Chevrolet Colorado, Camaro awarded Motor Trend Car and Truck of the Year

Nathan Bomey | USA TODAY

General Motors snapped up the two top honors from Motor Trend magazine, providing a key vindication for the company's vehicle development decisions amid exceedingly competitive times in the auto industry.

Motor Trend named the Chevrolet Colorado as its Truck of the Year and picked the Chevrolet Camaro as its Car of the Year.

The magazine named the Volvo XC90 as its SUV of the Year.

2016 Chevrolet Camaro debuts in Detroit Lighter platform, new drive trains promise better performance and fuel economy from the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro.

The Colorado's victory is particularly sweet for GM, which zigged while the industry zagged by embracing mid-size pickup trucks. While Ford stuck with the full-size F-series pickup and Fiat Chrysler bet on the full-size Ram pickup, GM revived the temporarily defunct Colorado, giving the vehicle a complete overhaul.

Customers have flocked to the Colorado and its sister vehicle, the GMC Canyon. GM sold 70,291 Colorados through the first 10 months of the year, making it the company's eighth most popular model. It sold 24,841 Canyons during the same period.

Other Motor Trend Truck of the Year finalists were the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Canyon, GMC Sierra 1500, Nissan Titan XD and Toyota Tacoma.

Meanwhile, the Camaro impressed critics with its new lighter design and smaller stance. The performance coupe's overhaul came ahead of the Camaro's 50th birthday.

Other finalists for the Motor Trend Car of the Year were the Audi TT, BMW 7 Series, Honda Civic, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Mercedes-Benz GT S and Toyota Mirai.

Volvo's win for the XC90 came in a particularly competitive year for SUVs. Motor Trend said there were more contenders for SUV of the Year than Car of the Year, reflecting the industry's transition to crossovers and SUVs.

The XC90's overhauled chassis, new design and peppy but efficient powertrain options impressed the judges.

Other finalists for SUV of the Year were the Honda Pilot, Lincoln MKX, Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class and Nissan Murano.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.