While we have our own variety of popular automobile magazines that have become e-zines for us to view online there is one that is not all about cars but still offers awards each year for the vehicles that lead the way in specific categories.  Popular Mechanics is not limited to the automobile, but discusses a wide range of technology for us to admire and enjoy.  While they are able to offer us some of the best information from a wide variety of technological advancements they do have an annual award feature, similar to the automotive awards we see each year.  Here are their selections for 2016.

Car of the Year – Chevrolet Camaro –With everything else on the road today how does the “every person sports car” make it to be car of the year?  This is a car that has been redesigned for 2016 and offers a shorter wheelbase and lighter weight, but that’s not where a majority of the improvements come in.  This car finally has a real interior you can enjoy and is now built on the Alpha platform from GM while sharing the powertrain from the Cadillac ATS-V.  The Camaro may be an unlikely choice, but it has more than enough improvements and class to be the right choice for the Car of the Year.

Best Truck – Ram – The Ram truck lineup has gained improvements to be rated the best by Popular Mechanics even though this truck is in the rear of domestic sales every year.  The Ram is the only pickup truck with the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission which is the same one used by Rolls-Royce and Range Rover which are two of the most respected names in the industry.  In addition to the awesome transmission the Ram diesel offers you up to 29 mpg on the highway with a massive towing capacity of 9,000 pounds which is really hard to beat.

Best Sports Car – Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R – This is the high powered and ready sport version of one of our favorite sports cars in the market today.  The GT350R offers up to 526 horsepower and gives you a car that is as track ready as you can get.  With the exciting manual transmission found in this car you will be able to hit the redline of 8,250 rpm much faster with the shift light that is projected on the windshield which is only one way this car gives you a feature you need to have an awesome ride.

Best SUV – Volvo XC90 – This is the SUV that is taking the world by storm, but when you take a small engine, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder model to be exact and add both supercharging and turbocharging to produce 400 horsepower you have the attention of the world.  With plug-in electric that can go up to 25 miles without using any gasoline at all.  Even though this is the largest vehicle in the barn for Volvo the power is plentiful to give you a great ride and have an SUV that is full of luxury features that make it one that ranks high on our list.

Best Sedan – Honda Accord – This is a car that has a history of excellent reliability and affordability, but the Accord takes this award by being a trend setting car that offers you the fun of a great V6 or one that has a wonderful four-cylinder for more fuel efficiency.  We see an updated car for 2016 that has the visual appeal we want and the powertrains to make it exciting to drive making the Accord a continued leader and a clear winner for this award.

Best Diesel – Range Rover TD6 – With the diesel engine of the Range Rover you enjoy much better fuel mileage and low end power than you do with the gas version of the same sized engine.  This makes towing and off road enjoyment a must for this awesome engine and earns it a spot with Popular Mechanics.  Should we still trust diesels after the scandal from Volkswagen?  Until the Range Rover engine is proved to be unworthy of our trust it can continue to be the engine that powers a great SUV that will be fun and fuel efficient.

Best Electric – Tesla Model S – There hasn’t been a car that can give us the range or the drive of the Model S in the electric family.  With Chevrolet aiming at a lower level of the market the Model S will continue to be the luxury class that is crowned year after year.  Does this mean Tesla is complacent with this car?  Not at all, it continues to improve and receive upgrades to be a car that is the cutting edge of technology and power to be a car we can love to drive on every road.

Most Anticipated: Ford GT – The GT stole the show in 2015 and no one has stopped talking about a car that hasn’t even hit the market yet.  As the most admired and anticipated car this beauty will make its production debut as part of the 2017 model lineup from Ford, which is already taking order for this car that will cost nearly $450,000 just to start with.  Do you want a Ford GT?  Now is the time to begin ordering one so you can be one of the few who is fortunate enough to drive one of the most attractive and exciting sports cars ever to be built.

Nonspecific Recommendation – Mazda – This is an award that goes to a company that is exciting across the lineup and who can argue any point against Mazda.  Mazda has positioned themselves in a place where every car they build is one that we love and admire.  Starting with the Mazda 3 and moving through the Miata on to the CX-5 no lineup is nearly as completely filled with awesome cars and all of them come at reasonable prices to be some of the most impressive driving machines on the market today.

Best Hypothetical: Driverless Car – There are several technologies that can fit this bill and be the one that we admire most.  The Ford Adaptive Cruise Control system uses software that can keep your distance from other vehicles on hills and corners which tends to be a way other vehicles become confused.  You can enjoy this system on a wide variety of Ford vehicles to give you an easier drive on the road with a system that will keep you close enough to keep others out so you don’t have to keep on adjusting your speed and distance to match new intruders.