Mustang Mach-E key to Ford score in the 2020 TopGear.com Awards
Photo: Ford
Ford Motor Company kicks off December and rounds out its year with a pair of top honors from Top Gear. On Tuesday, TopGear.com released its 2020 industry awards, revealing the Ford Puma ST as its choice for Crossover of the Year. Ford took home Manufacturer of a Year, earning the title for its ability to mesh electrification with electrifying vehicles.
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Top Gear writes: “Ford isn’t stamping out the EVs and crossovers that legislation and the buying public demands with a cookie cutter; it’s making cars we’ll actually want in the process.” It hails Ford for “taking a punt” at leveraging properties like the Mustang in its push to be an EV leader, though it notes that the Mach-E is not everyone’s cup of tea. But with the Mach-E GT Performance Edition delivering 480 horsepower and 634 lb-ft of torque, how could you not wanna take a li’l sip of that good cuppa char?
Ford CEO Jim Farley, a man who clearly appreciates a good cup of char, released a response video from the wheel of a Mustang Mach-E. Farley thanked Top Gear deputy editor Jack Rix and the whole squad for the honor before flooring it and speeding through the parking lot. Jim, as CEO, you really oughta be setting a good example for parking lot safety.
Ford also earns Manufacturer of the Year for the electrification of the Fiesta and Focus, two vehicles that are still thriving in Europe despite having been discontinued stateside.
Puma ST roars to TopGear.com 2020 Crossover of the Year
The Ford Puma ST is the T (for truth)
Photo: Ford
Adding to Ford’s Top Gear awards haul is the prize for Crossover of the Year, earned by the new Puma. Another of Ford’s electrified options, the Puma also aims to titillate with its newly revealed Puma ST performance variant. While the 2020 TopGear.com Awards page gives the honor to the whole Puma range, the video announcing the winners specifically focuses on the ST.
Top Gear calls the Puma the Ford crossover folks have been waiting for, saying the automaker “absolutely nailed the Puma’s second coming.” You also, of course, get a good bit of the trademark Top Gear humor — the Puma is called “as sweetly poised to drive as a Fiesta carrying lockdown weight.”
Look, it’s been a rough couple of months, so one could hardly blame anyone (or any vehicle) for putting on a pound or two. But as TopGear.com notes of Ford: “Someone had a good 2020.”
You can watch the 47-minute presentation of the 2020 TopGear.com Awards below.
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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.
