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2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year entries announced

Over 40 vehicles will compete for the 2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year awards. If that name looks a little strange, it's because the competition added a third category. In years past, pickup trucks, crossovers, SUVs, commercial vans, and minivans competed for the same award. That's why there were occasionally weird comparisons, like last year's competition between the Volvo XC90 and Nissan Titan XD. The new format separates pickups and commercial vans into the truck contest and CUVs, SUVs, and minivans into the utility competition. A complete list of eligible vehicles is below, but here are a few highlights. For one, the entire list of entries has a luxurious lean. Of the 43 vehicles, nearly half of them are from premium brands. There are two eligible Bentleys – the Bentayga and Mulsanne – the Rolls-Royce Dawn, Jaguar F-Pace, Audi Q7, and the Mercedes-Benz GLS-, E-, and S-Class Maybach. The performance ranks are lofty, too, with the Audi R8, Acura NSX, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Mercedes SL- and SLC-Class, Porsche 718, and F-150 Raptor. The mainstream entries are just as comprehensive. From the Chrysler Pacifica to the Chevrolet Cruze to the Fiat 124 Spider to the Mitsubishi Mirage, NACTOY has covered an enormous price range with this year's contestants. Of course, these are only the eligible vehicles. They'll need to run through three rounds of judging, starting in September at NACTOY's traditional Hell, MI, test drive. The Canadian and American journalists involved in the judging will announce this year's nine finalists – three in each category – on December 6. Cars Acura NSX Alfa Romeo Giulia Audi A4 Audi R8 Bentley Mulsanne Buick Cascada Buick LaCrosse Cadillac CT6 Chevrolet Bolt Chevrolet Cruze Fiat 124 Genesis G90 Hyundai Elantra Infiniti Q60 Jaguar XE Kia Cadenza Lincoln Continental Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan Mercedes-Benz S550 Maybach Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Mercedes-Benz SLC-Class Mini Clubman Mitsubishi Mirage/G4 Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman Rolls-Royce Dawn Toyota Prius Prime Volvo S90 SUVs Audi Q7 Bentley Bentayga Buick Envision Cadillac XT5 Chrysler Pacifica GMC Acadia Infiniti QX30 Kia Sportage Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class Jaguar F-Pace Mazda CX-9 Nissan Armada Trucks Ford F-Series Super Duty pickups Ford F-150 Raptor Honda Ridgeline Nissan Titan half-ton Related Video: Featured Gallery Bentley Bentayga View 23 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub.

VW makes $23K on every Porsche sold, more than Bentley or Lamborghini

It's a good time to be in the luxury car business. In Volkswagen Group's financial report for the 2013 fiscal year, it is revealed that that Porsche enjoyed an operating margin of 18 percent. That means the Stuttgart brand made on average about $23,200 per car sold, according to BusinessWeek. Bentley wasn't far behind, and Audi (which was combined with Lamborghini) posted a 10.1 percent margin. This compares to only around 2.9 percent for the Volkswagen brand.
"Luxury brands are on fire," said Dave Sullivan, an industry analyst at AutoPacific. He said that the average profit margin is between six and eight percent. Brands like Porsche and Bentley have the benefit of competing in rarefied markets. Buyers looking at one their vehicles have fewer models to shop against and don't care as much about price. They can also charge more for options, which further boosts income, according to BusinessWeek.
In a way, we should be more impressed by the continued success from Audi. Its models generally have direct competitors in every segment from the other premium automakers. Plus, their buyers aren't the captains of industry who are shopping for a Bentley. Still, the Four Rings is leading rivals in sales so far this year.

Singer's latest Porsche 911 has the most amazingly retro interior we've ever seen

Singer Vehicle Design doesn't just restore classic Porsche 911 models. The company says it "reimagines" the iconic sportscar for a reason – these are fully customized vehicles made specifically for owners who want something different than what rolled out of the factory floor. The latest twins to come from Singer debuted at the Quail Motorsports Gathering, and they are exquisite. Both the orange Targa (nicknamed Luxemburg) and the gunmetal gray coupe (nicknamed Minnesota) belong to the same owner, but they are very different in execution. Whereas the dark silver coupe is lovely and understated, the orange Targa is much more audacious. Luxemburg's (and yes, we do feel a bit silly using these names) most eye-catching feature has to be the multi-color leather seats. Large portions of the interior are swathed in deep blue leather, but the seats are covered in a unique seven-color leather weave pattern (two oranges, four shades of blue and one cream). The weave extends to the dash and door panels, and we absolutely love it. The removable roof panel is carbon fiber on the outside and blue canvas inside, but we'd have a hard time leaving it attached. Open air motoring is great, and better to enjoy the lovely sounds of the rear-mounted, 4.0-liter, air-cooled, flat-six engine. Minnesota looks almost looks mundane next to its orange sibling, but it's equally beautiful with its deep paint job and brown leather interior. Power for the coupe comes from a 350-horsepower, 3.8-liter, air-cooled engine built by Cosworth. Check out both Singer recreations in our galleries above and below. Related Video: Featured Gallery Singer Vehicle Design at the 2016 Quail View 23 Photos Related Gallery Porsche 911 Targa Reimagined by Singer Vehicle Design View 11 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Design/Style Misc. Auto Shows Porsche Automotive History Convertible Coupe Luxury Special and Limited Editions Performance Classics