General Motors Nabs Four Spots On North American Car/Truck Of The Year Shortlist

With four vehicles on the 2016 North American Car and Truck/Utility of Year (NACTOY) short list, General Motors must sure feel good about its chances of winning at least one of the prestigious award. Though none of the nominees are out on the market yet.

The 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, 2016 Chevrolet Volt and 2016 Cadillac CT6 nabbed four of the ten semi-finalists in the car category, while GM doesn’t have a runner in the Truck/Utility category.

The rules dictate a car or truck must be all-new to qualify for NACTOY. And by all new they really mean all new – a new engine and/or a facelift isn’t enough to qualify. So despite a facelift for both the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado and 2016 GMC Sierra, as well as new diesel engines for the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado and 2016 GMC Canyon; the enhancements aren’t enough to meet the criteria.

While GM’s contenders aren’t available for purchase just yet, they will all have launched by the end of the year, which makes them qualify. In fact, the 2016 Chevrolet Volt launch is pretty much any day now. The 2016 Camaro launch will happen by the end of November, while the Cadillac CT6 is slated for December. The 2016 Malibu is expected during Q4 2015 as well.

Three finalists in each category will be revealed December 8, which will then kick off another round of testing/evaluation before the NACTOY winners will be announced at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 11, 2016.

GM tops the list of automakers on the list with four, while Honda, Hynundai-Kia and Toyota all landed three vehicles apiece. Below is the entire running order.

North American Car of the Year Short List:

BMW 7 Series
Cadillac CT6
Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Malibu
Chevrolet Volt
Honda Civic
Kia Optima
Mazda MX-5 Miata
Nissan Maxima
Toyota Prius

North American Truck/Utility of the Year Short List:

Ford Edge
Honda HR-V
Honda Pilot
Hyundai Tucson
Jeep Renegade
Kia Sorento
Lexus RX
Mazda CX-3
Nissan Titan XD
Tesla Model X
Toyota Tacoma
Volvo XC90