Matthew Dolan

Detroit Free Press

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A stalwart Japanese passenger car and the first, all-new offering from a Swedish automaker now owned by a Chinese company captured the top awards to open the North American International Auto Show.

The Honda Civic is the North American Car of the Year in the first event that kicked off the 2016 Detroit auto show.

The Volvo XC90 is the North American Truck of the Year.

The other car finalists were Chevrolet Malibu and Mazda MX-5 Miata. On the truck side, finalists were Honda Pilot and Nissan Titan XD.

* It was the Civic's second victory. It won in 2006.

* The Volvo XC90 had its second victory, too. It won in 2003.

While the winners have always been announced at the North American International Auto Show, the auto show in Detroit does not hand the awards, nor does the voting take place at the show. The awards are handed out by a group of car and truck reviewers just before the official opening of the show at Cobo Center.

Sponsors say the awards are unique because -- instead of being given by a single publication, website, radio or TV station -- they are bestowed by an independent jury of automotive journalists from the U.S. and Canada.

These vehicles are benchmarks in their segments based on factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar, jurors said. Vehicles must be new or “substantially changed” to be award-winning.

Five of the six finalists announced late last year are made by foreign-owned automakers. The jurors voted to put nine cars and 11 truck or utility vehicles on the original ballot.

Then the jurors voted a second time on the three truck and three car finalists. In the second ballot – also sent to Deloitte -- each juror has 10 points to distribute for the car category and 10 points for the truck category. The jurors may divide up those points or give all 10 to a single vehicle.

Now in its 23rd year, the awards recognize the most outstanding new vehicles of the year as judged by an independent jury of 53 automotive journalists from the U.S. and Canada. There were 49 eligible vehicles.

The Honda Civic and Chevrolet Malibu were fairly obvious top candidates while the Mazda MX-5 Miata was seen as somewhat of a surprise. The 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, which is just now being launched, gives General Motors a credible midsize car in a segment where the automaker has struggled.

"I think the Civic is improved in every possible metric," Tony Swan, a cofounder of the award who also reviews vehicles for a number of print and online publications.

The company posted a 3% sales gain for the full year, rising to 1.59 million vehicles, an all-time record surpassing the previous mark set in 2007.

The automaker bucked the industry trend of declining car sales in December. Civic posted gains of 29.4%, as overall Honda car sales rose 13.3%.

On the truck side, some jurors were surprised the Nissan Titan pickup edged out two hot new subcompact crossovers: the Honda HR-V and Jeep Renegade.

Meanwhile, the 2016 Volvo XC90, which starts at $48,900, was widely viewed as strong contender despite its sticker price even before the finalists were announced.

The XC90, which has had strong sales, is the first vehicle Volvo developed since Chinese automaker Geely bought the Swedish brand from Ford during the recession. It introduces a new vehicle architecture and family of engines that will be the backbone of the brand's future vehicles.

By 2019, the new XC90 will be the oldest vehicle in the showoom lineup with 11 substantially changed models, a company official said Monday.

"I think it may have been one that people didn't think would be as good as it turned out," said John Voelcker, a award juror and editor of GreenCarReports.com. He added that the exterior of the XC90 was modest, but the interior featured cutting-edge infotainment features.

Last year's winners were the Volkswagen Golf and Ford F-150 pickup.

In the last 22 years and not counting this year, domestic automakers have won North American Car of the Year 12 times and foreign automakers have won 10 times. Japanese automakers have three wins. European automakers have five wins. Korean automakers have two wins.

Not counting this year, domestic automakers have won the truck competition 15 times. Foreign automakers have won seven times. Of the seven wins, Japanese automakers have won four times and Europeans have won three times.

Contact Matthew Dolan: 313-223-4743 or msdolan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @matthewsdolan.