The International Car of the Year jury handed down its decisions at the 2009 Detroit International Auto Show.
Winners of the awards are chosen by a panel of 16 veteran automotive journalists who select both a Car of the Year and a Truck of the Year. In addition, recognition is given to the most environmentally friendly car and truck of the year in the presentation of the Earth, Wind, & Power Award. The manufacturer deemed to have made the most progress in protecting the environment is honored with the Earth Angel Award.
The ICOTY jury selected the high-performance Nissan GT-R as Car of the Year. Other finalists for the award--whittled down from an initial list of 13 contenders--were the Dodge Challenger and Ford Flex.
The three finalists for Truck of the Year had also risen to the top from a field of 13 competitors. Earning the most votes was the Dodge Ram, which beat out the Ford F-150 and Subaru Forester.
Earth, Wind, & Power Awards were given to the "clean diesel" Volkswagen TDI along with Ford's Escape Hybrid. Honda received the Earth Angel Award.
Since 2004, the ICOTY committee has bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award upon an automotive journalist who has earned the respect and admiration of both manufacturers and fellow scribes alike. This year it was renamed the Lifetime Legend Award, and the recipient was long-time Washington Post automotive editor Warren Brown.
For more information on the ICOTY awards, click here.
The GT-R, Nissan's 480-horsepower, all-wheel drive, technological tour de force, won ICOTY's Car of the Year (top). Truck of the Year went to the sophisticated new Dodge Ram (bottom).
