North American Car and Truck of the Year Final Three

With less than a month left before the king of this year is being crowned in the US with the title of Car of the Year and Truck of the Year, the names of the finalists have been announced by the jury which will eventually have the final say on the winner. For the Car of the Year title, the battle will be waged between Chevrolet Volt, Hyundai Sonata and Nissan Leaf. All of you, we're sure, will notice the presence, for the first time, of two electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles among the finalist, battling against the Sonata outsider. For the Truck of the Year award, the jury went all American this season, selecting the Dodge Durango, the Ford Explorer and the Jeep Grand Cherokee as the main contenders for the title. Unlike in the car category, where we have a feeling the Volt will be the big winner, we're not quite sure on what truck to vote on here. Yet, having in mind one of the competition's main conditions (the vehicle must be all new or "substantially changed"), we tend to go with the new Explorer. All the mystery will end on January 10, during the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), amidst countless premieres and shows prepared by the car makers which will be present at the event. autoevolution will be attending the 2011 North American International Auto Show, so stay tuned for some real up close and personal shots of the vehicles, as well as for first-hand details of the motorized contraptions.