North American Car, Utility & Truck of The Year Awards

The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) awards honor excellence in innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, driver satisfaction and value. Founded in 1994 by Christopher Jensen, who also formed the first committee, the NACTOY awards are judged by approximately 50 professional automotive journalists from the United States and Canada who work for independent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and industry websites. They are administered by an organizing committee and are funded with dues paid by the jurors. There are no paid positions. The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards are the longest-running awards not associated with a single, specific publication, website, radio or television station - a structure that produces a diverse base of jurors. The award for Utility Vehicle of the Year was added in 2017 in recognition of the growing popularity of this style of vehicles. Passenger-oriented minivans are also eligible for Utility of the Year. Vehicles eligible for Truck of the Year include pickups of all sizes and light- and medium-duty commercial vans. The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards are announced each year at the North American International Auto Show (also referred to as the Detroit Auto Show) in Detroit, Michigan. The process of selecting the Car, Utility and Truck of the Year starts in June by identifying vehicles eligible for the awards (vehicle models that are new or "substantially changed"). NACTOY Jurors evaluate dozens of new vehicles during three rounds of voting. Finalists for each category are announced at Automobility L.A., the press conferences that precede the Los Angeles Auto Show. The voting for finalists and winners is tallied by Deloitte and the winners of the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards are announced in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, preceding the Detroit Auto show press conferences.