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Autoweek dubs GMC Canyon, VW GTI its 2015 'Best of the Best'

For kids around the globe, tis the season for Santa, reindeer and presents. For the automotive industry, the last quarter of each year is reserved for awards, whether they come from Motor Trend, Car and Driver, Automobile, or yes, Autoblog. The latest to get released comes from our friends at Autoweek. The magazine has echoed other outlets, naming a Volkswagen hatchback and a small pickup from General Motors as its Best of the Best. Unlike Motor Trend, which handed out its golden calipers to the Chevrolet Colorado and Volkswagen Golf range, Autoweek doled out its awards to the Colorado's twin, the GMC Canyon, while singling out the hottest version of the Golf, the GTI. "This is the best hot-hatch on the American market – and it may be the best car you can buy for less than $30K," one AW staffer said in the publication's article on the feature. Other staffers praised the absolute value provided by the GTI and the overall fun factor. The Canyon, meanwhile, was saluted for being "the perfect size," not to mention its excellent build quality, feature-rich cabin and overall practicality. "It's truly a truck in the most honest sense of the word," Autoweek wrote of the Canyon. Scroll down for the full press release on the announcement from Autoweek, which includes comments from both Volkswagen and GMC. And then head over and read AW's full feature on the awards. Autoweek names Best of the Best/Car and Truck for 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI and GMC Canyon signal a strong year for design, performance and value DETROIT, Dec. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Autoweek named the Volkswagen Golf GTI as its Best of the Best/Car for 2015, beating a group of finalists that includes the Alfa Romeo 4C, Ford Mustang and Mercedes-Benz C-class; and the GMC Canyon as its Best of the Best/Truck for 2015, besting the likes of the Chevrolet Colorado, Lincoln MKC and Porsche Macan. Autoweek evaluates every new or significantly updated model throughout the year and begins to identify the standouts. Performance, economy, fit and finish, design, value, significance to the auto industry and personal taste all combine to define the Best of the Best. Four cars and four trucks make the grade, and Autoweek editors put them through rigorous road-handling tests at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. This is where a vehicle transcends the numbers and shows if design, performance and pure driving passion meld into an Autoweek Best of the Best pick.

2020 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and GMC Yukon all spied with production lights

One of our spy photographers just caught a smattering of full-size GM SUVs out testing, including the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and GMC Yukon. Previous spy photos of the next-generation of these big GM SUVs have revealed that GM is going with an independent rear suspension design, and these shots confirm the news once again with our best look at the hardware yet. Check them out from the rear, lined up like ducks in a row to see the beefy control arms down there. This will undoubtedly give the big SUVs a more compliant ride, and should bring it back into touch with the refinement from the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. The new bits we get to see with these shots are production headlights and taillights that are shaping up to look pretty neat. Most distinguishable are the GMC Yukon's LED DRLs. These look a lot like the C-shaped LEDs outlining the headlights on the Sierra, but they have an extra LED strip on top of the C. The parts of the taillights that we can see look significantly different than that found on the Sierra, showing GM is planning on having a great deal of differentiation there. We can sort of see through the mesh covering the grille to what appears to be a classic horizontal bar style front opening. Chevy is predictably dialing the crazy LED strip design back for the Tahoe and Suburban. The parts that are lit up look a whole lot like the headlight fixtures on the 2019 Silverado. That truck uses a stack of lights with the actual headlights separated from the DRLs. We can see the same thing going on here, with the headlight up top and curved LED DRL strip sitting below. It's tough to say if the designs are exactly alike, but we expect to see an extremely Silverado-esque look once all the camouflage comes off. Chevrolet's taillight design differs from its donor truck like the GMC, showing off a curved, vertical series of LEDs out back. Once production lights start popping up like this, we know the vehicle is moving closer to its end game. A reveal sometime later this year could be in the cards for GM's next batch of full-size SUVs. It certainly needs them quick, as Ford rockets ahead with increased Expedition production announced earlier this week.

Son surprises his dad by restoring his 1949 pickup for Christmas

Norman Meal, an 83-year-old retired farmer from Rushville, IN, nearly missed his big Christmas gift when his son, Kyle, first presented it to him. Norman was oblivious and was looking all over the garage floor until Kyle pointed out a satin black pickup with a bow on it parked inside. This wasn't just another case of a child buying a parent a dream vehicle; the '49 GMC sitting there was Norman's very first truck that was restored and ready to drive. According to Fox 59 WXIN, Norman's father purchased the GMC in 1949, and Norman bought it from him in the mid '50s to use on the farm. However, for about the past 13 years, the truck had been rotting away in the garage of one of Kyle's friends. As a perfect gift to his dad, Kyle took the pickup to a restoration shop to make the old vehicle roadworthy again. Practically everything was replaced – except for the horn. Thankfully, Kyle filmed his dad's reaction to getting the GMC. Check it out and watch them take a drive in the heartwarming video above.