CarSeekBlog

As the 2009 Detroit Auto Show kicked off on Sunday, January 11, the Hyundai Genesis picked up top honors as Car of the Year with the Ford F-150 being named Truck of the Year. Eligibility hinged on a complete re-design or substantial degree of change to the model customers could buy in 2008. Fifty journalists from the U.S. and Canada weeded the choices down to three each. That makes for six pretty good-looking vehicles in a year of economic recession when buying last year’s model or a previously earned version may make the best financial sense.

So, the three finalists for Car of the Year were:

- Hyundai Genesis
- Ford Flex
- Volkswagen Jetta TDI (a diesel)

And the three for the truck nod were:

- Ford F-150
- Dodge RAM
- Mercedes-Benz ML320 BueTEC (also a diesel)

Without a doubt, the Genesis is a big step in the right direction for Korean automaker Hyundai in its quest to grab a share of the “upscale” market while trying to hang on to its reputation for affordability. The V6 version of the Genesis opens at $32,000 and reviewers consistently say it drives like a Lexus or Mercedes-Benz. (Exactly the goal Hyundai set for itself from the beginning with this model.)

As for the F-150, really, what is there to say about a truck that has been the best selling model in America for 27 years? Not even a recession, plummeting auto sales, and $4 gasoline did this one in. For 2009 the F-150 is more angular and has a flatter nose while sporting a lighter chassis for better fuel economy and even higher safety ratings. (It’s the Top Safety Pick with the Insurance Institue for Highway Safety.)

While lots of people are not in the market for new wheels at the moment, when that does become possible again — hopefully sooner than later — these models are six to consider.

Filed under: Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, VW by Shorty