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NACTOY’s 30th Anniversary Kicks Off with Annual Charitable Donation and Revised Awards Calendar

At the 2023 Detroit Auto Show, NACTOY will announce the “Best of 2024” vehicles vying for this year’s awards

DETROIT – July 27, 2023 – The North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards (NACTOY) today announced the beginning of its 30th anniversary year with a record-setting charitable donation and an updated schedule for the award process.

The first awards were given out at the opening of the 1994 North American International Auto Show. A jury of the top automotive journalists of the day gave the award for “North American Car of the Year” to the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and “North American Truck of the Year” to the Dodge Ram. The “North American Utility of the Year” category was added in 2017.

NACTOY has earned the respect of consumers, the industry and the press as a prestigious and unbiased award due to the lack of affiliation with any one publication. Automakers look to NACTOY as an important barometer of the press’ perception of new vehicles, while consumers often consider a NACTOY winner or finalist as an ideal candidate for their next vehicle.

“These awards are special because they represent a cross section of views from fifty top automotive journalists, each of whom look at vehicles from their own personal perspective,” said NACTOY president Jeff Gilbert. “We leverage our own unique processes to come to a consensus that honors the best all new or totally redesigned vehicles in a model year.”

The NACTOY board of directors, in partnership with the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, has also announced that a $40,000 donation – the largest sum in the organization’s history – will be split equally among four highly worthy charities. The charities, which were voted upon by NACTOY jurors, include:

• Tunnels to Towers Foundation: In honor of fallen 9/11 firefighter Stephen Siller, Tunnels to Towers provides mortgage-free homes to fallen Gold Star or first responder families or catastrophically injured veterans and first responders
• Make-A-Wish Foundation: Fulfills the wishes of children with critical illnesses
• Pope Francis Center: A Detroit non-profit committed to feeding, serving and empowering homeless individuals and helping eradicate chronic homelessness
• Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit: A metro-Detroit animal shelter dedicated to the rescue, protection and adoption of homeless or at-risk pets

“Our annual charitable donation with NACTOY is a highlight of the year and we are proud to help improve the lives of those in metro Detroit and beyond with these four donations,” said Rod Alberts, Executive Director of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association.

In addition to the record-size donation, NACTOY is rebranding its announcement at the Detroit Auto Show in September; once known as the Semifinalists round, the initial winnowing of the full list of eligible vehicles will now be known as “The Best of 2024.” The Best of 2024 list will be announced on September 13 at the Huntington Place convention center. The full list of eligible vehicles can be found below.

Subsequent announcements will follow the typical NACTOY format, with finalists announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 16 and winners announced at a standalone NACTOY event on January 4, 2024.

Gilbert and the NACTOY board members are available for interviews about the organization, its history and voting process. For more information about NACTOY, please visit http://northamericancaroftheyear.org.

* Indicates electric vehicle

ABOUT NORTH AMERICAN CAR, TRUCK, AND UTILITY VEHICLE OF THE YEAR™

The awards are intended to recognize the most outstanding new vehicles of the year. These vehicles are benchmarks in their segments based on factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction, user experience and value. The organization gives out three awards. They are: “North American Car of the Year™,” “North American Truck of the Year™,” and the “North American Utility Vehicle of the Year™.” The awards are unique because they are given by an independent jury of automotive journalists from the United States and Canada instead of by a single publication, website, radio or television station.

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Contacts:

Jeff Gilbert

President, NACTOY

Jeffery.Gilbert@audacy.com

Alli Cooke

PR Manager, Lambert

acooke@lambert.com

616.258.5769