The Best SUV, Car, and Truck of the Year

The annual Detroit auto show is underway, and a marquee moment is out of the way: The 2018 honorees for best car, SUV, and truck of the year in North America have been named, reports the Detroit Free Press. The winners, and other trends and developments from the show:

• Car of the Year: Honda Accord (Runners-up: Toyota Camry and Kia Stinger)
• SUV of the Year: Volvo XC60 (Runners-up: Honda Odyssey and Alfa Romeo Stelvio)
• Truck of the Year: Lincoln Navigator (Runners-up: Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and Ford Expedition)
• Pickups hot: Amid lots of buzz about electric cars, old-school pickup trucks remain hot sellers, reports USA Today. Sales were up 4.8% in 2017, which translates to 2.69 million vehicles. The story looks at new offerings from GM, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler. (The new Chevy Silverado is drawing comparisons to, oddly, Clint Eastwood, notes the Wall Street Journal.)

• Electric: Ford plans to spend $11 billion on electric vehicles through 2022, more than double its previous estimate, reports the Wall Street Journal. Few other automakers are releasing budget specifics for electric vehicles, though VW is one exception, and its $40 billion over the next five years dwarfs Ford's investment.
• Unveilings: MLive is keeping up with all of the new unveilings and announcements here. As is the Verge here.
• Some picks: CBS News highlights five new SUVs and trucks, including the aforementioned Silverado and BMW's "SUV-like" X2. The Free Press, meanwhile, looks at 12 new models to keep an eye on, including the Honda Insight, which the automaker hopes can be a Prius competitor.
• Nostalgia: The AP's preview notes that Ford is coming out with a 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the chase scene in the movie Bullitt that made the car popular.
• Trouble ahead? Gas is cheap and sales have been up in recent years, but all may not be well in the auto industry, explains the New York Times. For one thing, people are buying fewer new cars, and sales to individuals (as opposed to rental car companies, etc.) are down as well.
• Loving the stick: A post at Automobile looks specifically at the 2019 VW Jetta and happily notes that the "manual isn't dead—yet, anyway." It's available in automatic, too, and VW is hoping the new Jetta can be a big step in putting its diesel-emission scandal in the past.

GM is working a car without a steering wheel. (More Detroit Auto Show stories.)