The invites are out and the awards will come piling in. This years’ categories are packed with top quality. The winners will be announced and their visual appearances will be second guessed for weeks. That’s right, it is time to talk about the 2012 Detroit Auto Show.

I know many of you were still thinking about who won best picture of the year or best dressed at this year’s Academy awards. But the Detroit Auto Show has awarded its own “best” categories.

It is aptly titled the North American International Auto Show. It is always held in Detroit, Michigan at the Cobo Center and it is one of the largest auto shows in the entire North America.

Its history is rich and remarkable. The first auto show held in Detroit was way back in 1907.  It wasn’t at the Cobo Center at that time, but rather at the Beller’s Beer Garden at Riverside Park.  The show has been an annual tradition to the car industry every year, except for a few years during 1943-52. In 1965 it was moved to the Cobo Center.

Obviously Detroit has a very rich history in Automotive industry. And that is what makes having the Auto show in Detroit so perfect. The three big American Automakers all call Detroit home. This includes General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.

The Charity Preview Event

Each year, the Auto show begins with a press preview day.  This is closely followed by the charity preview event.  This even raises money for a local children’s charity.

During the years 2004 and 2005, more than 17,500 people were attracted to the charity event. Each ticket was around $400 and they raised a total of $7 million dollars each year.

During 2006, the event raised over $6 million dollars.  It is estimated that number has continued over the past six years.

2012 Car and Truck of the Year Awards

It marks the first time in years that the one of the finalists for the North American Car of the Year award wasn’t coming out of the Japanese auto industry.

The finalists for the “Car of the Year” were the Hyundai Elantra, the Ford Focus, and the Volkswagen Passat.  The Honda Civic and the Toyota Camry were both absent on the list for 2012.

The finalists for the “Truck of the Year” were the Honda CR-V Crossover, the Range Rover Evoque, and the BMW X3.

This has been the first time in years that there is no American vehicle in the truck of the year award finalist for 2012.

Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles

The English translation of this important French automobile federation is International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.

The federation is based in Paris and was started in 1919.

It is a central based communication project between several automobile manufactures. It also helps with a few international auto shows.  It helps with auto shows in Italy, France, Brazil, England, Spain and others.  One of their top shows that they support is the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The Winners

The “Car of the Year” award for 2012 went to the Hyundai Elantra

The “Truck of the Year” award for 2012 went to the Range Rover Evoque

Another award was given for the “Escellence in Design Award” for the show went to the 2013 Ford Fusion

And the “EyesOn Design” award went to the Lexus LF-LC

The 2011 winners went to the Chevy Volt for Car and the Ford Explore for Truck.

I know your pens and pencils were out this year to give your nominations, so look ahead to next year to chose the car and truck of the year awards for 2013. If you get a chance to visit the Detroit Auto Show, I would highly recommend it.

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