The all-new 2009 Hyundai Genesis luxury sedan made history today by becoming the first Korean automobile to win the North American Car of the Year award. The solidly built Hyundai edged out the class-straddling Ford Flex crossover by only nine points — 189 to 180 — in voting by a panel of 50 U.S. and Canadian auto journalists. Coming in third was Volkswagen’s Jetta TDI, which is powered by an ultra-frugal, clean new turbo-diesel engine.

On the truck side, Ford’s F-150 captures its third North American Truck of the Year award. The cornerstone of Ford’s fleet, the F-150 also won top honors in 1996 and 2004. It scored a decisive win over the redesigned Dodge Ram and the Mercedes-Benz ML 320 BlueTEC, which like the Jetta is powered by a ‘clean’ direct-injection diesel engine.

A New Level for Hyundai

The win for its Genesis luxury sedan is a real breakthrough for Korea’s leading carmaker, long known mostly for low cost, econo rides. In accepting the award, Hyundai Motor Global Vice Chairman Hyun-Soon Lee said: “The Genesis is true to its name, and marks a new beginning for our company. It’s our first global car, our first rear-wheel drive model and our first V8 engine. It demonstrates the engineering excellence we have been aiming for.” And it’s only the beginning, he went on to say announcing that Hyundai would soon have the second and third stage cars that they “hope will bring us back on this stage many more times.”

In addition to the Flex and Jetta, the Genesis bested the Audi A4, BMW 1 Series, Cadillac CTS-V, Dodge Challenger, Honda Fit, Jaguar XF, Lincoln MKS, Mazda6, Nissan GT-R, Pontiac G8 and Toyota Venza.

Ford Just Trucking On

While it was by no means a first-ever award for the F-150, the announcement was met with roaring applause. “Wow!,” exclaimed a surprised Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, while accepting the award.

Fields went on to thank the team responsible for redesigning the truck that has been the leader in the full-size pickup segment for the past 32 years, but also credited its buyers: “We always put great effort in learning about the actual use of our trucks, so this award is a tribute also to its users,” he said.

Other contenders for North American Truck of the Year were the BMW X6, Chevrolet Traverse, Honda Pilot, Infiniti FX35/50, Kia Borrego, Nissan Murano, Subaru Forester and Volkswagen Tiguan.

Marc Lachapelle has been a member of the North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since the awards’ inception in 1994.