The 57 judges for the North American Car and Truck of the Year have released their list of finalists for the upcoming 2015 awards. 

In order to be eligible for consideration, a vehicle must either be completely new or "substantially changed" from the previous model. Vehicles also have to go on sale shortly after the announcement of the award.

Distribution is also important, since cars need to have projected American sales of around 5,000 units per year at minimum, and trucks should meet a 2,000-unit threshold, according to the program's website.

Volkswagen has four vehicles up for the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.

The 10 cars and 12 trucks short list also include three each from Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., according to TheCarConnection.com. 

The official list of nominees will be cut down to three cars and three trucks in December. Winners from each category will be revealed in January during the Detroit auto show.

No 2015 vehicles from BMW, Cadillac or Kia made the short list, even though they had plenty of eligible vehicles.

GM swept the 2014 awards, thanks to its Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Silverado.

GM, which has no cars on the short list, also won the 2013 Car of the Year award, for the Cadillac ATS.

2015 North American Car of the Year (Short List):

-Acura TLX
-Audi A3
-Chrysler 200
-Ford Mustang
-Honda Fit
-Hyundai Genesis sedan
-Hyundai Sonata
-Mercedes-Benz C-Class
-Toyota Camry
-Volkswagen Golf/GTI

2015 North American Truck/Utility of the Year (Short List)

-Audi Q3
-Chevrolet Colorado
-Chevrolet Tahoe
-Ford F-150
-GMC Canyon
-Lexus NX
-Lincoln MKC
-Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class
-Nissan Murano
-Porsche Macan
-Subaru Outback
-Toyota Highlander

The Ford Edge was originally selected but was disqualified because it will be introduced too late to be eligible.

Winners will be announced in January at the Detroit Auto Show.

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