Ford F-150 Lightning Included in 2023 NACTOY Award Finalists

For the second year in a row, Ford has a finalist in the North American Car, Truck, Utility Award competition. The all-electric F-150 Lightning is in the running against a Chevy and a newcomer, Lordstown Motors.

This year's battle to be the top truck in the North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards (NACTOY) has an exciting twist. As you might expect, traditional truck manufacturers like Ford and Chevy are included in the mix. However, there's a new manufacturer that has never been seen anywhere before, Lordstown Motors.

Truck Finalists Includes Ford Electric

The three truck finalists for the honor were announced last week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. A total of nine vehicles in three categories were named finalists. Those were eight brands included among the vehicles chosen.

The truck finalists for the prestigious award included:

• The Ford F-150 Lightning pickup
• The unreleased Lordstown Endurance
• The Chevy Silverado ZR2

Finalists in the car category ranged from two compact models, one luxury and the other sporty, and one midsized electric model. The car finalists, according to Automotive News, included:

• The compact luxury Acura Integra
• The compact sporty Nissan Z
• The Genesis G80 Electric

In the third category – utility -- are three finalists that are all-electric models, which is a "change that is likely to stay," says the automotive trade journal. The utility finalists included:

• The Cadillac Lyriq
• The Genesis GV60
• The Kia EV6

Each 2023 Finalist Category Included Electrics

Since the NACTOY founding, the winners were usually announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. However, as Automotive News noted, the Detroit Show took place in September; the winners will be announced at a" separate multimedia event on Jan. 11, 2023.

Ford Motor Photo

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 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, etc. You can follow me on: Twitter or Facebook.