Honda, Volvo pick up NAIAS Car & Truck of year
DETROIT (WJBK) - The 2016 Car and Truck of the Year were announced on Monday, kicking off the annual North American International Auto Show.
The winners were the Honda Civic and the Volvo XC90.
The Civic is the least expensive among the three finalist, cheaper than the Chevy Malibu and the Mazda MX-5 Miata. The base model of the Civic comes with a stick shift and other future models will as well.
For the 10th generation, the recently redesigned Civic is confirmation for Honda that they're building what people want.
"It's almost 10 years to the day since we stood on this stage and accepted for the 2006 Civic and it's great to have that affirmation," John Mendel, American Honda Executive VP, said.
As for Volvo, this win is proof that they're back in the game. The new vehicles for the year follow up 2015's higher sales numbers.
The XC90 starts at $50,000 and comes with real wood, premium leather, and got high marks from the judges for its infotainment system. Volvo says this is only the beginning.
"This car, the XC90, reflects everything that is about to come in the next four years for Volvo car corporation," Volvo Car USA President & CEO Lex Kerssemakers said.