The 2006 Honda Civic was chosen as the North American Car of the Year while the 2006 Honda Ridgeline was picked as the North American Truck of the Year. The double victory for Honda marks the first time a single car brand won in both categories. It is also Honda’s first win in both categories. The recognition was announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The North American Car and Truck of the Year are chosen by 49 automotive journalists from all over the US and Canada. The winning vehicles are chosen according to several criteria including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction, and value for the dollar. A vehicle must be “all-new” or “substantially altered” to be eligible for the award. For 2006, judges cut down dozens of eligible models to 14 cars and 14 trucks on which they voted.

The 2006 Honda Civic is a reengineered and restyled eighth-generation version of the highly popular model. The new model sets new benchmarks in the small car segment with updated i-VTEC engine that is both powerful and fuel-efficient. Excellent safety features are one of the many characteristics of a Honda Civic and the 2006 continues this tradition with advanced standard safety equipment and Advanced Compatibility Engineering Body Structure.

The new Honda Civic is freshly redesigned with a new expressive exterior and modern interiors. It beat out Ford’s new Fusion and the popular Pontiac Solstice who were first and second runners up respectively. The new Civic has an SRP of $14,360. The Civic has been the top selling small car in America for many years, with 12 straight years of annual sales increases in the US.

Meanwhile, Honda’s debut into the truck segment was nothing short of spectacular with the Honda Ridgeline winning the North American Truck of the Year. The Ridgeline had a commanding lead over all the other finalists including previous winner Nissan Xterra and the Ford Explorer. Introduced in March 2005, the Ridgeline offered a number of innovations and new features exclusive to the Honda truck.

The 2006 Honda Ridgeline boasts of serious truck features such as steel-reinforced composite bed, flip-up rear seats and spacious stowage space. It even features an innovative “In-Bed Trunk”, a lockable, weather-tight, 8.5 cubic foot compartment under the bead floor and behind the rear axle. It has a 5,000-lb towing capacity and 1,550-lb total payload capacity with a powerful 247-hp, V-6 engine.

The 2006 Honda Civic and Honda Ridgeline are also Motor Trend’s Car and Truck of the Year. Jon Mendel, senior vice president of American Honda was ecstatic over the surprise double-victory. “We certainly hoped for one; we didn’t expect two”, he said. Last year, the Chrysler 300/300C was the North American Car of the Year while the Ford Escape Hybrid was the North American Truck of the Year.

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