Honda Civic, Volvo XC90 named 2016 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year

It's a great day to be the Honda Civic and Volvo XC90. These cars are the official 2016 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year, with the awards just having been announced at the Detroit Auto Show.

The Civic is a great car, and a fantastic entry in the compact class. To us, its win isn't a surprise, though our enthusiast hearts were really rooting for the runner-up Mazda MX-5 Miata. The new Chevy Malibu was also a finalist for this year's award.

As for the Truck/Utility award, we wholeheartedly agree with the Volvo XC90 choice. It's a fantastic-looking, premium, tech-forward vehicle, and represents a huge step forward for Volvo here in the United States. But its runners-up, the Nissan Titan XD and Honda Pilot, are also great choices, bringing a lot of stiff competition to some pretty important segments.

Here's how the jury voted:

Car of the Year

• Honda Civic – 203 points
• Chevy Malibu – 181 points
• Mazda MX-5 Miata – 146 points

Truck/Utility of the Year

• Volvo XC90 – 310 points
• Honda Pilot – 111 points
• Nissan Titan XD – 109 points