2012 Chicago Auto Show Awards and Highlights

The 2012 Chicago Auto Show was chosen as the perfect location for the Autobytel editorial team to hand out the recently selected 2012 Car and Truck of the Year Award trophies. With winners ranging from the Hyundai Veloster in the Car of the Year and the Ford F-150 EcoBoost as the overall Truck of the Year winner, down to the category winners like Audi, who managed to wrangle not one but two trophies for the A7 sedan and R8 Spyder convertible. Cadillacs's popular CTS Sport Wagon took home the Station Wagon of the Year award, while the slightly larger Mazda CX-5 was honored as the Crossover of the Year and the Range Rover Evoque snagged the luxury SUV statuette. Honda's Odyssey multipeople mover won the minivan of the year trophy and the go anywhere Jeep Wrangler won SUV honors. The blue oval's Boss 302 Mustang had more than enough horsepower to take the Sports Car of the Year award and the stylish yet practical Kia Optima took home sedan honors. Being as improtant as they may be to save the planet, the plus-sized Toyota Prius v was named as Autobytel's choice alternative fuel vehicle of 2012.

Aside from all the awards being handed out, the 2012 Chicago Auto Show included a few never before seen vehicles like a special-edition Mazda Miata, the compact Hyundai Elantra GT hatchback, the drop top Shelby GT500 convertible as well as the refreshed Nissan 370Z and the all new NV200 for domestic use; just to name a few. There were also a few factory-tuned compacts on hand as well as two iconic firsts from America's high-performance automotive history, a classic C1 Corvette complete with a Blueflame six, sitting face to face with its modern ZO6 ragtop contemporary and the the first-ever Mustang Cobra R to roll off the assembly line.