Volt is North American Car of Year

January 11, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Photo by: Jeff Chiu

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo

Felix Kramer, founder of CalCars, poses for a photograph next to his new Chevy Volt electric car in Redwood City, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010. In December, dozens of car buyers exhibited strange behaviors: They accepted the keys in front of a crowd of people, many snapping photos and taking video of the moment they picked up their new electric cars, marking the first sales of mass-produced battery-powered cars in the U.S.

Detroit Free Press

DETROIT

The Chevrolet Volt has won yet another major award: The North American Car of the Year.

The Volt beat out two other finalists, the Hyundai Sonata and the battery-powered Nissan Leaf.

The North American Truck of the Year is the Ford Explorer, which beat out the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Dodge Durango. It was Ford’s third-consecutive year to win Truck of the Year.

The announcement was made at the 2011 North American International Auto Show, where General Motors first showed the Volt as a concept car four years ago.

Tom Stephens, General Motors’ vice chairman of product development, declared that the automaker, which received assistance from the U.S. government as it went through bankruptcy restructuring in 2009, is able to produce the best cars with innovative technology.

“When we announced this car several years ago at this show, there was a lot of skepticism among all the press,” Stephens said. “And to be here today ... and have the honor of being named North American Car of the Year, I think, says it all.”

Bob Boniface, a native of Poland, was lead designer for the Volt.

After nearly four years of anticipation, many car critics are saying the Volt’s performance is impressive. With a starting price of about $41,000 before a $7,500 federal tax credit, the Volt travels between 25 and 50 miles on an electric charge before a gasoline-powered generator switches on to produce more electricity. Since its introduction in December, Chevrolet has sold 326 Volts.

The extended-range plug-in car also has been named Motor Trend Car of the Year, Automobile Magazine’s Car of the Year and the Free Press Car of the Year.

The North American Car and Truck of the Year awards are prestigious because they are given by a jury of 49 veteran automotive journalists from Canada and the United States. To be eligible, vehicles must be “all-new” or “substantially changed” from the previous model.

“This kind of reception really does humble me and General Motors,” Stephens said. “When we announced it, you could tell by the skepticism that it was really a moon shot. And in fact, I think today I would tell you that yes, it was a moon shot, but we landed it.”

The Truck of the Year, the 2011 Ford Explorer, was launched in December. A media drive late last year showed that it easily travels over deep sand ruts and steep hills even though it is built off of a car platform — the same one as the Ford Taurus sedan. Dealers from California to Pennsylvania say the Explorer shows signs of being a hit with customers.

The Explorer also gets 25 miles per gallon on the highway and 17 mpg in the city, putting it at the head of its class for fuel economy.

“Customers know the Explorer can go off-road,” said Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields. And we really wanted to highlight in our marketing strategy that not only is this a vehicle that can go off-road, but it also really can satisfy the consumer’s everyday needs, whether they are hauling the kids to baseball practice or taking a run up to the mountain to go skiing for the weekend.”