We now know what new models will be fighting it out for North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year. The GMC HUMMER EV is competing against the 2022 Ford Maverick and four other trucks.
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The all-new 2022 GMC HUMMER EV will duke it out with five other new trucks for the prestigious title of North American Truck of the Year. The semifinalists were announced as part of the Motor Bella event north of Detroit. Detroit canceled its Auto Show this year because of COVID. Motor Bella is a smaller event taking place outdoors. Six trucks, eight cars and nine utility vehicles were announced as North American Car, Truck and Utility semifinalists.
2022 GMC HUMMER EV
The 2022 GMC HUMMER EV will be the first of its kind. It will be built on GM’s all-new Ultium EV platform. GMC has already released a video of the 1,000-horsepower supertruck doing 0-60 mph in approximately 3 seconds. The three electric motors planned for the HUMMER are expected to generate the 1,000 horsepower and up to 11,500 lb.-ft. of torque. Several HUMMER EVs were taken to Moab to test the trucks’ Adaptive Air Suspension hardware. They were also testing its ability to use Extract Mode to handle steep terrain and obstacles. They were also checking how well the One-Pedal Driving functions as well as the e4WD and torque distribution, stability control and its fascinating Crab Walk ability. Production of the 2022 GMC HUMMER EV will begin this fall at GM’s Factory ZERO.
“This year’s group of semifinalists includes some of the most interesting and innovative cars, trucks and utility vehicle candidates in recent memory,” said NACTOY President Gary Witzenburg, “and a larger number of new trucks than we’ve seen in many years. And it features more electric vehicles than we’ve ever seen, all of which our jurors will continue to test and evaluate prior to our next vote.”
According to the organization’s rules, to be considered for North American Car, Truck or Utility of the Year, the vehicle must be “all new or substantially new and are or will be on sale in showrooms across North America this year.”
NACTOY’s awards are unique because they are not decided by a single publication. The vehicles are evaluated throughout the year by 50 respected jurors from print, online, radio and broadcast media across the U.S. and Canada. Those jurors vote three times during the year to reduce the list of eligible vehicles down to semifinalists, finalists and, finally, winners.
All of the semifinalists are facing formidable competition. Here is the list of semifinalists:
North American Truck of the Year
- Ford Maverick
- GMC HUMMER EV
- Hyundai Santa Cruz
- Nissan Frontier
- Rivian R1T
- Toyota Tundra
North American Car of the Year
- Audi A3
- Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing
- Genesis G70
- Honda Civic
- Lucid Air
- Mercedes-Benz EQS
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class
- Volkswagen Golf Mk VIII (Golf R/Golf GTI)
North American Utility Vehicle of the Year
- Ford Bronco
- Genesis GV70
- Hyundai IONIQ 5
- Hyundai Tucson (HEV/ICE/PHEV)
- Jeep Grand Cherokee (ICE, PHEV, L)
- Jeep Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer
- Kia Carnival
- Nissan Pathfinder
- VW ID.4
The jurors will next decide on three finalists for each group. The finalists will be announced at the LA Auto Show on November 17, 2021. The winners will be announced at a Detroit Auto Dealers Association event in January of 2022. The winners used to be announced at the North American International Auto Show in January, but that show has been moved to later in the year.
Follow Mary Conway at @maryconwaymedia and send her car news tips for future stories.
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