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Chevy Bolt was 2017 Car of the Year
Many Detroiters take note when any organization picks the car of the year and it's from a foreign-based company.
For the first time in the history of the North American Car of the Year, the panel choosing the winner will not be considering a car built by a Detroit automaker, reports CNBC. The winner is announced every year at the January show.
"This is a watershed moment," Mark Phelan, auto critic for the Detroit Free Press and president of the organization that picks the car and truck of the year, says, according to CNBC. "It really does show how far the industry has moved."
GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler do not have a single entry due to the fact they have not rolled out brand new cars in the last year.
U.S. companies still have plenty entries for pickup or utility truck of the year, Phelan says.
"Detroit is ahead of the curve when it comes for trucks, SUVs and crossovers," he explains. "The market has shifted to those bigger vehicles and Detroit's automakers are being very smart investing in the types of models people want."
