(January 9, 2012) DETROIT — The Hyundai Elantra and Land Rover Range Rover Evoque were named 2012 North American Car and Truck of the Year today by a panel of 50 automotive journalists.

The Ford Focus and Volkswagen Passat were the other finalists for car of the year, while the BMW X3 and Honda CR-V were the other truck of the year finalists. This is the second time that Hyundai has won the award, previously winning for the Genesis in 2009. This is the first time that Range Rover has won.

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The awards are judged by automotive journalists from the United States and Canada representing magazines, newspapers, Web sites, TV and radio.

The criteria used to judge the winners include innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar.

The 2012 car semifinalists were the Audi A6, Audi A7, Buick Verano, Chevrolet Sonic, Chrysler 300/SRT8, Fiat 500, Ford Focus, Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Veloster, Kia Rio/Rio 5, Scion iQ, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Camry, Toyota Prius V, VW Beetle and VW Passat.

The truck semifinalists for 2012 were the BMW X3, Honda CR-V, Mercedes-Benz M class, Mini Countryman, Nissan Quest and Saab 9-4X.

Last year, General Motors won North American Car of the Year with the Chevrolet Volt sedan. American automakers have won the car honor 10 times. European automakers have been selected four times and Japanese automakers have won three times. A Korean car has won twice.

Source: Automotive News