A panel of 49 motoring journalists has chosen the Cadillac ATS and Chrysler’s RAM 1500 as the 2013 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year respectively, with the results being announced during the opening day of the 25th Detroit Motor Show.
Cadillac’s new compact luxury sedan beat the Honda Accord and Ford Fusion, the two other finalists selected by the jury in the car category after eliminating eight other rivals that included the BMW 3-Series, the Dodge Dart and the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ.
“This is a very meaningful honor for the entire Cadillac team, especially the mean and women who build the ATS in Lansing, Michigan, and our dedicated and talented designers and engineers”, said GM vice president Bob Ferguson.
Likewise, the 2013 RAM 1500 grabbed top honors from the Mazda CX-5 crossover and Ford C-MAX MPV in the Truck/Utility category, with the trio being chosen by the voting journalists over the Ford Escape, BMW X1 and Audi Allroad.
President and CEO of RAM Truck brand said that this announcement “ranks as the one of the proudest day in our history”. This is the second time a RAM truck wins the title, the first being back in 1994 when it won the inaugural award.
So, two U.S. cars win the coveted titles for 2013; that’s quite a return to form for Detroit, especially given that last year only one of its cars (the Ford Focus) managed to impress the voters enough to make it to the finalists.
By Andrew Tsaousis
PHOTO GALLERY
