2018’s Best-Vehicle Contenders Announced for North America

Finalists for the 2018 North American Car, Utility and Truck awards were revealed earlier today at the Los Angeles auto show.

The three car finalists pits a pair of long-running midsize sedan nameplates—the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry—against the all-new Kia Stinger sports sedan. This marks the first time a Kia car has been a finalist in the category. No U.S. Big 3 cars were eligible for the first time in the award’s 24-year history.

The utility finalists are the Alfa Romeo Stelvio crossover (a first time finalist for the Italian brand), Honda Odyssey minivan and Volvo XC60 SUV. The trio beat out 12 other semifinalists.

Only three vehicles were eligible for the truck award, so all of them made it to the finals. They are the Chevy Colorado ZR2 pickup and Ford’s Expedition and Lincoln Navigator Navigator SUVs, which are built on truck-based platforms.

The nine finalists were selected from 29 vehicles announced in September. To be eligible, a vehicle has to be new or substantially changed. The winners, which are selected by an independent group of 60 journalists from the U.S and Canada, will be announced on Jan. 15 at the Detroit auto show.