North American Car and Truck of the Year Finalists...

GM scored huge. 4 of 6 nominations.

Cadillac CTS, Chevy Malibu, Buick Enclave, Chevy Tahoe Hybrid.

http://www.thegmsource.com/index.php?categoryid=8&p2_articleid=767

Wow, the Tundra got snubbed?

Wow, the Tundra got snubbed?

The Tundra would have been in last years nominations.

And of course it got snubbed, it doesn't stand a chance.

The Tundra would have been in last years nominations.

And of course it got snubbed, it doesn't stand a chance.

I thought Tundra wasn't in the running last year because it wasn't out by December 2006? Therefore it should be eligible this year. :think:

Either way I wouldn't dismiss what the press thinks about the Tundra. It has serious flaws, but I have yet to read even a luke-warm review of it.

I thought Tundra wasn't in the running last year because it wasn't out by December 2006? Therefore it should be eligible this year. :think:
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I believe, you sir, are correct, hence, my shock.

CTS should win for Car.

Buick Enclave is the nicest, but the Tahoe has some great tech.

CX-9 should be re-sheet metaled and made the 2009 Ford Explorer.

Best description of the CTS I have read, and its from LA times!

"In a segment that lives and dies by European benchmarks, the CTS sets fire to the bench and throws it through the shopkeepers' window."

http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-neil12dec12,0,2495261.story?coll=la-home-middleright

CTS/Enclave all the way!

http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-neil12dec12,0,2495261.story?coll=la-home-middleright

I had to pick my jaw up off the floor after reading it. The funniest thing is the comments by all my fellow Angelenos, who are all in a huff about their favorite German cars being dissed.

Following courtesy of Dan Neil (excerpted):

"Cadillac makes a better car than BMW or Mercedes or Lexus or Infiniti, and that car is the 2008 CTS. In a segment that lives and dies by European benchmarks, the CTS sets fire to the bench and throws it through the shopkeepers' window.

The Mercedes-Benz C350 looks hidebound by its own heritage; the BMW, staid and predictable, a law clerk's car.

I've climbed all over the CTS and everywhere I found things to admire. Under the hood, the strut-tower brace is a lovely bow of brushed aluminum, cast in one piece with the connective braces. The tail lamps feature a crazy glowing filament, an optical fiber as thick as your pinkie. The front suspension lower control arms are beautiful alloy castings. The switchgear is artfully integrated into the consoles instead of being plunked into the cockpit in big ugly rectangles. I especially like the personal climate controls that live in the console rail by the dash, and the premium French stitching (real thread!) on the leather-like dash and door panels.

The direct-injection engine puts out 273 pound-feet of torque, enough to launch the car to 60 mph in under 6 seconds. It's not quite as from-the-bowstring quick as a twin-turbo BMW, but plenty fast. Meanwhile, with the car in overdrive, the engine returns surprisingly good gas mileage (26 mpg on the highway).

The steering ratio is very quick, with precise but abrupt turn-in, dialed in that way by engineers who, I imagine, found themselves struggling to keep up with that track's furious cornering sequences. On American roads, the steering feels a little busy and unprogressive just off center. Still, you can't say it doesn't have a personality. The steering has moderate heft but the road feedback (the sense of what the tires are doing) is superb. The uprated brakes are similarly a little touchy but they are more than enough to haul the two-tonner down from speed.

With the big Michelins in the fender wells, the CTS has oodles of lateral grip. The chassis -- with front-and-rear alloy subframes holding the suspension -- is tight as a hangman's knot. The stability control system has a performance setting where the computer intervention is less intrusive; on that setting, you can slide the car around pretty well.

Cadillac has built a ripping car here -- fast, fun, exuberant in style and substance. To the extent that imitation of one product concedes the superiority of another, the CTS surrenders not an inch. It feels like a fundamentally self-defined car. Chalk one up for the home team."

I noticed the new Accord is in the running. How strong of a competitor is the new Accord? I honestly haven't really been seeing any buzz (positive or negative) for it.

hmmmmm......

*crickets chirping from some people*

Should be interesting --

We cannot afford to sit back on our laurels - but it IS great to be winning so many awards -- and to see GM with 4 of 6 finalist positions for NACTOTY awards.

Just my 2 cents? I think the Tahoe 2mode is a game changer -- the fact is that some people really DO have a need for a vehicle that can tow (Tahoe 2mode up to 6,200 pounds) 4wd -- or carry 8 people - the Tahoe does all of this - and gets 20mpg city/22mpg hwy -- that's Camry 4cylinder territory.......AND --- has a 6 liter V8 for when you need the power to get the heck moving...........

hmmmmm......

*crickets chirping from some people*

Should be interesting --

We cannot afford to sit back on our laurels - but it IS great to be winning so many awards -- and to see GM with 4 of 6 finalist positions for NACTOTY awards.

Just my 2 cents? I think the Tahoe 2mode is a game changer -- the fact is that some people really DO have a need for a vehicle that can tow (Tahoe 2mode up to 6,200 pounds) 4wd -- or carry 8 people - the Tahoe does all of this - and gets 20mpg city/22mpg hwy -- that's Camry 4cylinder territory.......AND --- has a 6 liter V8 for when you need the power to get the heck moving...........

I agree Scott wholeheartedly (I suck at English) I like what Chris Preuss said to me today regarding the nominations:

To be among the finalists for both Car and Truck of the Year two years in a row is a great affirmation of just how far GM has come with its product renaissance and how hard our product development teams have been working. If we were to win both awards two years in a row, it would be unprecedented. Coupled with the Cadillac CTS winning Motor Trend Car of the Year, placing three vehicles in Car and Driver's 10 Best, as well as numerous other reconditions by the press, it's been a great run that we hope to continue into 2008.

By the way, Scott...when do I get my invite to the GM Style event? :p

Kuddos to GM for the CTS commercials too. They're really got people talking Cadillac here again!..:cool:
I saw an Enclave rolling down the street today....pure sex...and you should've seen the smile on the guy's face driving it...priceless.

Best description of the CTS I have read, and its from LA times!

"In a segment that lives and dies by European benchmarks, the CTS sets fire to the bench and throws it through the shopkeepers' window."

http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-neil12dec12,0,2495261.story?coll=la-home-middleright

CTS/Enclave all the way!

It is truly amazing that this is the same auto critic that gave GM such a hard time a few years ago that the company threatened to pull their advertising from the LA Times! What a 180!!! I hope Caddy can build them fast enough to meet demand.

I thought Tundra wasn't in the running last year because it wasn't out by December 2006? Therefore it should be eligible this year. :think:

I thought that was for Motor Trend's Truck of the Year award, not the North American Truck of the Year :think:. The implication being, Tundra will win it this year, thus allowing MT to extort huge sums from the two biggest automakers in two separate years, rather than having to pick one or the other last year.

Either way, the Tundra was not on the list of finalists for the North American Truck of the Year either last year or this year.

It is truly amazing that this is the same auto critic that gave GM such a hard time a few years ago that the company threatened to pull their advertising from the LA Times! What a 180!!!

Hopefully this is proof that "the media" will give GM proper credit when it's due. Some may view things differently.

I thought that was for Motor Trend's Truck of the Year award, not the North American Truck of the Year :think:. The implication being, Tundra will win it this year, thus allowing MT to extort huge sums from the two biggest automakers in two separate years, rather than having to pick one or the other last year.


Meh, not really, the award is given out this month I think. Tundra wasn't on sale until mid Feb '07, after the award was given out. No conspiracy there.