DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp <GM.N>, which has struggled to reinvigorate its passenger car lineup in recent years, on Sunday took car-of-the-year honors at the Detroit auto show for the second straight year.

The Chevrolet Malibu was named the 2008 North American Car of the Year. Mazda Motor Corp's CX-9 sports utility vehicle was named truck of the year.

"The Japanese have owned this segment for over a decade, but Chevrolet's shot across their bow suggests the terms of surrender have, at long last, been violated," one of the judges, Karl Brauer of industry tracking Web site Edmunds.com, said of the Malibu.

The awards, which automakers typically use to market their vehicles, were awarded by a panel of 45 automotive journalists and presented at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

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GM won both car and truck honors at the 2007 show and had a chance to repeat this year. The No. 1 U.S. automaker had four of the six finalists in both categories.

Trailing the Malibu (190 points) were GM's Cadillac CTS (165) and the Honda Accord (95). The Mazda SUV finished with 201 votes, topping GM's Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid (140) and Buick Enclave (109).

Last year, GM's Saturn Aura won the car award, while the Chevy Silverado pickup won truck honors. This year was the 15th year for the awards.

(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki and Ben Klayman; editing by Maureen Bavdek)