G70

Make
Genesis
Segment
Sedan

If we had a nickel for every publication and organization that named its car of the year each time the planet circled the sun, we might have enough to actually buy one of the vehicles they'd lauded. But some are more important than others. Like the North American Car of the Year awards, which has just named its list of finalists for 2019 in three categories.

The shortlist for Car of the Year includes the Genesis G70, Honda Insight, and Volvo S60/V60. But that's not all. The jury also names its Utility Vehicle and Truck of the Year.

In the sport-ute category, the three finalists are the Acura RDX, Hyundai Kona (and Kona EV), and Jaguar I-Pace. And for trucks, the list has been whittled down to the Chevy Silverado 1500, its virtual twin GMC Sierra 1500, and rival Ram 1500.

The chances look good, then, for GM's trucks. And both the Honda and Hyundai groups each got two of their newest vehicles on the list of nominees that were narrowed down from a list of 29 semi-finalists – but the three pickups were the only semi-finalists considered for their category, alongside 14 cars and 12 sport-utes.

"This year brought us some impressive sedan options. Car sales remain an important part of the available choices to consumers even as sales in the segment continue to fall," said NACTOY President Lauren Fix. "We are always looking for a game-changer, something that stands out in a crowd, and strikes a positive chord with buyers. The finalists will all be impressive options to consider."

With the list of finalists now announced at the LA Auto Show, the 54 jurors will cast their votes again and announce the winners at the Detroit show in January.