Ward’s Auto Interior of the Year Nominees Announced

This coming month of June, Ward’s AutoWorld® magazine will be giving out awards to vehicles with the most inviting interior design. The awarding is scheduled to take place at the Cobo Center in Detroit. The distinction will be awarded in connection with the Ward’s Auto Interior Show which will run from June 6 to 7 this year.

In connection with that, Ward’s has announced the 34 nominees for the award in seven different categories. The 34 cars came from eleven car manufacturers and, surprisingly, no Audi vehicle made it to the short list.

For the economy-priced car category, small cars priced under $17,000 and released for the 2007 model year are considered by the award giving body. Five vehicles have been nominated for the award in the category. The Dodge Caliber is one of them. The award-winning Honda Fits is also part of the nomination and is one of the three Asian brands nominated for the category. The Hyundai Elantra is the second Asian brand nominated for the category while the Suzuki SX4 completes the Asian triumvirate in nominated in the category.

One European brand, Volkswagen, made it to the short list with the VW Rabbit.

For the popular-priced car category, which is composed of cars priced between $17,000 and $30,000, five vehicles are nominated. The Chrysler Sebring, one of the cars Chrysler is hoping to help them get back to profitability, is one of the nominees for the category. The Mini Cooper is also a nominee for the award in its class. The Nissan Maxima coming equipped with high quality Nissan axle assembly and spacious interior is also included in the nomination for its category. The Saturn Aura and the Toyota Camry are also nominated for the award in the category.

Another category, the premium-priced car category, has also five nominees. The cars considered for this category are those priced above $30,000. The Infiniti G35 from Nissan’s luxury division is one of the nominees for the category. Another luxury division of a Japanese brand is also nominated - the Lexus LS 460. The three remaining nominated cars are all under Ford Motor Company’s Premiere Automotive Group. The Jaguar XKR, the Lincoln MKZ and the Volvo S80 are all luxury car brands under Ford and they are nominees for this category.

For the popular-priced crossover utility vehicle category, Ward’s picked out five nominees. The Ford Edge is one of the nominees for the category. The Saturn Outlook replaced the GMC Acadia in the nominee list. The Honda CR-V is also nominated for the award in the category. In place of the Hyundai Santa Fe, the Hyundai Veracruz is also nominated and the fifth nominee for the category is the Mazda CX-7.

Another category for CUVs is the premium-priced crossover utility vehicle category where CUVs priced above $30,000 are considered. From Honda's luxury division, Acura, the MDX is nominated for the award in this category. The BMW X5 is also a nominee for the category. Other candidates include the Cadillac SRX, the Lincoln MKX and the Mercedes GL-Class.

Another category is for trucks priced below $30,000 - the popular-priced truck category. For this category, Ward’s only named four nominees. The Chevy Silverado is one of the four. The Veracruz is originally intended to be nominated for the category but was moved to the popular-priced CUVs category and the Dodge Nitro was substituted for it. The Jeep Wrangler is also named as one of the nominees for the category. The Toyota Tundra also made the list.

The last category is for all trucks priced above $30,000. The premium-priced truck category has five nominees. The famous Cadillac Escalade is one of the nominees for this category as well as the Chrysler Aspen. The Lincoln Navigator is another Lincoln model vying for an award. The new Land Rover LR3 is also nominated for the award in this category. And in place of the Mercedes G-Class, the Nissan Quest was nominated for the award in the category.

The 34 nominated vehicles were chosen by Ward’s editorial staff and the institution is inviting consumers to participate by voting for their bet. Interested consumers can visit www.autointeriors.com where they can vote for their favorite interiors in the different categories created by Ward’s.