cars news 10: Motor Trend’s 2016 Car, SUV, and Truck of the Year Announced Live for First Time Ever

For the past decade or so, the cadence of our Of The Year awards has become fairly routine: December is SUV of the Year, January is Car of the Year, and February is Truck of the Year and the Power List. It’s time for a change. Last night at the YouTube Space L.A., we announced our 2016 Car of the Year, SUV of the Year, Truck of the Year, and Person of the Year live for the first time ever live in front of an audience of car company executives, journalists, celebrities, and of course our loyal YouTube followers.

The evening kicked off with DJ Miss Nine dropping some beats while guests like Randy Pobst, Cadillac’s Johan de Nysschen, and Los Angeles Angels pitcher CJ Wilson mingled, ate, drank and attempted for the final time to find out the Of The Year winners before the official announcement. They didn’t have long to wait, as comedian, car guy, and race car driver Adam Carolla took the stage to kick off our first-ever Of The Year awards.

After dusting off some car-centric jokes that I’m sure he rarely gets to use on his audience, Carolla introduced senior features editors Jonny Lieberman and Jason Cammisa, editor-at-large Angus Mackenzie, and editor-in-chief Ed Loh who handed out our SUV of the Year, Truck of the Year, Person of the Year, and Car of the Year awards, respectively. While not without its hiccups, the collective surprise and the beaming pride on the faces of the winning contingents were heartwarming to see. (Spoiler Alert) Some highlights included Lex Kerssemakers, president and CEO of Volvo USA accepting the 2016 XC90’s award for SUV of the Year, our 2016 Person of the Year Tom Doll, president of Subaru USA, selflessly crediting his team at Subaru for his award, and Chevrolet president Alan Batey and GM vice president Mark Reuss hugging each other after the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado Duramax and 2016 Chevrolet Camaro were named Truck of the Year and Car of the Year.

Check out the awards ceremony for yourself below, and be sure to read our Car of the Year, Truck of the Year, SUV of the Year, and Person of the Year stories to find out what set the winners apart from the rest of the pack.