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AUTOS: Cars, Trucks Of The Year
The top 2012 award winners from major publications and auto-journalism groups.
Bob Golfen  |  Posted December 29, 2011   Phoenix, AZ
All new for 2012, the Volkswagen Passat is the Motor Trend Car of the Year and a finalist for North American Car of the Year. (Photo: Volkswagen)
Since we haven’t had the chance to check out all the new 2012 cars, trucks and SUVs, we thought it would be imprudent to unilaterally declare a Car/Truck/SUV of the Year. Therefore, here are some of the choices from major auto-journalist organizations.

Motor Trend magazine is credited with inventing the Car of the Year concept in the 1950s, so we’ll start with those highly publicized awards:

Motor Trend Car of the Year: Volkswagen Passat – Completely refurbished for 2012, the Passat sold in the U.S. has been specially designed for U.S. drivers. Under the headline, “This Supersized Yank Tank Delivers the Goods,” the editors called it “Volkswagen's less-boring-than-it-looks, 100-percent-German-driving Passat.”

Motor Trend Truck of the Year: Ford F-150 – The editors said about Ford’s best-seller, “The obvious big news from the Blue Oval boys for the F-150 are the new engines and powertrains. From top to bottom, all of them are impressive, with class-leading power and torque in their segments.”

Motor Trend SUV of the Year: – Range Rover Evoque – They called the all-new Evoque “a bold move into the fast-growing compact luxury SUV sector. Refined and capable both on and off the road, it artfully combines traditional Range Rover values with stunning state-of-the-moment design and impressive efficiency.”

Motor Press Guild’s Car of the Year: Audi A7 – This huge auto-journalist group, known as MPG, anointed the newly minted A7 as the recipient for its very first annual prize. “The 2012 Audi A7 edged out the competition with its compelling combination of handsome styling, dynamic handling and advanced in-car technology,” they said.

Automobile Magazine Car of the Year: Audi A7– This popular publication also picked the A7 for its award, noting that the car is “Anchored by Audi's Quattro all-wheel drive, bristling with of-the-moment technologies and surrounding its passengers with an artfully crafted interior.”

Green Car Journal’s Green Car of the Year: Honda Civic CNG – Chosen by a panel of environmental and automotive experts, which included Carroll Shelby and Jay Leno, the choice deviated from the usual attention given to electric, hybrid and clean-diesel vehicles. “It runs on a clean fuel that is almost exclusively domestically sourced and typically priced about 30 percent less than gasoline,” the Journal said, noting that the Civic is currently the only mass-produced natural-gas vehicle. “The all-new 2012 model features greater fuel efficiency, a handsome and roomier new design, and tailpipe-emissions levels untouchable by any other internal-combustion production vehicle.”

The prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year awards chosen by a nationwide panel of 50 automotive journalists have yet to be named, with the awards handed out at next month’s Detroit Auto Show. But it has come down to six finalists.

North American Car of the Year finalists are: Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra and VW Passat.

North American Truck of the Year finalists, all compact SUVs, are: BMW X3, Honda CR-V and Range Rover Evoque.

Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. SPEED.com fans can email Bob Golfen at
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