Three cars and three trucks make up the finalists for the 2014 North American Car of the Year and Truck/Sport Utility Vehicle of the Year awards, Fox reported.

Forty eight automotive journalists selected the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the Cadillac CTS, and the Mazda3 in the car category and the Chevrolet Silverado, the Acura MDX, and the Jeep Cheroke in the SUV/truck group.

Three of the six came from General Motors: the two Chevy's and the Cadillac CTS. Given that the design-to-production process takes around two years, GM's finalists were in their planning stages during a period in which the company was just emerging out of bankruptcy, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"There were six entries from GM on the short list," said Jim McCraw, an automotive freelance writer who helped choose the final six. "I find it more than remarkable that a company under severe distress was able to knuckle down and do this in terms of the Stingray, Cadillac and in pickups."

Both Fox and USA Today are confident the Corvette Stingray will win car of the year honors. USA Today's Chris Woodyard appeared ready to stake his journalistic reputation on the Stingray's chances. He based his pick not only on the basis of its vehicular merits, but on the hearts and souls of those 48 car writers.

"Corvette not only wins because it is unabashedly American, a big transformation for the past generation and a darned good one, but because it wins hearts as well as minds," USA Today's Chris Woodyard wrote. "That needs to be taken into account when it comes to judging the whims of 48 hard-bitten auto writers, including Test Drive's James R. Healey, perhaps the crustiest of all."

McGraw, whose crustiness hasn't been questioned, didn't reveal much in his interview with the Detroit Free Press besides his endorsement of GM's showing. He was, however, impressed by the Mazda3.

"They developed their engines to get an incredibly good balance of power, torque and fuel economy," McCraw said of the "3."

Woodyard hopefully won't read too far into those comments. The winners will be announced Jan. 14