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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.

CAR adds details to Alfa Romeo's five-year plan

Much of this month's issue of CAR Magazine is devoted to Alfa Romeo and what we can expect from it in the next five years. Of course, they unfortunately went to print before FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne died (and it took a while for it to land in my mail box), so certain elements are bound to change in light of new leadership. Nevertheless, there are plenty of interesting tidbits to chew on. First, there are a few more details regarding the Alfa Romeo 8C super car, which was confirmed during FCA's recent five-year plan announcement. Unlike the last front-engined, rear-drive 8C, the new one would be mid-engined with the rear wheels powered by a version of the Quadrofoglio turbo V6 brought up to the 600-horsepower range, and some amount of electrification added to the front axle. CAR indicates a total output of around 800 hp and 660 pound-feet of torque. A carbon fiber monococque would help keep the weight down, and to keep cost down, reporter Georg Kacher posits its production will be farmed out to a third party like Dallara. Both pricing and performance will be interesting with the 8C: how much does FCA want Alfa Romeo to compete with Ferrari? Without Marchionne leading both, perhaps it won't matter. View 19 Photos Then again, how much it wants Alfa to compete with Maserati might, as the future Giulia-based GTV coupe could do just that. Apparently, the coupe and convertible range is intended to compete with the entire breadth of the German two-door catalogue, from 4 Series and M4, to C- and E-Class Coupes. Presumably it'll therefore be more than just a Giulia coupe. Regular, high-performance and plug-in hybrid versions are mentioned. Finally, as was part of the previously announced five-year plan, there will be SUVs introduced on either side of the Stelvio. Apparently, it was originally thought that the smaller of the two would be produced on the cheaper Renegade/500X platform, but that has been nixed in favor of the Giulia's "Giorgio" platform to maintain a higher degree of engineering sophistication. If so, good call. The bigger of the two new Alfa SUVs would also be on the platform, and since it's been rumored that the next Jeep Grand Cherokee will be as well, it'll be interesting to see how similar those two mid-size SUVs will potentially be. There are many more Alfa insights from CAR, but as it's restricted to print and not on their website, we can only urge you to swing by your local magazine rack and pick up the latest issue. They do good stuff.

Alfa Romeo Tonale Edizione Bambini concept is a stylish way to parent

Your grandparents' boots were made for walking, and they're still cool. Your parents' minvans were made for, well, you, and now that you're the car buyer, you've made it clear minivans are uncool. Crossovers and SUVs run family bus routes now, and they're simply not as handy for hauling the kiddie army as the playroom-on-wheels that is a minivan. Alfa Romeo has an idea about how to change that. The automaker's UK arm interviewed 2,000 parents to get insights about parent- and kid-friendly features. The results come together in a one-off called the Alfa Romeo Tonale Edizione Bambini — the Kid's Edition, as it were. The biggest gripe parents had was how hard it is to keep their vehicles clean. A spiffy leather organizer that Alfa Romeo should sell for every Tonale, not just the babyfied ones, hangs over both front seats. It's got shaped slots for a drink bottle, a bento box for snacks, and pens. It also protects the seat backs from the repeated kicks that children are known to apply during journeys. A small trash container sits on the floor behind the center console. And because parents today use a thing called a "reward chart," kids can keep track of their progress keeping the vehicle clean so mum and dad aren't embarrassed to take the boss for a ride. There are more cleaning supplies in the boots, these for the elders. They include a battery-powered vacuum charged by the Tonale, and a collapsible caddy with products like a boot cleaning brush, leather cleaner, tissues, and wet wipes.      Move vital parenting duties are aided by the retractable changing station in the cargo area and the baby monitor in the back seat. A survey by diaper brand Huggies found 86% of parents needed to change their child's diapers "on the move." The custom changing station can slide out from under the parcel shelf after the hatch is raised, and is upholstered in an easy to clean changing mat. The video monitor for kids in the back seat can be placed to watch over rearward- or forward-facing baby seats, the feed available in a smartphone app that guardians in the front row can check. The obligatory entertainment needs come courtesy of screens on the seatbacks, headphones hung from the seatback organizers, tablet pockets for up to three children, and a foldable toy caddy. For parents who consider "minivan" a four-letter word, this one-off Tonale is definitely a stylish solution to managing the warehouse of goods so many kids seem to travel with nowadays.