Honda Accord, Volvo XC60 And Lincoln Navigator Race Away With Honours
The Honda Accord, Volvo XC60, and Lincoln Navigator were crowned as the winners of the 2018 North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) awards at the 2018 NAIAS. The award program is now in its 24th year.
The awards are among the most prestigious in the industry because they are chosen by a panel of more than 60 jurors from print, online and broadcast media across the United States and Canada. Votes were tallied confidentially by Deloitte LLP and remained sealed until they were announced by NACTOY officers, President Mark Phelan, Vice President Matt DeLorenzo and Secretary-Treasurer Lauren Fix at Cobo Center in Detroit.
The three winners each stood out in their segments for different reasons. “Honda seems to have executed some sort of magic trick — not only is this 10th-generation Accord far sleeker and more decisively styled than its predecessor, it’s somehow roomier inside, too,” said Chris Paukert, a NACTOY juror and managing editor of Road Show by CNET. “Even in low-end trims, it drives well and offers a strong amount of standard equipment.”
Volvo XC60: “Like the XC90, the XC60 offers Volvo’s distinct brand of luxury and it may even be more appealing than its bigger brother. The ride is exemplary, and when smartly equipped, it is a fine value,” said NACTOY juror and freelance auto writer Kirk Bell.
NACTOY Juror Ron Sessions of the New York Daily News said, “the 2018 Navigator received a more dramatic update than its Ford Expedition sibling and its impact for the brand will be stronger as a result. With its design now aligned with the Continental, the Navigator becomes an even more important image – and the profit-maker for Lincoln.”
Chosen from dozens of new vehicles, jurors evaluated the finalists based on segment leadership, innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar. The process started in June 2017 by determining vehicle eligibility and includes three rounds of voting.
DETROIT: The 10th-generation Accord edged out the Kia Stinger and Toyota Camry for the award.. Henio Arcangeli Jr., senior vice-president for Honda’s auto sales division, said the award represents “not resting on past … achievements.’’
The Accord, which went on sale last fall, is among many revamped car models hoping to snare buyers as sales fall and SUVs rise. Arcangeli calls the Accord “new from the ground up,’’ with more coupe-like styling and its first-ever turbocharged engines.
Honda sold 322,655 Accords in the U.S. in 2017, a 6.5 per cent decline over the previous year.
The Volvo XC60 took the top prize in the utility category and the Lincoln Navigator for trucks. Other utility finalists were the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Honda Odyssey, and Navigator beat the Chevrolet Colorado and Ford Expedition.
Kumar Galhotra, head of the Lincoln brand, said the award should give the Navigator a boost as it tries to gain traction in the competitive full-size truck-based luxury SUV market.
“It is a very competitive segment, and in the past we have had much better share in this segment,’’ he said. “It was time to create a new Navigator and take that rightful place in the segment for Lincoln.’’
The brand sold only 10,523 Navigators last year, far behind competitors in the segment such as the Cadillac Escalade. The General Motors luxury brand sold 14,700 Escalades last year.
Last year’s winners were the Chevrolet Bolt, Honda Ridgeline and Chrysler Pacifica minivan.
Sixty U.S. and Canadian automotive journalists serve as judges for the awards program, which patterned itself after the European Car of the Year. Eligible vehicles, chosen from dozens, must be new or substantially changed.
The choices represent an aim to recognize the vehicles’ overall quality.
The judges evaluate finalists on value, innovation, design, performance, safety, technology and driver satisfaction. Organizers accept no advertising, though automakers try to capitalize on the marketing value of the awards.