The finalists for the 2020 North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards were announced on Wednesday at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Three finalists, from an original field of 46 contenders, were named for each of the Car, Utlity and Truck categories, and impressively two of them were sports cars, highlighting what a good time it is to be a performance fan.
2020 North American Car of the Year finalists:
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
Hyundai Sonata
Toyota Supra
2020 North American Utility of the Year finalists:
Hyundai Palisade
Kia Telluride
Lincoln Aviator
2020 North American Truck of the Year finalists:
Ford Ranger
Jeep Gladiator
Ram Heavy Duty
The Corvette Stingray is a no-brainer. Given its combination of supercar performance and low pricing, we'd be shocked if the car wasn't listed here. That said, the Supra is a bit of an odd decision considering the car is essentially a re-skinned BMW Z4. The BMW was a contender for this year's awards but didn't make it past the first round.
It's also impressive to see both the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride in the finals. The Korean automakers have traditionally done well in the awards, and for good reason, so perhaps the result shouldn't be that much of a surprise.
The finalists in the Truck category are all impressive, though we should point out that the Ranger, while new in the United States, has been on sale outside the country for close to a decade.
A total of 50 jurors took part in this year's awards, including three Internet Brands staff. They looked at numerous factors when evaluating a vehicle, including innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, driver satisfaction and value. To be eligible, a vehicle has to be either new or substantially changed from a previous model, and it also needs to be on sale by the end of the year of the awards. It also has to be a volume seller in North America, thus ruling out many niche products like those from exotic brands.
The winner of each category will be announced on January 13, 2020. The winners of the 2019 awards were the Genesis G70 in the Car category, the Hyundai Kona in the Utility category and the Ram 1500 in the Truck category.
For more from the L.A. Auto Show, head to our dedicated hub.