Half The Finalists For A Major Car Award Are Made By GM

Alex Davies / Business InsiderThe Cadillac CTS is a finalist for North American Car of the Year.

General Motors is on a roll this week. Its bailout by the federal government officially ended, and the fact that taxpayers lost $10.5 billion in the deal was drowned out by the news that GM's first female CEO, Mary Barra, will take over in January.

Barra, who has served as head of product since 2011, oversaw the launch of a series of excellent cars.

That success was further confirmed on Wednesday by the North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards (NACTOY).

Half of the six finalists are GM products.

The Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, and Mazda3 represent the top cars of the year. For trucks, there's the Chevrolet Silverado, Acura MDX, and Jeep Cherokee.

The NACTOY awards are especially prestigious because the winners are decided not just by one media outlet, but a jury of 48 auto journalists and analysts from the U.S. and Canada.

The 2014 winners will be announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month.

Last year, the Cadillac ATS was car of the year. The top truck was the Ram 1500.