Ford Bronco, Maverick Named Prestigious Car Competition Semifinalists

Well, the "short list" has come out for the prestigious North American Car of the Year (NACTOY) Award. Two Ford vehicles have made it, one brand-new, the second a repeat from 2021.

The Ford Maverick, a new vehicle for 2022, has joined the short list of contenders for the prestigious North American Truck of the Year Award.

At this point, the jury of 50 automotive journalists and media types have begun putting the semifinalist vehicles through their paces. The semifinal list consists of 25 vehicles. The semifinalist listing is only a stage in the NACTOY awards.

The Ford Bronco will return to the North American SUV of the Year listing, Bronco owners received some great news about roofs for their SUVs.

The real work begins now as the jury puts the semifinal vehicles through their paces. The ratings of the jury determine which vehicles remain and which vehicles leave consideration. It is up to the judges to winnow the list of finalist vehicles.

Every year, the jury of 50 automotive journalists puts the cars, trucks, and SUVs through their paces. The jurors actively put the vehicles through many grueling tests to reduce the number of semifinalist vehicles. Ultimately, the jurors' work defines the ultimate winners of the North American Car of the Year.

Well, the "short list" has come out for the prestigious North American Car of the Year (NACTOY) Award. Two Ford vehicles have made it, one brand-new, the second a repeat from 2021.

NACTOY Jury Of 50 Auto Journalists

At this point, the jury of 50 automotive journalists and media types have begun putting the semifinalist vehicles through their paces. The semifinal list consists of 25 vehicles. The semifinalist listing is only a stage in the NACTOY awards. The real work begins now as the jury puts the semifinal vehicles through their paces. The ratings of the jury determine which vehicles remain and which vehicles leave consideration. It is up to the judges to winnow the list of finalist vehicles.

Every year, the jury of 50 automotive journalists puts the cars, trucks, and SUVs through their paces. The jurors actively put the vehicles through many grueling tests to reduce the number of semifinalist vehicles. Ultimately, the jurors' work defines the ultimate winners of the North American Car of the Year, North American Truck of the Year, and the North American Utility Vehicle of the Year.

Determining this year's list of finalist vehicles is a long process. Indeed, even as this year's list of semifinalists has been announced, testing is already underway to determine the finalists. The announcement of the finalist vehicles will be at the Los Angeles Auto Show at the end of November.

Winners Named At Detroit Show

The grand prize winners are then announced at the North American Auto Show in Detroit early next year.

Two Ford vehicles are included in the semifinal listings. One of the Ford vehicles is returning from last year, while the second is a new vehicle. The returning vehicle is the popular Ford Bronco SUV.

The second vehicle, which is helping to define a new class of pickups, the compact, is the Ford Maverick.

The Bronco is a thoroughly modern vehicle, though its styling is retro. In its styling, the Bronco looks like the original two-door SUV introduced in 1965. Today's Bronco is a Ford Brand. The brand consists of the two- and four-door full-sized, body-on-frame Broncos and the midsized Bronco Sport.

Compact Ford Maverick NamedCars

• Audi A3
• Genesis G70
• Honda Civic
• Lucid Air
• Mercedes EQS
• Mercedes S-Class
• Volkswagen Golf R
• Volkswagen Golf GTI

Trucks

Sport Utilities

• Ford Bronco
• Genesis GV70
• Hyundai Ioniq 5
• Hyundai Tucson (gas, hybrid, plug-in hybrid)
• Jeep Grand Cheroke (gas, plug-in hybrid, L version)
• Jeep Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer
• Kia Carnival
• Nissan Pathfinder
• Volkswagen ID.4

Marc Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971 when an otherwise normal news editor said, "You're our new car editor," and dumped about 27 pounds of auto stuff on my desk. I was in heaven as I have been a gearhead from my early days. As a teen, I spent the usual number of misspent hours hanging out at gas stations Shell and Texaco (a big thing in my youth) and working on cars. From there on, it was a straight line to my first column for the paper, "You Auto Know," an enterprise that I handled faithfully for 32 years. Not many people know that I also handled computer documentation for a good part of my living while writing YAN. My best writing, though, was always in cars. My work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, and others. You can follow me on: Twitter or Facebook.