Ford started 2021 with not one, but two coveted accolades as the all-new, all-electric Mustang Mach-E and the all-new Ford F-150 claimed the 2021 North American Utility and Truck of the Year – the first time since 2014 that the same brand has won multiple North American vehicle of the year awards in the same year.

@FordOnline sat down with North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year President Gary Witzenburg for some insight on the double Ford win.

Q: We’ve been calling the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year awards some of the most prestigious in the industry; tell us how these differ from other annual awards.

A: They really are unique, and I say that without reservation. Everyone wants to get in on annual automotive awards, and they’re usually tied to a single outlet. But ours is not; it’s a jury of 50 independent automotive journalists from all over North America who contribute to a wide variety of outlets, each with his or her own set of criteria for the way they test and evaluate vehicles. Over a span of three votes, we evaluate segment leadership, innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar.

Q: Was the vote for Mustang Mach-E and F-150 strong in their categories? Are they usually decisive?

A: There isn’t usually one vehicle out of the three finalists in each segment that gets such a large percentage of the points as these two did this year. In our final vote, each of our 50 jurors had 10 points to give, totaling 500. Mustang Mach-E received 265 points in the utility race – 129 more than the nearest competitor – while F-150 received 340 points in the truck race, 210 more than the next finalist. The car of the year race was much closer with 3 points between the top two cars.

Q: What kind of hands-on time did you have with our Mustang Mach-E and F-150?

A: I was able to experience Mustang Mach-E and F-150 for several days each between Ford’s local drive events and home loans. In a normal year, our jurors usually have more time with the vehicles at press events spread throughout the country. But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was difficult for automakers to get vehicles to everybody. That said, I have to give kudos to Ford for holding local events in the Detroit area to give us quality time with each vehicle; we spent half a day learning about the vehicles in presentations before being given time to drive the vehicles on local roads for a few hours. This is on top of local loans where we were able to experience these vehicles for a day or two at home.

Q: What exactly helped these Ford vehicles secure their victory?

A: F-150 was an easy contest – there were only four vehicles on the original list, and F-150 was the only all-new offering while the other two finalists were additional models of existing lines. I don’t think anyone was surprised by the fact that F-150 won. It’s a no-brainer in terms of sales success and there’s no reason that’ll change. This one brings more and better to the party.

Mustang Mach-E was a little different. The field of utilities was bigger than usual and very strong – we had 27 utilities on the original list, with 15 semi-finalists. There were so many good utilities this year, but I believe that two major elements of made Mustang Mach-E stand out and ultimately caused it to win were its uniqueness and significance.

If you think about it, it’s a full battery-electric vehicle that kind of looks like a big Mustang, and they did a good job with the styling to give it that Mustang character. It’s got crossover utility, good room inside, and it’s quick and fun to drive, even though it’s a little heavy because of the large battery. Once you take it onto the open road, it handles quite nicely. It stands apart from everything else because of all that and its historical significance.

Q: What are your favorite features on the all-new Ford F-150 and all-electric Mustang Mach-E?

A: With F-150, you can talk about best-in-class tow rating and payload, but the PowerBoost full hybrid is unique and very effective. We were able to drive the PowerBoost so we got to experience how well that vehicle drove. It doesn’t have quite as much cargo and towing capability, but the power and performance are good, and it even has the capability to plug into a 110V from the engine and generate electricity, which is very significant.  Other than that, the SYNC system is much better, OTA capability is a plus, and I like the Pro-Trailer Backup Assist and Active Park Assist features.

For Mach-E, the fact that you can opt for an AWD model is significant. FordPass is great in that you can check your battery state of charge and range and find charging stations in your area from the app. Mach-E’s cargo space is substantial, even though it’s styled like a sporty coupe. It’s got almost 30 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row of seats, and nearly 60 cubic feet with those seats folded down. Bottom line is that you’re getting some things with this vehicle that you can’t get with others, but you’re not sacrificing the utility of a crossover.

Q: What do you think consumers are going to be most surprised about by the Mustang Mach-E and all-new F-150?

A: I don’t know that F-150 is going to surprise many people because they’re likely to have done research and test drives before purchasing, but I’m sure some of these features including PowerBoost will be new to them.

Mustang Mach-E, however, is going to be a surprise. It looks like a Mustang but it’s going to be bigger, and they won’t expect as much cargo and utility, or the very strong performance it has. It still might be eye-opening once they actually get in it.

Q: What was your first vehicle?

A: My first vehicle was well-used MGA roadster.