The Honda Civic has just been named the 2016 North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show. It succeeds the 2015 winner – the Volkswagen Golf.
Meanwhile the Volvo XC90 took home top SUV honors.
Both models are repeat winners, with the Civic winning the best car award in 2006 and the XC90 winning Truck (American for SUVs, Crossovers and/or Pick pick-ups) of the Year in 2003.
Automotive News reported that it was the third time since the awards were launched in 1993 that domestic automakers were shut out from the awards. Back in 2006, Honda swept the awards with the Civic and Ridgeline, while Land Rover and Hyundai won in 2012.
The winners were chosen by a jury of 53 automotive journalists from a group of three finalists in each category. A vehicle must be redesigned or substantially changed in order to be eligible for the award.
The Civic beat out the Chevrolet Malibu and Mazda MX-5 Miata. The Civic received 203 votes, edging out the Malibu’s 181 points and the MX-5’s 146 votes. The BMW 7 series, Cadillac CT6, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Volt, Kia Optima, Nissan Maxima and Toyota Prius were the other cars on the shortlist.
The XC90, with 310 votes, beat out the Honda Pilot’s 111 votes and the Nissan Titan XD’s 109 votes. The remaining trucks, crossovers and SUVs on the shortlist were the Ford Edge, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Tuscon, Jeep Renegade, Kia Sorento, Lexus RX, Mazda CX-3, Tesla Model X and the Toyota Tacoma.
Automotive News says that the XC90 was the first vehicle complete vehicle to emerge under the ownership of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. The company has invested $11 billion to produce a wide range of new products and platforms.
Vehicles are judged on several categories including innovation, design, safety, handling, comfort and driver satisfaction.
The Volkswagen Golf and the Ford F-150 won the 2015 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.
