Ford came out the top dog when the 2015 North American Car and Truck of the Year finalists were announced earlier today.  

The three finalists in the car category are the Ford Mustang, Hyundai Genesis and Volkswagen Golf, while the top three trucks are the Chevrolet Colorado, Ford F-150 and Lincoln MKC.

Ford's accomplishment of having three finalists is especially impressive considering that it follows a no-show for the automaker at last year's prizes.

"We built the F-150 for our customers ... when they are happy about the truck, that is what matters most, and when we receive other recognition ... that also is really nice for us," Ford spokesman Mike Levine told the Detroit Free Press.

For 22 years, the awards have been intended to "honor new benchmarks in their automotive segments in areas ranging from design and safety to innovation and value for the dollar."

The prestigious prize represents input from 57 long-time automotive journalists in the U.S. and Canada. The jurors, which come from newspapers, television and radio stations, magazines and websites, selected the finalists by vote last week.

The 2015 winner will be awarded at the North American International Auto Show on Jan. 12. The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray took the last prize for Car of the Year, while the Chevrolet Silverado was the 2014 Truck of the Year.

The car category has awarded the prize to domestic automakers 12 times and foreign carmakers have won nine times. Domestic vehicles have taken the Truck of the Year award 14 times, and foreign automakers have won seven times.

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