The car, truck and utility vehicles of the year have been announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The Chrysler Pacifica has been named the Utility Vehicle of the Year.
ICYMI - the Windsor built Chrysler #Pacifica has been named utility vehicle of the year at the @NAIASDetroit. #cklw #NAIAS pic.twitter.com/eJroiW8GOq
— Rob Hindi (@rhindi800) January 9, 2017
Tim Kuniskis is the Head of Passenger Car Brands for Chrysler and Fiat, FCA - North America.
FCA announced in 2015 a $2-billion plan to retool the Windsor Assembly Plant to build the Pacifica.
Kuniskis says he thinks customers 'see the difference' between the Dodge Grand Caravan and the Pacifica. "It takes a little while to get everything going. We changed the name so we needed to get a little awareness out there that it was an all new vehicle and now 25 points of market share in six months, yeah we're really happy with the way things are progressing. Especially now with the hybrid just coming into market."
Following the award announcement, Kuniskis defended the 'image' of the minivan during questioning by reporters. "We've always been very proud of minivans. People say there's a minivan stigma, we don't have one. We love minivans, we've been doing minivans, we invented the minivan and we're very proud of this new vehicle. We don't say it's not a minivan, it is and it's the best one out there."
This is the 24th year of the awards. FCA minivans won North American 'Car of the Year' honours in 1996 - the only other time any minivan has won an award from the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year jury.
The Chevy Bolt took home the Car of the Year honours.
The Honda Ridgeline was named Truck of the Year.