors are given 25 points to divide among cars and trucks. However, no more than 10 points may be given to a single vehicle. The ballots are counted by Deloitte. The three finalists in each category are released in mid-December but until the news conference in January only Richard Gabrys, the vice chairman of Deloitte, knows the winners.
 

HISTORY - The awards were started in 1993, were first given in January 1994, and were modeled after the Car of the Year in Europe. They are administered by a seven-person organizing committee and funded by dues paid by the jurors.
 

  2004 ELIGIBLE VEHICLES

  2004 NORTH AMERICAN CAR OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

  Acura TSX
  Acura TL
  Audi A8 L
  BMW 5-Series
  Cadillac XLR
  Chevrolet Malibu
  Chrysler Crossfire
  Chrysler Pacifica
  Jaguar XJ8/XJR
  Mazda RX-8
  Nissan Maxima
  Nissan Quest
  Pontiac GTO
  Toyota Prius
  Toyota Scion xB
  Toyota Sienna
  Volkswagen Phaeton
 

  2004 NORTH AMERICAN TRUCK OF THE YEAR NOMINEES

  BMW X3
  Cadillac SRX
  Chevrolet Colorado
  Chevrolet SSR
  Dodge Durango
  Ford F-150
  GMC Canyon
  Infiniti FX35/45
  Lexus RX 330
  Nissan Pathfinder Armada
  Nissan Titan
  Porsche Cayenne S/Cayenne Turbo
  Volkswagen Touareg
 

  PAST WINNERS

  1994 North American Car of the Year - Mercedes-Benz C-Class
  1994 North American Truck of the Year - Dodge Ram

  1995 North American Car of the Year - Chrysler Cirrus
  1995 North American Truck of the Year - Chevrolet Blazer

  1996 North American Car of the Year - Chrysler minivans
  1996 North American Truck of the Year - Ford F-150

  1997 North American Car of the Year - Mercedes-Benz SLK
  1997 North American Truck of the Year - Ford Expedition

  1998 North American Car of the Year - Chevrolet Corvette
  1998 North American Truck of the Year - Mercedes-Benz ML320

  1999 North American Car of the Year - Volkswagen New Beetle
  1999 North American Truck of the Year - Jeep Grand Cherokee

  2000 North American Car of the Year - Ford Focus
  2000 North American Truck of the Year - Nissan Xterra

  2001 North American Car of the Year - Chrysler PT Cruiser
  2001 North American Truck of the Year - Acura MDX

  2002 North American Car of the Year - Nissan Altima
  2002 North American Truck of the Year - Chevrolet TrailBlazer

  2003 North American Car of the Year - Mini Cooper/Cooper S
  2003 North American Truck of the Year - Volvo XC90

Source: North American Car and Truck of the Year

CONTACT: Christopher Jensen of The Plain Dealer, +1-216-870-0218, or
+1-216-999-4830, e-mail: cjensen@plaind.com
 
 

Source: PRNewswire -- Jan. 4