2021 Ford F-150, Mustang Mach-E are NACTOY Finalists

The 2021 Ford F-150, Mustang Mach-E are NACTOY finalists
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Ford looks to kick off 2021 seeing two of its hottest new vehicles pull down two of the most coveted awards in all the land. The 2021 Ford F-150 and Mustang Mach-E are among nine finalists for the North American Car, Utility, and Truck of the Year awards. 2021 marks the first time the Ford brand has had two NACTOY finalists in the same year since 2015. The finalists in 2015? The F-150, which won Truck of the Year, and the Mustang.

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NACTOY announced the nine finalists for the annual awards on Thursday. Ford has stiff competition on both fronts. Running against the 2021 Ford F-150 for Truck of the Year are the Jeep Gladiator Mojave and the 702-horsepower Ram 1500 TRX. The Mustang Mach-E has its hands full with the new Genesis GV80 and Land Rover Defender. Finalists for Car of the Year include the Genesis G80, Hyundai Elantra, and Nissan Sentra.

NACTOY President Gary Witzenburg says that narrowing the field down from the 27 semifinalists announced in September proved challenging with the strength of the field. That rings particularly true in the Utility of the Year category, which leaves out vehicles that would have surely been shoo-ins any other year. Among the vehicles left off the 2021 NACTOY finalists’ ballot is the Ford Bronco Sport, which began arriving at dealerships in November.

“Each one of [the semifinalists] — especially the 15 in the ultra-competitive utility vehicle category — is excellent in nearly every way,” said Witzenburg.

Can F-150, Mustang Mach-E threepeat?

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Now NACTOY finalists, the 2021 Ford F-150 and Ford Mustang Mach-E hope to go back-to-back on a major award for the third time in as many months. This true power couple earned Green Car Journal’s 2021 Green Truck of the Year and Green Car of the Year in November. In December, Edmunds named the F-150 its Top Rated Truck for 2021 while making the somewhat unusual choice of naming the Mustang Mach-E its Top Rated Luxury EV.

“We’re happy to hear this news, and it’s a well-deserved recognition for the teams behind Mustang Mach-E and F-150,” said Ford Motor Company and International Markets Group President Kumar Galhotra. “The North American Car, Utility, and Truck of the Year awards are among the most prestigious in the industry given their objective jury of independent reporters — and winning such an honor serves as a capstone achievement for years of hard work for the winning vehicle. We eagerly await the team’s verdict in January.”

Ford won’t have long to wait to see how its dynamic duo fares. The NACTOY jurors will vote from Jan. 2-4, and the winners of the North American Car, Utility, and Truck of the Year awards will be announced Jan. 11.

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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.