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Cadillac ATS, Ram 1500 win North American car, truck awards

DETROIT -- The Cadillac ATS and Ram 1500 were named 2013 North American Car and Truck of the Year today by a panel of automotive journalists.

The ATS faced the Ford Fusion and Honda Accord in the finals for 2013 North American Car of the Year, while the Ram 1500 was up against the Ford C-Max and Mazda CX-5 in the truck/utility finals.

This is Cadillac's first and General Motors' fifth car of the year award. Chrysler Group earned the top truck honor for the third time.

"This is a very meaningful honor for the entire Cadillac team, especially the men and women who build the ATS in Lansing, Michigan, and our dedicated and talented designers and engineers," Bob Ferguson, GM vice president, global Cadillac, said in a statement "A car like ATS is the result of incredible commitment and focus. That's the only method for creating a great performing luxury car."

The awards are judged by 49 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada -- representing magazines, newspapers, Web sites, TV and radio.

Judging criteria include innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar.

Seven automakers had multiple nominees for the awards, led by Ford Motor Co. with four: the Ford Fusion, Escape and C-Max and the Lincoln MKZ. Nissan North America had three: the Nissan Altima and Pathfinder and the Infiniti JX35.

The others are General Motors with the Cadillac ATS and Chevrolet Malibu, Toyota Motor Sales' Toyota Avalon and Scion FR-S, Chrysler Group's Dodge Dart and Ram 1500 pickup, American Honda with the Honda Accord and Acura RDX and BMW's 3 series and X1.

The other contenders were the Subaru BRZ, Mazda CX-5, Hyundai Santa Fe and Audi Allroad.

Last year, Hyundai won North American Car of the Year for the second time with the Elantra. Hyundai's Genesis won the award in 2009.

With the ATS win, American automakers have taken the car honor 11 times. European automakers have been selected four times and Japanese automakers have won three times. A Korean car has won twice.

The Land Rover Range Rover Evoque nabbed the truck award in 2012, the first time Land Rover won the honor.

Domestic automakers, however, have dominated the North American Truck of the Year award with 13 wins after the Ram 1500's victory. Japanese automakers have been selected four times and European automakers have won three times.

The jurors include Edward Lapham, executive editor of Automotive News.

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Drive On: Ram boosts towing power of toughest pickup

Chrysler's Ram pickup division rocks the truck world today by announcing a class-leading 30,000 pounds of towing capacity, up from 22,750 pounds, its most powerful truck.
The increase in the 2013 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty pickup is so stunning that it's nearly 7,000 pounds more than what Ram says is the next highest competitor's towing capacity of 23,100 pounds.
Now comes the boasting.
"We built the new 2013 Ram Heavy Duty to be the undisputed Heavy Duty 'King of the Road.' These new rigs deliver on the No. 1 key attribute most critical to these customers: uncompromising capability," said Fred Diaz, CEO of the Ram Truck brand.
To tow the massive amount, Ram says the truck will have a new high-strength steel frame. But it also gets more power -- an upgraded 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel engine with 850 pound-feet of torque.
How much is 15 tons? It's enough that the 3500 could pull a trailer with 18 Smart cars on board. Or three Ford F-150s.
Although we bet no respectable Ford F-Series truck would ever be caught dead being pulled on a trailer by a Ram. Any Ram.

-Courtesy of USA Today