Since 1994, the first awarding of the North American Car of the Year, there has been a parade each year of three finalists with one winner. Amid the 48 contenders and 16 eventual winners with their sleek designs and top-notch engineering there's been only one car that many observers considered a gateway to the 21st Century, and that was the Toyota Prius Hybrid. Well, it may be 11 years later but welcome to the 21st Century.<br /><br /><br />This year the more than 50 jurors of the North American Car of the Year chose not just one but two ground-breaking finalists by adding both the Chevy Volt plug-in and Nissan's Electric LEAF to its final three. But let's not forget the third member of the COY finalists, Hyundai's hot-selling Sonata, with its more standard internal combustion engine which received review after glowing review throughout 2010.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://ll.broadbandsports.com/images/42458_thumb.jpg" alt="North American Car of the Year" title="North American Car of the Year" width="150" height="90" alt="North American Car of the Year"/>
