The award was given to cars in two categories: passenger car and SUV. The winners were announced at the Detroit auto show. They were determined by leading automotive journalists.
According to the voting results, the Honda Civic was recognized as the best passenger car of the year, with its main rivals being the Chevrolet Malibu and Mazda MX-5.
Americans awarded the title of best SUV to the new Volvo XC90. In addition to the Swedish SUV, the Honda Pilot and Nissan Titan XD competed for leadership in the segment.
