Ford, Hyundai split 2021 North American Car of the Year wins

Article content

2020 will go down as one of the worst years on record for car companies, with the pandemic gutting the automotive industry and barring people from coming into dealerships to buy new cars.

Article content

Nevertheless, automakers were able to push through and release some impressive vehicles, making it even harder for NACTOY jurors to choose the winners for 2021 Car, Truck, and Utility of the year awards.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Ford, Hyundai split 2021 North American Car of the Year wins Back to video

The Hyundai Elantra ended up taking home the top prize for Car of the Year, beating out the Genesis G80 and the Nissan Sentra.

In the truck category, the Ford F-150 earned the win, leaving the special edition Jeep Gladiator Mojave and the Ram 1500 TRX in the dust. The F-150 was all new for 2020, while the best the competitors could do were appearance packages for existing trucks.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E, which won’t be widely available until the end of summer 2021, won Utility of the Year, somehow beating the redesigned Land Rover Defender and the Genesis GV80.

“This is arguably the first real EV to come from the North American domestic automakers — there have been others, but this one has the stuff,” NACTOY jurors said in a press release regarding the Mach-E. We’re not sure what “the stuff” is, but whatever it is, it must have a strong smell.

2020 winners were the Chevrolet Corvette, Jeep Gladiator, and Kia Telluride.