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Here are your 2016 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year finalists [w/polls]

The 2016 Detroit Auto Show will kick off with the announcement of the annual North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year awards, and the three finalists in each category have just been revealed. Following this announcement, the jury – which includes Autoblog editor-in-chief Mike Austin – will re-evaluate each candidate before casting a final vote for the winner. This year's finalists are: Car of the Year Chevrolet Malibu Honda Civic Mazda MX-5 Miata Truck/Utility of the Year Honda Pilot Nissan Titan XD Volvo XC90 The 23rd annual awards will be announced on the morning of Monday, January 11. For now, we want to know where you stand. Let us know which vehicles you think should win, by voting in the polls below. Chevrolet Honda Mazda Nissan Volvo north american car of the year NACTOY

Mazda leads Consumer Reports' latest Brand Report Card Rankings

The latest automaker brand report cards from Consumer Reports are in, and there are quite a few changes for 2021. At the very top of the charts sits Mazda, up three spots over last year, followed by BMW and Subaru to round out the top three. It's interesting to note that mainstream brands (non-luxury in CR-speak) don't seem to be at a disadvantage in CR's rankings, with five of the top 10 spots. In addition to Mazda in first and Subaru in third, Honda, Toyota, Chrysler, and Buick were the other high-ranking non-luxury marques. The ratings are derived from "a combination of predicted reliability, and owner satisfaction based on member surveys, and CR’s hands-on analysis" and also includes safety features and crash test scores.  At the very bottom of the list sit Mitsubishi, Land Rover and Alfa Romeo. "Our brand rankings don't just look at how models perform on our test track, but the broad picture of vehicle quality," said Jake Fisher, Senior Director of Automotive Testing at Consumer Reports. "Fortunately, consumers will find they have many options that are safe, enjoyable, and reasonably priced." The biggest jumps in the brand report card rankings come from Chrysler, Buick and Honda, which each moved up five spots compared to last year's rankings. The news wasn't nearly as good for Lincoln, which fell an alarming 15 spots this year, Genesis, which fell 13 spots, or Kia, which fell 10 spots. Related Video:

Mazda's first profit in five years in sight due to weak yen

Automotive News reports Mazda is set to turn a profit for the first time in five years. The automaker is more dependent on exports from Japan than other automakers based in that country, and as a result, it has long suffered at the hands of a strong yen. But the currency has declined in value by some 16 percent over the past six months and Mazda's shares have tripled in value to their highest level since 2008. Contrast this situation to a year ago when Mazda printed 1.22 billion new shares to raise cash. The move was equivalent to 70 percent of the company's then-outstanding stock, and values tumbled to record lows as a result.
Now that the yen has fallen to a value of around 96 per dollar, Mazda operations in the US are more profitable and the company now projects it will earn around $279 million for the next fiscal year. Automotive News says a one yen change against the dollar can have a 9.1 percent impact on Mazda operating profit compared to 4.7 percent at Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries or 3.1 percent at Toyota. Those automakers better insulate themselves from currency fluctuations with overseas manufacturing facilities.