2022 North American Car and Truck of the Year winners announced in Detroit

The North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards have announced their 2022 winners.

The Honda Civic has been named car of the year at the 2022 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards. It marks the fourth time in the last five years that a foreign automaker has received the honor.

ISeeCars.com executive analyst Karl Brauer is a juror for the awards. He says while Detroit’s manufacturers lack representation in the car space, they are doing well in the truck and utility vehicle sectors.

It really represents the rapidly changing atmosphere in the car world and how quickly the industry is shifting from traditional cars and traditional brands to a lot of these newer drivetrains produced by previously unheard-of companies.” —Karl Brauer, ISeeCars.com

“This has been a trend really for over 20 years,” says Brauer. “It’s been a couple decades now that we’ve watched this slow but sure abandonment of the car world by the domestic automakers simply because there’s more profit to be made in trucks and SUVs.”

Ford Motor Company took home the honors in the sport utility and truck categories, with its Bronco SUV and Maverick pickup. It’s the second year in a row that Ford has swept those awards.

While this year’s winning models are gasoline powered, two all-electric vehicles named among the nine finalists were both from upstart manufacturers. The Lucid Air made the final round in the car category while the Rivian R1T did the same in the truck group.

“It really represents the rapidly changing atmosphere in the car world,” says Brauer. “And how quickly the industry is shifting from traditional cars and traditional brands to a lot of these newer drivetrains produced by previously unheard-of companies.”

Brauer says he thinks seeing EVs from a variety of manufacturers appearing as award finalists is a trend that will continue in the coming years.