 Alan Gell (left) and Marlon Hanson (right) from the 2014 AutoJudge judging panel present the Coupe of the Year award. | |
By SEMA Editors
AutoJudge (formerly: Readers Choice) Awards for automobiles, SUVs and pickups celebrated its 8th anniversary at this year’s SEMA Show by announcing the winners for 2014:
- Compact Sedan: ’15 VW Jetta
- Full Size Pickup: ’15 Ford F-150
- Plug-In Electric Vehicle: ’15 Cadillac ELR
- Van-Minivan: ’14 Chrysler Town & Country
- Midsize Sedan: ’15 Chrysler 200
- Sports Car: ’15 Chevrolet Corvette
- Luxury Car: ’15 Kia K900
- Fullsize Sedan: ’15 Hyundai Genesis
- Wagon: ’15 Subaru Outback
- Coupe: ’14 Cadillac CTS Coupe
- Midsize Pickup: ’15 GMC Canyon
- Hybrid (non plug-in): ’15 Ford Fusion
- Midsize SUV/Crossover: ’14 Durango
- Fullsize SUV: ’15 Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Performance Car: ’15 Dodge Challenger
The award began as an alternative to the multitude of automotive awards distributed at various car shows and other events. The award is open for independent voting by the auto-buying public. It was first conceived for the readership of newspapers, periodicals and websites. As the Internet has proliferated and blogging has become popular, the award has opened to any and all “readers” several years ago.
Due to the number of vehicles available, a panel of judges pre-selects a narrow group of vehicles for consumers to vote on in each category. In addition, because of their recognized expertise in the automotive industry, the judges have a weighted vote in the final tally. Categories have generally been similar each year, although automotive categories vary as newly designed products are introduced.