2009 Car & Truck of the Year Named. A fresh idea and an old standard take top awards.
March 16, 2009 by cdow
Recently the winners of the 2009 North American Car and Truck of the Year were named. Each year a list of all the eligible vehicles, which means vehicles that are substantially new or have been modified to change their nature, is complied for a jury to place their votes on. This year’s winners are the Hyundai Genesis and the Ford F-150.
Hyun Soon Lee, vice chairman of Hyundai, beamed as he picked up the award for North American Car of the Year. The company’s Genesis luxury sedan successfully beat out the other finalists for the award this year.
“The car lives up to its name,” Mr. Lee said in front of a large crowd. “It really does mark a new beginning for our company.” The Genesis is Hyundai’s first luxury sedan, is its first rear-wheel-drive car and is powered by the Korean company’s first V-8 engine.
As Mr. Lee posed for photographs with the trophy, John F. Krafcik, president and chief executive of Hyundai Motor America, stood close by and spoke to a tight circle of reporters, emphasizing Mr. Lee’s background as an engineer.
“He’s the guy who single-handedly built Hyundai’s first engine,” Mr. Krafcik said, referring to the Alpha 4-cylinder that was built in 1991; prior to that, Hyundai licensed engines from Mitsubishi. “He’s had a hand in every engine that the company has built.”
Joining the newcomer was an old classic, the Ford F-150, 2009′s North American Truck of the Year.
It is an important win for Ford, beating out its rivals this year to gain top ranking for the award. The vehicle also won back in 2004. The improvements made on this year’s model brought it back to award-winning status.
The F-150 has been the nation’s best-selling vehicle for decades. “Our team spends a whole lot of time with customers to understand how they use their vehicles,” said Mark Fields, president of Ford, who claimed the award.
This year, more than 50 vehicles were eligible. A jury of 50 full-time auto journalists voted to put 14 cars and 11 trucks on the ballot before whittling those down to six finalists.
MotorWorld Hyundai
150 MotorWorld Drive, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18703
1.866.589.4071
Hall Hyundai Chesapeake
3416 Western Branch Blvd., Chesapeake, VA 23321
1.866.401.8262
Hall Hyundai Newport News
12872 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, VA 23608
1.866.640.1450
Hall Ford
12896 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, VA 23608
1.866.401.8264
Related posts:
Comments
Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!