Detroit Auto Show: Chevrolet’s Silverado, Corvette win top awards
On the day Ford launched its new-generation aluminum body F-150 pickup truck, arch-rival Chevrolet won the 2014 North American truck of the year award with its new Silverado at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
It was a full sweep for the flagship division of General Motors. The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray won North American car of the year.
This was the first time Chevrolet has won both awards in the same year. The Silverado was last named truck of the year in 2007 and the Corvette was last named car of the year in 1998.
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“Chevrolet is in the midst of the most aggressive product transformation in the brand’s more than 100-year history,” said Alan Batey, General Motors senior vice president, global Chevrolet. “The Corvette and Silverado truly embody the passion, commitment and focus that is driving us to deliver the most expressive designs, innovative technologies and engaging performance in every vehicle that wears the [Chevrolet] bow tie.”
The winners were selected from a panel of 48 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada.
Other car finalists included the Cadillac CTS and the Mazda3. The other truck and SUV finalists were the Acura MDX and Jeep Cherokee.
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General Motors dominated the finalists with two of the three spots for car of the year and one of the three nods for the truck/utility of the year.
The win for the Silverado stole came just moments before Ford introduced what it is calling the “reinvention” of its F-150 pickup truck at the Detroit auto show.
Ford is gambling with its 2015 model year redesign of the truck — for decades America’s top-selling vehicle — eschewing the traditional steel for lightweight aluminum alloys.
The aluminum body — doors, hood, engine compartment, bed and tailgate – will be a first for full-size trucks and a rarity in the automotive world.
Asked whether he thought the F-150 could be next year’s truck of the year, Ford chief operating officer Mark Fields smiled and said, “we are just trying to get our truck launched.”
