It would have been this year’s North American Car Of The Year favorite
The 2017 North American Car and Truck Of the Year (NACTOY) competition has reached its semifinals, and there’s one particularly notable absence: the Tesla Model 3.
Tesla much-awaited wonder-child will not compete in the prestigious competition because it’s “focused on scaling up production and could not have a car available for jury testing,” the brand representatives explain.
What does that mean? Well, most probably it has to do with the Model 3 not being ready (read: perfected) for this high-profile competition.
Sixty auto experts from the U.S. and Canada are forming the NACTOY jury, who will have to evaluate — at this stage of the competition — the 29 runner-ups, before deciding one winner per category. Here are the categories, and the semifinalists' list:
Car
2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia
2018 Audi A5 Sportback
2017 BMW 5-series
2018 Honda Accord
2017 Hyundai Ioniq
2018 Kia Rio
2018 Kia Stinger
2018 Lexus LC500
2017 Porsche Panamera
2018 Subaru Impreza
2018 Toyota Camry
Utility
2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
2018 Audi Q5/S5
2018 BMW X3
2018 Buick Enclave
2018 Chevrolet Equinox
2018 Chevrolet Traverse
2018 Honda Odyssey
2017 Jeep Compass
2017 Kia Niro
2018 Land Rover Discovery
2017 Mazda CX-5
2018 Subaru Crosstrek
2018 VW Atlas
2018 VW Tiguan
2018 Volvo XC60
Truck
2018 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2
2018 Ford Expedition
2018 Lincoln Navigator
Tesla Model 3 would have been the only EV entering the 2017 NACTOY, and one with great chances of winning it. Previous edition’s Chevrolet Bolt home run was a convincing argument in how the auto experts are perceiving the automotive future, so the Model 3 would have been the favorite. The Hyundai Ioniq is this year's NACTOY oddball.
via insideEVs