The 2011 Chevrolet Volt was named North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show, as carmakers continued to showcase efforts to embrace more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The latest incarnation of the Volt, which runs on electricity for 65 kilometres before switching over to a back-up gasoline engine, came out on top against the electric-powered Nissan Leaf and the Hyundai Sonata.
The winner, which was selected by 49 journalists in Canada and the U.S., was announced on the first day of media previews for the Detroit Auto Show. Each was judged based on innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value.
Truck of the year went to the Ford Explorer, the third consecutive time the automaker has taken that prize. It beat out the Dodge Durango, the Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The Volt went on sale in limited markets in December with a price tag of $40,280. It has already earned a number of accolades. In November it was named Green Car of the Year at the Los Angeles Auto Show and 2011 Car of the Year by Motor Trend and Automobile Magazine.
Tom Stephens, General Motors's vice-chairman, said the Volt "represents the soul" of his company, which is recovering after 2009's government-led bankruptcy. Although the Volt won't be available across the U.S. until 2012, GM already sold between 250 and 350 of them in December.
Other automakers are following suit with more fuel-efficient offerings and similar tales of economic rebound.
David Mondragon, president and CEO of Ford Canada, said his company has become the most popular automaker in the country for the first time in a half-century. And he equated Ford's popularity with its move away from larger gas-guzzlers.
"First and foremost, we have the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the road," Mondragon told CTV's Canada AM.
"Fuel prices are rising very aggressively across the world," he said. "We think all the growth in the industry is going to be in small, more fuel-efficient vehicles and we're very well positioned as a company to take advantage of that."
By the end of 2012, Mondragon said Ford expects to have five "electrified" vehicles on the market.
Meanwhile, Chrysler Canada president and CEO Reid Bigland said there's a sense of hopefulness across the floor of the Detroit Auto Show.
"The hometown manufacturers are all coming off very good 2010, and we're all looking into 2011 with a considerable amount of optimism," he told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel on Monday.
During 2010, Chrysler gained more market share in Canada than any of its competitors, Bigland said, adding that the big North American manufacturers are all gearing up to take on foreign carmakers internationally.
On Monday, Fiat Group SpA also announced it would raise its stake in Chrysler by meeting demands by Washington to build a more fuel-efficient engine on U.S. soil.
Fiat took 20 per cent of Chrysler from the U.S. government in exchange for taking control of its management, following Chrysler's government-funded bankruptcy in 2009.
By achieving targets set by Washington, Fiat can take a further 15 per cent of the company. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said at the auto show that he hopes Fiat will accomplish that by the end of 2011.
With files from The Associated Press
