Ford F-150 Lightning Sweeps 2023 North American Truck of the Year Competition

Photo Source: Ford

The Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup has been named the 2023 North American Truck of the Year for the third year in a row, superseding the other two finalists for the outstanding honor, which were the Lordstown Motors Corp.’s Endurance pickup electric vehicle and the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2. The announcement was made at the 2023 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards in Pontiac, Michigan, during a joint press conference that included the Automotive Press Association and the Detroit Area Dealers Association at M1 Concourse. This is just the latest award for the electric truck’s abundance of laurels after taking home the MotorTrend Truck of the Year for 2023.

The Function of NACTOY

The more common acronym for the automotive competition is NACTOY. It was initiated in 1994 to be judged by a jury of professional automotive journalists from Canada and the United States speaking on behalf of broadcast, digital media, and print. The 2023 NACTOY awards started with 47 worthy automobiles, which jurors continued to gradually whittle down in three rounds of independently corroborated voting to 26 semifinalists, nine superior finalists, and, at last, the 2023 winners.

Throughout the year, the field of fifty NACTOY jurors rigorously dedicated hundreds of hours test driving, evaluating, and researching automobiles based on the following criteria to distribute the votes that determined the 2023 NACTOY award winners: design, technology, vehicular ingenuity, driver satisfaction, safety, value, user experience, and performance.

Surprisingly, the Lordstown Motors’ all-electric Endurance found itself among the 2023 top three trucks when considering that it was encountering rivalry from automobiles styled and constructed by the much grander and more entrenched General Motors and Ford Motor Company. In the end, however, the Ford F-150 Lightning acquired 483 votes.

The Continuing Rise of the F-150 Lightning

To cement further prestige, the F-150 Lightning is the best-selling electric truck in the United States and has been since it debuted in May 2022, with sales totaling 15,617, catapulting Ford into the No. 2 position among electric vehicle brands in the United States in 2022. 

Karl Brauer, NACTOY juror and freelance journalist for Forbes, offers a detailed analysis of the pickup truck’s caliber: “When America’s best-selling vehicle goes electric you know the transition has momentum. Ford’s effort to create an all-electric F-150 is remarkable because it combines the standard truck’s dimensions, which means it retains massive aftermarket support, with substantial upgrades to areas like storage and mobile power support.”

To elaborate upon what Brauer has brought up, the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning has much of what makes the gasoline-powered F-150 such a popular vehicle, only with a rousing battery-powered electric powertrain. For example, it provides stirring agility, stable road maneuvering, ample convenience, safety technology, and reliable load capacity. The most innovative characteristic of the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning is that it is both a solid full-size pickup truck while also being a spectacular electric vehicle. The pickup is a satisfying combination of an internal combustion-powered truck and an EV. Perhaps that is why the accolades, from TIME Top 200 Invention of 2022 to the 2023 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award, keep piling up; simply because it embodies the changeover to an electrified future without doing away with the aspects that are required for the F-150 to reach the pinnacle of its segment.

If you are intrigued by what the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning offers, visit us at NYE Ford. We provide must-have trucks and a vast concentration of other vehicles for you to choose from. Our sales team is committed to giving you the best shopping experience possible.