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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.

Weekly Recap: Ford GT inspires guitar, foosball table, sailboat

Ford design vice president Moray Callum had just wrapped up a briefing on the interior of the Ford GT last month, but something seemed out of place. He grinned and pointed behind him, "You might be wondering why I have a boat behind me," he said mischievously. It was there because Ford set its designers on a mission to stretch and showcase their talents: design non-automotive objects inspired by the interior of the GT supercar. Callum received quite a response, too. His team produced a guitar, a foosball table (yeah bro!), a racing sailboat, a Wi-Fi speaker and some furniture. As the veteran design chief explained, "It's a really great exercise both to highlight our designers' talents, but also to really see how our design philosophy can work and how you can use it and get a common response back from a worldwide design team." Guitar View 25 Photos The objects have been on display this week at the Salone del Mobile furniture and fashion design fair in Milan, Italy, where Ford has had a presence for three years. There's also a light exhibition that apparently was inspired by the GT, as well. While this might seem a little far-fetched for the automaker, Ford said exhibitions like the Salone del Mobile give its designers another way to be creative and ultimately produce striking interior style. Ford wants this to be a differentiator, as research shows consumers are placing emphasis on the layout and features inside when they're making a decision about buying a new car. It's a little light hearted – but it's also potentially big business. Other News & Notes Cadillac CT6 platform could be used for Buick General Motors product chief Mark Reuss said the Cadillac CT6 platform could be used for a large Buick, though "not yet," Automotive News reported. The underpinnings can accommodate rear-wheel or all-wheel drive and would give Buick the large flagship it lacks. The report jibes with comments Reuss made at a roundtable with Autoblog and other reporters at the New York Auto Show. When asked if Buick had space for a large car on the CT6 chassis, he replied, "Yeah, I think it does. Yeah, I think we do." Buick has revamped its lineup in recent years with attractive crossovers and small and midsize sedans, but hasn't added the proverbial flagship that's yearned for by enthusiasts. Buick surprised industry observers with the stylish Avenir concept at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year that raised the possibility of a halo sedan.

Buick resurrects the Electra nameplate on a science fiction-like electric concept

Buick plans to broaden its range of electric cars in the coming years, and it still owns the rights to the heritage-laced Electra nameplate, so it was only a matter of time before the past and the future met head-on. Buick resurrected the name it used between the 1959 and 1990 model years on a futuristic, battery-powered concept car. Created by a Shanghai-based design studio, the Electra concept takes the form of either a tall sedan or a low crossover, depending on your perspective. While it's not officially a preview of an upcoming production model, it ushers in a design language named Potential Energy that will permeate most of the electric cars the firm will release during the 2020s. It's inspired by a space capsule, according to Buick, so its greenhouse was drawn to resemble a glass pod. Its surfaces are sculpted but not chiseled, and its front fascia wears LED lights with a three-dimensional effect. Fear not: Stylists didn't forget the seemingly obligatory back-lit emblem. Butterfly doors provide access to the cabin, where the space capsule theme continues. Buick packed the Electra with cutting-edge technology features, but it concealed them rather well to avoid a tech overload. The driver faces a rectangular steering wheel that retracts when it's not needed, behind which is a wide, curved screen that replaces all of the buttons, knobs, and switches normally found in a car's interior. An electric motor is far more compact than a comparable four- or six-cylinder engine, so designers were able to carve out a generously sized interior. Engineers embedded technology into the Electra from the project's earliest stage. It's equipped with software named eConnect that supports over-the-air updates, provides on-demand information about a specific trip, and gives details about the various electronic driving aids. An artificial intelligence-powered assistant lets users perform various tasks, such as setting the air conditioning or controlling home devices, with voice commands. Buick noted the Electra offers about 410 miles of driving range thanks in part to the Ultium battery technology developed by General Motors to power a wide selection of electric models, including the Cadillac Lyriq, the GMC Hummer, and a pair of Honda-badged models scheduled to go on sale for the 2024 model year.