2011 Sonata, Volt and Leaf are North American Car of the Year Finalists

The all-new Sonata, Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf are the 2011 North American Car of the Year finalists!

From a lineup that also included the Audi A8, the Buick Regal, and the Jaguar XJ, today the North American Car Awards announced its three finalists for Car of The Year 2011:  the Hyundai Sonata 2011 Model Year, the Chevrolet Volt, and the Nissan Leaf.

The prestigious Car of the Year award is given to cars that either set new standards or become benchmarks in their class. To be eligible for the award, the vehicles must either be all-new or substantially changed from previous models. They must also have a foreseeable annual sale of at least 5.000 vehicles in the North American market.

The cars are judged on a variety of considerations, the most important of which are affordability and value. Other factors include general design, safety, fuel economy, handling, road worthiness, performance, comfort, assembly quality, functionality, technical innovation, and driver satisfaction.
This year, all of the finalists have some flavor of electric to them. The all-new Hyundai Sonata has a hybrid version, the Volt is an electrically driven car that has a gas engine to extend its range, and the Leaf is a completely electric car.

The cars are chosen by a jury comprised of 49 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada. These journalists represent magazines, television and radio stations, newspapers, and websites.


The jurors are given 25 points with which to vote on the cars. The maximum amount of points the jurors can award to any one car is 10 points, though they are not allowed to give more than 9 points to another car if they award the maximum. The jurors must award all of their points and send their ballots directly to the Detroit office of Deloitte & Touche.

Deloitte & Touche are the only ones to know the identity of the Car of the Year until the announcement at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 10th, 2011.

Read More: http://www.hyundai-blog.com/index.php/2010/12/20/2011-sonata-volt-and-leaf-are-north-american-car-of-the-year-finalists/

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