The 2018 North American Car of the Year finalists are out, and American cars get terrible news


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What a difference one year makes.

Earlier in 2017, the new Chevy Bolt EV won the prestigious North American Car of the Year award at the annual Detroit Auto Show.

That was a major achievement for General Motors,  but now it's been guaranteed that Chevrolet won't be defending its title in 2018.

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That's because the finalists for the 2018 North American Car of the Year award were recently announced and not one vehicle from the Detroit Big 3 made the final cut. To qualify as a finalist, a car must be all-new or redesigned for the current year.

In case you're wondering which vehicles were named finalists, the list includes the 2018 Honda Accord, 2018 Toyota Camry, 2017 Porsche Panamera, 2018 Subaru Impreza, 2018 Kia Rio, 2018 Kia Stinger, 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia, 2017 BMW 5-series, 2018 Audi A5 Sportback, and 2018 Lexus LC500 coupe, as well as 2017 Hyundai Ionic plug-in hybrid.

However, a few vehicles from the Detroit Big 3 were named finalists for both the Truck and Utility of the Year awards, which are also presented at yearly Detroit Auto Show. The new Chevy Equinox, Jeep Compass, Buick Enclave, and Chevrolet Traverse will compete in the utility category, while all three truck finalists are from American manufactures.

Journalists from the U.S. and Canada will vote for winners in each category and these awards will be announced at the Detroit Auto Show on January 14, 2018.

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It should be noted that Tesla was not considered for the North American Car of the Year award because the automaker declined to provide vehicles for testing.

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