Cadillac ATS and Ram 1500 win North American Car/Utility awards

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos Canada

The results are in: during a press conference early in the media days of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week, the North American Car and Utility of the Year awards were presented to Cadillac and Ram. The former for its ATS, which was General Motors' fifth such award, while the Ram 1500 was Chrysler Corp's third in the truck/utility category.

The ATS, with 207 points, beat out heavy favourites like the Honda Accord (159) and Ford Fusion (124), further solidifying Cadillac's efforts at producing a BMW beater. 

Meanwhile, the Ram was the only 'real' truck in the mix, and collected 261 points to beat the second-placed Honda CR-V (142) and Ford C-Max (87).

Nearly 50 journalists from Canada and the United States are polled and asked to vote on the awards, which is now into its 20th year. Last years winners were the Hyundai Elantra and Range Rover Evoque.

The ATS also gained another feather in its cap this morning by being voted as the 'Best of the Best' by the Canadian Automotive Jury, a group of 10 of Canada's most influential car journalists. The results were announced today on CTV's Canada AM and the award will be presented to Cadillac at the Montreal Auto Show's media days on Thursday. The ATS beat out the Accord, Kia Rio and Mazda CX-5 in the final tally.

Whether the ATS can pull out another win in February remains to be seen. The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada will reveal its Car and Utility Vehicle of the Year winners during the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto in about a month from now. Unfortunately, the Ram didn't participate because there weren't enough new or heavily updated pickups on the market to warrant a class this year.

What do you think? Are the ATS and Ram 1500 worthy of the selection? Let us know in the comments.