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Here are your 2016 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year finalists [w/polls]

The 2016 Detroit Auto Show will kick off with the announcement of the annual North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year awards, and the three finalists in each category have just been revealed. Following this announcement, the jury – which includes Autoblog editor-in-chief Mike Austin – will re-evaluate each candidate before casting a final vote for the winner. This year's finalists are: Car of the Year Chevrolet Malibu Honda Civic Mazda MX-5 Miata Truck/Utility of the Year Honda Pilot Nissan Titan XD Volvo XC90 The 23rd annual awards will be announced on the morning of Monday, January 11. For now, we want to know where you stand. Let us know which vehicles you think should win, by voting in the polls below. Chevrolet Honda Mazda Nissan Volvo north american car of the year NACTOY

Tesla exec calls rival EVs 'little more than appliances'

Tesla's Vice President of Business Development Diarmuid O'Connell called the company's competition "little more than appliances" at the Center for Automotive Research's Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI yesterday. "In essence, [mainstream automakers] delivered little more than appliances," O' Connell said. "Now, appliances are useful. But they tend to be white. They tend to be unemotional." According to Automotive News, O'Connell's main critique is that vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3 don't deliver enough performance or range to draw the attention of consumers outside of a small group. The solution, in O'Connell's mind, is more power, more range, more excitement and a lower price – that last point is particularly rich coming from an automaker whose cheapest current offering, the Model S 60, costs $66,000 – although the cheaper Model 3 is on the horizon, way out there, somewhere. But some EVs are better than none, O'Connell added. "On balance, I'm happier that [traditional automakers are] doing these cars than not," O'Connell said. "I just wish they would do them better and faster." O'Connell also used his appearance at the Management Briefing Seminars to launch a volley at the Michigan legislature, blaming its opposition to Tesla's direct-sales model for the lack of available EVs in the Wolverine State. "I think if the Michigan Legislature would allow Tesla to sell cars in Michigan, we could probably address [the lack of available electric cars]," O'Connell said. Related Video:

Nissan paint prank involves 'world's cleanest' Leaf

If you want attention, then there's nothing like a good prank to get people looking. Nissan is taking a page from the old Candid Camera playbook to show off a new self-cleaning nano-paint technology called Ultra-Ever Dry. Turns out, when you spill a water-based paint on it, the paint just drips right off. And with enough hidden cameras, you can get the perfect passersby "Oh! Huh?" face on film. Part of the "World's Cleanest Car" campaign that Nissan had at the LA Auto Show, the stunt is meant to highlight the fact that the car is clean (i.e., zero emissions) and also clean (not dirty). Get it? Ha! Yeah, well, that's the joke. It works better on video, which you can see below. While the paint thing is mildly interesting (this isn't a production car, and Ultra-Ever Dry is just an example of what could be coming) we did find it notable that this is the first main Leaf campaign we can think of that promotes the car not as a plug-in vehicle first (remember the polar bear?) but as a car with some wacky cool new tech. Oh, and it happens to plug in. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. NISSAN'S "SELF-CLEANING LEAF" HITS THE STREETS, THEN THE WEB – "World's cleanest car" to be featured in an innovative social media campaign starting today – NASHVILLE, Tenn. (December 2, 2014) –The "world's cleanest car" is daring its fans to get it dirty. Starting today, Nissan will launch a social media campaign that will include a series of online videos to showcase a zero-emissions Nissan LEAF with self-cleaning nano-paint technology. Created to demonstrate its potential use in future production vehicles, this LEAF is armed with Ultra-Ever Dry® paint to help repel almost any liquid that may come its way. Nissan first introduced the one-of-a-kind LEAF this past April. "The LEAF is already one of the cleanest vehicles around even without this incredibly innovative paint technology; that said, we're not afraid to get our hands dirty to take this to the next level," said Pierre Loing, vice president, Product Planning, Nissan North America, Inc. "Getting fans involved via this social media campaign is a fun, creative way to show how the LEAF can stay clean no matter how dirty the world around it may be.