HARD CHOICES.(News)(Brief Article)

Byline: BOB GRITZINGER Tough job, this choosing the 2004 North American Car and Truck of the Year. On the car side, the 49 journalist/jurors had the likes of the hot Acura TSX, all-alloy Audi A8 L and Jaguar XJ8/XJR and the reborn Pontiac GTO muscle car-and those didn't even make the final cut.

Of 17 nominees, voters whittled the list to the Cadillac XLR roadster, the Mazda RX-8 and Toyota's second-generation Prius hybrid. Trucks were a little more cut-and-dried: Really, in a year when the Ford F-150-the world's best-selling vehicle ever-gets a complete makeover, at least one ...

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