Volt, Leaf, and Chrysler Top Car, Truck of Year Finalists

Green technology carried the day for the cars, with SUV's sweeping the truck category, as the finalists were announced today for 2011 North American Car and Truck of the Year.

In the car category, the three finalists are the Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf and Hyundai Sonata, including the Sonata Hybrid.

"This sends a loud message that hybrids and electrics and extended range vehicles are perfectly acceptable modes of transportation in this part of the 21st century," said Jim McCraw, one of fifty journalists who serve as judges for the annual award.

The Leaf and Volt have both won major awards already.  The all-electric Leaf winning the European Car of the Year Honors.  The Volt, an extended range electric vehicle, picking up Motor Trend Car of the Year.

"Quite frankly, all of the acknowledgement of this vehicle is a credit to everybody in the engineering organization, product development organization who has worked so hard over the course of the last three or four years," said Volt Marketing manager Tony DiSalle.

Two of Products made at Chrysler's Jefferson North Plant were among the finalists for North American Truck of the Year; The Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee.  The other finalist was the Ford Explorer.

"We're flattered that the Explorer is a finalist for Truck of the Year," said Said Deep, a spokesman for Ford Motor Company.  "There's no greater honor from this esteemed group of journalists.  We're thrilled, because this is the third year in a row that we've had a vehicle as a finalist."

Ford won both the 2010 Car and Truck of the Year awards, with its Fusion Hybrid and Transit Connect van.

The winners of the 2011 North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards will be named January 10th, to start press preview days of the North American International Auto Show.

Editors Note:  Both Jeff Gilbert and John McElroy are jurors for the North American Car and Truck of The Year Awards.