Jason Kerluck Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 (edited) GM took both prizes in the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards. The Saturn Aura and the Silverado both won. Of course it would have been nice for Edge to have won the truck award. But what floors me is that the Aura beat the new Camry for Car of the Year, and the Silverado beat out the new Tundra. If Toyotas newest "benchmarks" have been beaten by a Saturn and a Chevy, this may put a different attitude in the minds of North American shoppers. Ford can only stand to also benefit from this in the long run. Edited January 8, 2007 by Jason Kerluck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Some history of this award........ 2007 Saturn Aura (winner) Chevrolet Silverado (winner) 2006 Honda Civic (winner) Honda Ridgeline (winner) 2005 Chrysler 300 (winner) Ford Escape (winner) 2004 Toyota Prius (winner) Ford F-150 (winner) 2003 MINI Cooper (winner) Volvo XC90 (winner) 2002 Nissan Altima (winner) Chevrolet TrailBlazer (winner) 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser (winner) Acura MDX (winner) 2000 Ford Focus (winner) Nissan Xterra (winner) 1999 Chrysler 300M (winner) Jeep Grand Cherokee (winner) 1998 Chevrolet Corvette (winner) Mercedes-Benz ML320 (winner) 1997 Mercedes-Benz SLK (winner) Ford Expedition (winner) 1996 Chrysler minivans (winner) Ford F-150 (winner) 1995 Chrysler Cirrus (winner) Chevrolet Blazer (winner) 1994 Mercedes-Benz C-Class (winner) Dodge Ram (winner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebritt Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 People may be ok with buying a toyota car, but they realize when they need a REAL fullsized truck to do heavy work with Toyota can't cut the mustard. It's not like they haven't been trying for 10 to 15 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swenson88 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Was the new Tundra even up for the award? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercmarauder Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Was the new Tundra even up for the award? No... "We expected Toyota's all new Tundra to be a contender, but the truck's launch was pushed past our January 1 deadline, partly because, say some observers, of last minute changes to the interiors to compete with the upscale interiors GM is offering on the GMT900s." There was only 5 trucks in the running, the Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet Silverado, Cadillac Escalade EXT, GMC Sierra and the Ford Explorer Sport Trac. All except the Ford were basically the same truck. Interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swenson88 Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 No... "We expected Toyota's all new Tundra to be a contender, but the truck's launch was pushed past our January 1 deadline, partly because, say some observers, of last minute changes to the interiors to compete with the upscale interiors GM is offering on the GMT900s." There was only 5 trucks in the running, the Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet Silverado, Cadillac Escalade EXT, GMC Sierra and the Ford Explorer Sport Trac. All except the Ford were basically the same truck. Interesting... That's what I thought. I still think the GM trucks are better and more significant to the market. The Tundra is just finally playing catch-up to the big boys, GM has always been one of the big boys. That's why I think the Camry probably deserved the award over the Aura. Yes the Aura is probably the best sedan Saturn has ever had, but is it better than the Camry? Other than the sheetmetal I feel the Camry is a better car in most regards. Oh well, I didn't think the Civic and Ridgeline should have won last year, so at least I agree with 50% of their choices this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackHorse Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 swen, I suggest driving both the Aura and the Camry, it might change your mind. I did it. I have to tell you that I thought the Aura was the better car. With respect to the looks, taste is subjective. Some will find the body of the Aura more appealing, others the Camry. But from the "is it a good sedan" point of view. That being, does it drive well, is it comfortable, good road manners, quiet, features and all of that, I felt the Aura was clearly the better car. But that's me. Check it out yourself, take a day and drive both, see what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swenson88 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 swen, I suggest driving both the Aura and the Camry, it might change your mind. I did it. I have to tell you that I thought the Aura was the better car. With respect to the looks, taste is subjective. Some will find the body of the Aura more appealing, others the Camry. But from the "is it a good sedan" point of view. That being, does it drive well, is it comfortable, good road manners, quiet, features and all of that, I felt the Aura was clearly the better car. But that's me. Check it out yourself, take a day and drive both, see what you think. To be fair I'm certainly not in the market for either. My opinion is based more on Camry lineup vs Aura lineup. Given the Camry comes in 4-cyl, 270hp 6-cyl, and hybrid models it already has a leg up. I wasn't really rooting for either car, I just think the base V6 in the Aura makes no sense, the lack of a 4-cyl seems odd, and Toyota still has the advantage by having both a more powerful V6 and a hybrid model to boot. I couldn't tell you how both sedans drive and chances are I'll never drive either. Purely a magazine-reader perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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