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2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year entries announced

Over 40 vehicles will compete for the 2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year awards. If that name looks a little strange, it's because the competition added a third category. In years past, pickup trucks, crossovers, SUVs, commercial vans, and minivans competed for the same award. That's why there were occasionally weird comparisons, like last year's competition between the Volvo XC90 and Nissan Titan XD. The new format separates pickups and commercial vans into the truck contest and CUVs, SUVs, and minivans into the utility competition. A complete list of eligible vehicles is below, but here are a few highlights. For one, the entire list of entries has a luxurious lean. Of the 43 vehicles, nearly half of them are from premium brands. There are two eligible Bentleys – the Bentayga and Mulsanne – the Rolls-Royce Dawn, Jaguar F-Pace, Audi Q7, and the Mercedes-Benz GLS-, E-, and S-Class Maybach. The performance ranks are lofty, too, with the Audi R8, Acura NSX, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Mercedes SL- and SLC-Class, Porsche 718, and F-150 Raptor. The mainstream entries are just as comprehensive. From the Chrysler Pacifica to the Chevrolet Cruze to the Fiat 124 Spider to the Mitsubishi Mirage, NACTOY has covered an enormous price range with this year's contestants. Of course, these are only the eligible vehicles. They'll need to run through three rounds of judging, starting in September at NACTOY's traditional Hell, MI, test drive. The Canadian and American journalists involved in the judging will announce this year's nine finalists – three in each category – on December 6. Cars Acura NSX Alfa Romeo Giulia Audi A4 Audi R8 Bentley Mulsanne Buick Cascada Buick LaCrosse Cadillac CT6 Chevrolet Bolt Chevrolet Cruze Fiat 124 Genesis G90 Hyundai Elantra Infiniti Q60 Jaguar XE Kia Cadenza Lincoln Continental Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan Mercedes-Benz S550 Maybach Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Mercedes-Benz SLC-Class Mini Clubman Mitsubishi Mirage/G4 Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman Rolls-Royce Dawn Toyota Prius Prime Volvo S90 SUVs Audi Q7 Bentley Bentayga Buick Envision Cadillac XT5 Chrysler Pacifica GMC Acadia Infiniti QX30 Kia Sportage Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class Jaguar F-Pace Mazda CX-9 Nissan Armada Trucks Ford F-Series Super Duty pickups Ford F-150 Raptor Honda Ridgeline Nissan Titan half-ton Related Video: Featured Gallery Bentley Bentayga View 23 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub.

Stellantis tells UK: Change Brexit deal or watch car plants close

LONDON - British car plants will close with the loss of thousands of jobs unless the Brexit deal is swiftly renegotiated, Stellantis has told the UK parliament, the latest in a series of warnings from the industry since the country left the European Union. The world's No. 3 carmaker by sales and owner of 14 brands including Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat said that under the current deal it would face tariffs when exporting electric vans to Europe from next year, when tougher post-Brexit rules come into force. "If the cost of EV (electric vehicle) manufacturing in the UK becomes uncompetitive and unsustainable, operations will close," Stellantis said in a submission to a House of Commons committee examining the prospects for Britain's EV industry. Stellantis urged the government to reach an agreement with the European Union about extending the current rules on the sourcing of parts until 2027 instead of the planned 2024 change. In response, a government spokesperson said the business secretary had raised the issue with the EU. "Watch this space, because we are very focused on making sure that the UK gets EV and manufacturing capacity," Britain's finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Wednesday at a British Chambers of Commerce event. The potentially existential problem facing Britain's car industry is closely tied to the shift to EVs. Under the trade deal agreed when Britain left the bloc, 45% of the value of an EV being sold in the European Union must come from Britain or the EU from 2024 to avoid tariffs. The problem is that a battery pack can account for up to half a new EV's cost. Batteries are also heavy and expensive to move long distances. Experts have been warning since Britain left the EU at the end of 2020 that the country would need a number of EV battery gigafactories or potentially lose a hefty chunk of its car industry. Only Japan's Nissan has a small EV battery plant in Sunderland, with a second one on the way. Cost of failure Britishvolt, a startup which received UK government support for an ambitious 3.8 billion pound ($4.80 billion) battery plant at a site in northern England, filed for administration in January after struggling to raise funds. The company was then bought by Australia's Recharge Industries, which has yet to unveil plans for the site.

Alfa Romeo should return to Formula One ASAP

Alfa Romeo should absolutely return to Formula One. It would benefit the company, and it would benefit the sport. By extension, it would benefit enthusiasts. Let's break it down: Self-Interest: Alfa is struggling to reboot as a viable modern automaker. Americans love the idea of an Alfa but sometimes associate it with the movie The Graduate, which is nearly 50 years old, and the vague notion of sporty convertibles. It's mythic, but murky. Still, this is a big name in automotive history. If you asked a random person on the street: Do you want to drive an Alfa Romeo? They'd almost certainly say yes. F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. By competing in the World Championship and even better – winning – Alfa could legitimately claim it's not a museum piece, but a company on the edge of technology. And in this case, history is in Alfa's favor. Its drivers, Giuseppe Farina (shown above in 1950) and Juan Manuel Fangio, won the first two Formula One titles in 1950-51. This is a company that's won at LeMans, Mille Miglia, and Targa Florio. Sure, those are some dusty trophies, but the people who would consider buying an Alfa are connoisseurs. They appreciate the bloodlines. F1 Would Be Better: This doesn't matter to Alfa, but the sport would be more interesting with Alfa on the grid. Can you imagine an Alfa in a pitched fight with a Ferrari (say with Sebastian Vettel as the wheel) at Monza? F1 could use some new storylines and rivalries. Simply having an Alfa Romeo team on the grid would spice things up. Use engines from Ferrari. That makes the most sense, and Ferrari already sells its units to other teams. Some of them might as well go to another Italian outfit that still probably wouldn't have the same resources as the Scuderia. Enzo Ferrari started out at Alfa, by the way. It's A Win-Win For Enthusiasts: Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has said a lot of curious things lately, but he's spot-on with the notion of Alfa returning to F1. If that happens, it would make Alfa's new models, like the Giulia and 4C, seem sportier. It would remind collectors just how special the old ones are. And it would make Formula One a more compelling sport. Yes, F1 is wildly expensive. But FCA can find money to do Hellcats and hybrid minivans. It should double-down on Alfa's return to F1. Related Video: