The votes have been cast and the ballots have been tallied. Donald Trump is still the President-Elect of the United States, but we’re talking about another prize: Motor Trend magazine’s highly coveted Car of the Year awards. And the top prize went this year to the Chevy Bolt.
GM’s new budget-priced EV is only the second purely electric vehicle to win the award in the publication’s long history, following the Tesla Model S in 2013. (The plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt also won in 2011.) It’s also the third time in four years that GM has won the top prize, following the Camaro last year and the Cadillac CTS in 2014.
The judges found that “the most impressive thing about the Bolt EV is that there are no caveats and no ‘for an electric car’ qualifiers needed in any discussion. It is, simply, a world-class small car, and that’s before you factor in the benefits inherent in the smoothness, silence, and instant-on torque provided by the electric motor.”
The Bolt wasn’t the only winner, though. The Truck of the Year award went to the Ford Super Duty pickup, with which associate editor Scott Evans said “Ford has set new benchmarks for capability and functionality.”
The new Mercedes GLC, meanwhile, was named SUV of the Year. “Overall, this is a great vehicle,” said guest judge Mike Accavitti. “ You know you’re getting into a Mercedes as soon as you open the door to the GLC. The quality of the materials and the elegance of the design are very consistent with the Mercedes-Benz brand proposition and reputation.”
Finally, Elon Musk was named Person of the Year, citing not only his work as CEO of Tesla, but also his space-exploration and solar-energy initiatives. The awards were announced at a ceremony (which you can rewatch in the video below) on the eve of the Los Angeles Auto Show, and have been bestowed each year since the 1950s.
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