Three GM vehicles vying for 2014 North American Car and Truck of Year

(December 11, 2013) General Motors has three of the six finalists for 2014 North American Car and Truck of the Year honors. Winners will be announced Jan. 13 during a press conference at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Corvette Stingray were named finalists in the car category along with the Mazda3. The three finalists in the truck/SUV category are the Jeep Cherokee, Chevrolet Silverado and Acura MDX.

The six finalists were selected by an independent jury of 48 automotive journalists from 11 cars and 12 truck and utility vehicles. To be eligible, a vehicle must be redesigned or substantially changed and be introduced during 2013.

Six automakers had multiple nominees, led by General Motors with six: the Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, Impala and Silverado, GMC Sierra and Buick Encore. Hyundai-Kia and Toyota Motor Sales each had three: the Kia Cadenza and Sorento, and the Hyundai Santa Fe LWB, and the Toyota Corolla and Tundra and Lexus IS.

The others are the Nissan North America's Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50; BMW’s 4 Series and X5; Jaguar-Land Rover’s Jaguar F-Type and Land Rover Range Rover Sport, and the Mazda3 and 6.

The other contenders are American Honda’s Acura MDX, Mercedes-Benz CLA, Chrysler Group’s Jeep Cherokee and the Subaru Forester.

In 2013, the Cadillac ATS was the North American Car of the Year and the Ram 1500 was the North American Truck of the Year.

The vehicles are judged on multiple factors, including innovation, design, safety, handling, comfort, value and driver satisfaction.

The competition is a three-stage process, with each vote being tallied by accounting firm Deloitte and Touche.