By Jeff Gilbert, WWJ AutoBeat Reporter
The two top trends in the auto industry are front and center as those of us who are jurors cast our votes for the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year.
Truck was the tightest competition, Utility was close behind, and showed how this is now the heart of the market, and it's getting harder than ever to choose a "Car of the Year."
Each juror has 25 points to give, no more than ten to any one vehicle, and only one can get the ten.
I was juggling my tally right up to the point of the vote, but here's how my ballot came out:
TRUCK OF THE YEAR
GMC Hummer 8 points
Rivian R1T 7 points
Ford Maverick 5 points
Hyundai Santa Cruz 5 points
UTILITY OF THE YEAR
Jeep Wagoneer 8 points
Ford Bronco 8 points
Genesis GV 70 3 points
Hyundai Ionic 5 3 points
Kia Carnival 3 points
CAR OF THE YEAR
Honda Civic 8 points
Lucid Air 7 points
Mercedes S Class 6 points
Cadillac CT5 Blackwing 4 points
Let's break it down by category.
My choices for Truck of the Year will be the most controversial.
I see the Maverick as the favorite. It's a great vehicle, and you can get one at a great price.
Those two elements work in its favor, but at the end of the day it's a pickup truck, not a ground breaking vehicle.
Hyundai's Santa Cruz breaks a little more ground, is more flexible, more SUV based, but the Maverick is more of a bargain. So, while they aren't direct competitors, I gave them both the same score.
I think a lot of other jurors will be put off by the Hummer's six figure price, and it's niche market. But I kept going back to the fact that it's extremely capable, introduces new technology that will likely go into more mass market vehicles, and casts a "halo" over other GM EV's. So, as of today, it would be my choice for "Truck of the Year"...but just narrowly.
Rivian's R1T came in a hair behind the Hummer in my mind. I expected a vehicle from a startup to be cool, but not this good. There are also a lot of innovations, and it's great to see a new American carmaker start to build a niche.
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My Utility of the Year choice was the toughest of all.
If I were making a direct choice today it would be the Ford Bronco, or the Jeep Wagoneer. Both are ground breakers; neither are for every one.
I punted on this one, giving them both the same number of points. I will not do that in the final vote (more on that later)
The Bronco redefines ruggedness. The Wagoneer redefines luxury.
I spread around a few other points to the Hyundai Ionic 5--as a really nice mass market EV, the Kia Carnival as a minivan that looks more like an SUV and the Genesis GV-70 as yet another great example of what the Genesis brand is doing with luxury.
The Car of the Year competition shows how the world has moved to trucks.
I'm figuring the Honda Civic is the likely front-runner because it's well put together, affordable and dependable.
But, the Lucid Air is breathing down it's neck. It's a lot more fun, a lot more cutting edge but nowhere near as affordable. It's highly innovative... 500 miles of range is just mind blowing. While the interior is not up to the latest from Mercedes, BMW and Audi it is true luxury, and far nicer than a Tesla Model S.
But that sticker price of more than $160,000 is gong to hold it back from serious contention, even though Lucid is planning for trims in the 70 thousand range.
Mercedes S Class also has the price issue. But, I felt was deserving of serious consideration becaue it has redefined what a flagship vehicle should be.
And Cadillac's CT5 "Blackwing" deserved points just because it's good old V-8 powered fun.
Where do we go from here. We announce three finalists in each category at the upcoming LA Auto Show. At that point, we start a new round of balloting. I personally do a "hard reset," which means I may reconsider a few things as I drive a vehicle again.
We have ten points to allocate among the three in any way we wish.
I've given you my choices, now let me give you my predictions.
FINALISTS
CAR: Honda Civic, VW Golf GTI, Mercedes S Class
TRUCK: Ford Maverick, Rivian R1T, Hyundai Santa Cruz
UTILITY: Ford Bronco, Jeep Wagoneer, Hyundai Ionic 5
With the winners being the Civic, Maverick and Bronco.
We'll find out the real winners in early January.
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