Chevy Pulls a Two-Fer, Takes Motor Trend Awards with New Camaro, Colorado Models
Chevrolet pulled off a double upset, taking both car and truck-of-the-year honors from Motor Trend magazine with its Camaro muscle car and Chevrolet Colorado pickup.
The twin endorsement by the widely quoted magazine means Chevrolet bested such serious competitors as Honda, whose all-new Civic was seen by many as a Car-of-the-Year shoe-in, while the new Nissan Titan and the refreshed Toyota Tacoma were strong contenders for the Truck-of-the-Year title.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team that delivered the Camaro,” said Mark Reuss, the head of global product development for General Motors, as he accepted one of the two awards during the first-ever televised version of the Motor Trend awards.
“This is the A-team right here, and the A-team back home,” added Reuss, who was joined on stage by GM’s design director Ed Welburn and Al Oppenheiser, the chief engineer on the Camaro team.
The Camaro has nabbed a string of awards in recent years, all the more significant considering the muscle car was gone from the Chevrolet line-up for seven years due to sluggish sales. Many observers questioned GM’s judgement in bringing the car back in 2009. But it has dominated its long-time rival and traditional segment leader, the Ford Mustang pretty much ever since.
Chevy is hoping that a complete Camaro make-over – and awards like this one – will help Camaro continue to command in 2016, even though Ford recently remade the Mustang for its 50th anniversary.
For his part, Motor Trend Editor-in-Chief Ed Loh declared the Camaro, “one of the finest driving vehicles in the world at any price.”
Some, in fact, had thought that Chevy’s best chance of winning the car-side trophy would come with another all-new model for 2016, the re-made Malibu sedan. That midsize model is still considered a serious contenders for several other closely watched awards, notably the North American Car of the Year trophy that will be handed out during the opening ceremonies of the Detroit Auto Show in January.
The Colorado was not one of the finalists for the companion North American Truck of the Year, however, losing out in January 2015 to the new, aluminum-bodied Ford F-150.
The midsize Chevy pickup delivered a come-from-behind victory in last year’s Motor Trend Truck category, as well, beating the Ford pickup. As for the 2016 win, “At this point, you might be wondering, how’d it get back in contention just one year later? How the heck did it win … again?” Motor Trend posted on its website. “The answer is simple. For 2016, the Colorado is available with a 181-horsepower, 2.8-liter inline-four Duramax diesel.”
GM and Chevrolet couldn’t quote pull off a hat trick, however. This year, Volvo picked up a much-needed endorsement of its own, capturing the Motor Trend SUV-of-the-Year title for the newly redesigned XC90. It was a significant win, as well, the Swedish maker overcoming such alternatives as the Honda Pilot, Lincoln MKX, Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class and Nissan Murano.
In years past, Motor Trend dribbled out its various awards over a period of months. Editor Loh says it will continue with the one-night TV ceremony going forward.
More at the Detroit Bureau
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Chevy Colorado Duramax gets nod as America’s most fuel-efficient pickup
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