I could swear I saw something on Buick earlier - and now it is gone.
 
My guess -
 
Solstice
 
Ridgeline
 
Although I would not be shocked if the Civic won.
 
 I do not think the Ridgeline has been well received by the consumer - at least not to the levels Honda had hoped. In Milwaukee over the weekend they were advertising a Ridgeline lease for $279 per month with no $$ down.

One more thing - is the Mazda Kabura a 2 or 4 seat coupe? A little 4 seat coupe based on the Miata would be sweet!
 
Too bad Pontiac can't figure out how to build a small Kappa sedan or 4 seat coupe.

I bet that the Solstice/Fusion will be nominated for best car, and the Ridgeline for truck. I was surprised that the H3 didnt make this list.
 
I have my doubts about the Explorer or Xterra making truck of the year as I dont see what is so special about them. Sure they are nice, but not radically different from the previous models. The Ridgeline is Honda's first truck and has been getting good reviews.
It also has many unique features.
 
I doubt the Civic will make it as I'm not sure people like its styling, I know I dont. The Solstice is a homerun for GM and it gives Pontiac a kind of vehicle that they have never had before. The Fusion has distinctive styling in a bland segment and solid handling.

Solistice by a land slide. It's the most significant one either list. This is GM's soul.
 
Fusion is a re-done Mazda6, with an old Duratec engine about to be phased out. It's not a real break through, even though it's much better than the Taurus it replaced. Demand is high, but not nearly as high as for the Solistice.
 
Civic deserves to be a finalist, but it won't win. They already had a hybrid, only the bold interior is a big change and even then reaction has been mixed.
 
For trucks?
 
First of all, I'm shocked that the RAV4 is not a finalist, in fact I thought it would win! The combination of power and fuel efficiency is unheard of in its segment.
 
Explorer was more of a refresh that a redesign. It shouldn't even have been a finalist. No way does it deserve to win.
 
Ridgeline is easily the most innovative, so it might win on that factor alone. But sales are so-so and prices are high. It still will probably win.
 
XTerra got the VQ engine, that was a big improvement over the wheezy V6. It will win the tough-guy votes over the Ridgeline, but probably not enough to take the crown.
 
Solistice, Ridgeline. But RAV4 should have at least been a finalist.

Solstice did not make to finalists in Motor Trend COTY. They babbled something but I did not understand – they praised it all the time before, even ran compare with Mazda and suddenly it is not good enough. I’m actually tired from Motor trend so I am switching to Car and Driver next year. I read Fusion/Accord/Sonata/Camry in both MT and C&D and find C&D compare much more detailed and interesting. I do not know what happened but MT become too boring and too complacent. Too much babbling with no clear meaning and little no attention to details and thing that are important from practical point of view.

As for the RAV4 being MIA? My guess is the production versions weren't ready for the entry deadline. I bet it's a contender for next year's award.

For car of the year from the list of choice I would like the Ford Fusion. I'm not a Ford lover but kudos for Ford to take that next step. Solstice is a mix bag of BMW + MB + Porsche = Sharp and Cheap. Civic ahead of times. Truck the Nissan Xterra