The finalists for the 2012 North American Car and Truck of the Year have just been announced, and this year, the three candidates in each category are as follows:Car:- Ford Focus
- Hyundai Elantra
- Volkswagen Passat
Truck:- BMW X3
- Honda CR-V
- Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
The above finalists are the result of voting by a 50-member jury of full-time automotive journalists and broadcasters from a longer "short list" composed of 30 cars and seven trucks
(an award category that also includes sport utility and crossover utility vehicles). Eligibility requirements dictate that the vehicles up for consideration must be new or substantially revised for the model year.The jury will now vote again on these shorter lists, and the winners will be named on the opening morning of the Detroit Auto Show
, with this year's press conference falling on January 9.
