When the winners of this year's North American Car and Truck Awards are announced in a few months' time, we will know a few things. First of all, we will know whether it will be an electric car sweeping the floor. Secondly, we will know whether the brand-new manufacturer will receive several awards. Finally, we will know the name of the winner (there is no conclusion yet).

Torque News realized that this explanation seemed a bit strange. However, there were not a few honorable vehicles a year ago—except for concept cars or mules. The mule is a test vehicle, wearing camouflage driving on the country’s roads to prevent identification. Most of the time, it works well. However, enterprising automotive journalists have their methods to find out what is behind.

It is an interesting year for the NACTOY Awards, because electric cars may be swept by, and these two automakers did not exist three years ago.

In other words, this year, Ford was nominated as a finalist in two categories. Ford’s entries belong to the utility and truck categories. They are Bronco and compact Maverick pickups.

Bronco was introduced within a few months of the coronavirus outbreak last year, and Maverick was introduced last spring. Both represent "new" entrants because this is their first sale.

For this Dearborn automaker, the Mustang is a "back to the future" moment. The original Bronco was first introduced in 1965 as a two-door 4X4 SUV, mainly aimed at the "beach culture" of the 1960s. This iconic flat-panel SUV is a single-row vehicle with a front seat that can accommodate two people. In the cargo area behind the seat, surfboards or other sundries can be placed. The early Bronco games were Jeep CJ and International S5.

Primitive Mustang calls for "beach crowds"

Bronco quickly stood out because the "beach crowd" quickly noticed Bronco. It is part of the beach scene about a year after its launch in 1965. By 1969, Bronco was flexing its muscles in the off-road world. Bronco is the first winner of the first Baja 1000. Running in the desert of Baja California, the racer had to use an almost dry river bed and a trail of lizard tracks. The Mustang repeated this feat many times, whether as a class champion or a complete winner of the game.

Ford's Bronco was produced until the mid-1990s, when the company decided to put it in a secondary position. Ford's Explorer and Expedition (full-size) SUVs have received full attention from automakers.

You might think that when the last Bronco rolled off the assembly line in 1996, that was it. However, there is an "underground mustang" in the ranks of automakers, which has been actively keeping this model in the "heads" of enterprises for many years. From time to time, there are rumors that the Mustangs are coming back, but they are still just like this, rumors. About 10 years ago, encouraged by members of the "Mustang Underground" who had been promoted to senior positions, people proposed a model of a Mustang vehicle, which made the rumble louder.

Although they are in a senior position, they have never been in a position where they can do more than order models. This situation continued until about six years ago, when the model appeared on various booths as a "concept car" or test mule car. Until the end of 2017, when test mules appeared on the road near Dearborn, they were still "concepts." Time after time, the mule was photographed disguised as himself. It seems that there is more development every time.

Things went well until the coronavirus hit the auto industry and the introduction ceased. This is the situation with the updated Bronco. It was originally part of a wave of new car introductions at the end of 2019. However, the introduction in the plan had to wait. In fact, as the coronavirus is raging in the automotive industry, the plant where the Mustang is planned to be built is in a state of production related to the coronavirus.

This situation drove the introduction of the Bronco brand (one of the automaker's new sub-brands) and the vehicles that make up the brand, the two- and four-door Bronco (full-size) and Bronco Sport (medium-size). -Size) Introduction to 2020. In fact, the Bronco brand is in 2020. However, the pandemic still puts them under cold control and put Bronco on hold.

Later in 2020, when things became more normal, Bronco Sport appeared. Sport is the first Bronco model to be launched. Close behind are the full-size two-door and four-door Bronco models. The main differences between the models are easy to spot. Sport is a one-piece vehicle, while two-door and four-door are body frame versions (traditional pickup type construction).

Ford's second car in the NACTOY race is the new Maverick. Maverick is an all-in-one truck modeled after the Ford F-150 Super Cab pickup (four-door). Like Hyundai Santa Cruz, Maverick is a model that defines the pickup market segment. The key to Maverick is its cost. Its basic model costs around US$20 to US$20, or it should be. Although the evidence is mostly anecdotal, some dealers have added thousands of dollars to the cost of small Ford pickup trucks. Maverick is equipped with a full-size four-door cab.

The maverick proved popular

Maverick should prove to be a popular vehicle. In the first few months of sales, it set a new benchmark for sales.

At the same time, as mentioned earlier, Hyundai has two cars that have won the NACTOY honor. Before the pandemic, the North American Car Truck of the Year Award was timed for the Detroit International Auto Show. This is the 28th year of the award program. Until two years ago, the auto show was accompanied by the North American Auto Show in Detroit. The Detroit Show has been suspended since 2019.

Hyundai also has two vehicles in operation, one of which is an electric vehicle. The Ioniq 5 is electric, and the Santa Cruz pickup is the finalist for Truck of the Year.

There are three electronic products in operation this year, two of which are from startups Rivian and Lucid. As mentioned earlier, another electric car comes from Hyundai. If Lucid or Rivian contestants win, they will be the first time winners.

Rivian had planned to build electric cars with its partner Ford, but now that Ford has determined that it can manufacture electric cars on its own, it is alone.

Ford decided to act alone

There is no doubt that Ford made the right decision for itself, because it now owns Mustang Mach-E, creating outstanding sales figures, and the upcoming Ford F-150 Lightning will be produced in 2022. Currently, F-150 Lightning has approximately 100,000 reservations. Most bookings are of the "conquest" type, which means Ford's first customer. Ford will launch the E-Transit Van in 2022.

Returning to the NACTOY project, the winner will be determined by a panel of 50 automotive journalists. Journos spent three days getting the finalists through their pace. The group drove a total of 23 cars before deciding on the 9 cars that will be considered as finalists. The finalists include two cars, one hatchback, three pickup trucks and three crossovers. Interestingly, one finalist in each category is electric. The judges spent three days inspecting the vehicle.

By the end of the year, the judges had driven 8 cars, 6 pickup trucks and 9 utility vehicles on sale. As you might expect, not all vehicles tested were shortlisted. According to an article in Automotive News, the unselected vehicles include the GMC Hummer EV pickup, Jeep Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer and Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing.

This week, NACTOY President Gary Witzenburg told Automotive News, “These nine vehicles represent an exceptionally good and diverse finalist. These vehicles demonstrate the current diversification of the automotive industry, from new original equipment manufacturers to Category to create a new segment of vehicles. This year’s finalist also explained how many electric vehicles are available for customers of multiple models."

Mark Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971, when an ordinary news editor said: "You are our new car editor" and dumped about 27 pounds of car on my desk Supplies. I am in heaven because I have been a reducer since my early years. When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time wandering around Shell and Texaco gas stations (a major event in my youth) and working in cars. Since then, I have been straight to the first column of my thesis "You Know Cars", which I have been operating faithfully for 32 years. Not many people know that when I write YAN, I also deal with computer documents most of the time. However, my best writing is always in the car. My works have appeared in "Popular Mechanics", "Mechanical Pictorial", "Auto Weekly", "Super Stocks", "Trailer Life", "Old Car Weekly", "Special Interest Cars" and other magazines. You can follow me: Twitter or Facebook.