“Car Of The Year 2009” Initial Candidates Announced

The organizing committee of the European “Car of Year 2009” has announced the initial candidates for the prestigious award that was won last year by the highly-successful Fiat 500. Although you might see a larger list on other websites, the official listing from the folks at COTY consists of 25 models.

However, the contenders could be more than 35 by the end of September, which is the final date for this year’s competition. Cars that might be added in this year’s COTY could include the Ford Fiesta, BMW 7-Series, Renault Megane, Alfa Romeo Mito and Opel Insignia. Our guess (from the current nominees)? We’d bet on the Mazda6 and the Seat Ibiza.

Audi A4 - Audi Q5 - BMW X6 - Chevrolet HHR - Chrysler Grand Voyager - Citroën Berlingo / Peugeot Partner - Citroën C5 - Dacia Sandero - Dodge Journey - Ford Kuga - Honda Accord - Hyundai H1/i800 - Hyundai i10 - Jaguar XF - Jeep Cherokee - Lancia Delta - Mazda6 - Mercedes-Benz GLK - Mitsubishi Lancer - Opel – Vauxhall Agila / Suzuki Splash - Renault Kangoo - Renault Koleos - Seat Ibiza - Skoda Superb - Subaru Forester

Fiat 500 Receives “Car Of The Year 2008” Award in Berlin

The European “Car of the Year 2008” award, which was given to the Fiat 500 by a jury of 58 automotive journalists from 22 European countries, was presented this evening (28 January) at a ceremony in Berlin.

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Group Automobiles (he’s the poor-looking guy on the left), who received the award, said: “We have gone a long way in a short space of time, and I am proud to be able to underline that Fiat was the fastest growing car brand in Europe last year. The 500 is not a final target for the brand, but just the first stage in the ongoing development of the ‘new Fiat’. Which is why we see the 500 as not just a car, but as a ‘travelling agenda’ of what we want to achieve.”

North American Car & Truck Of The Year Finalists Announced

The three finalists for the North American Car of the Year and North American Truck of the Year were announced today at a news conference during a luncheon held by the Detroit Economic Club and the North American International Auto Show organizers. While more than 50 new vehicles were eligible, jurors finally voted on 15 cars and 13 trucks.

The group of 46 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada voted the Cadillac CTS, the Chevrolet Malibu and the Honda Accord finalists for the 2008 North American Car of the Year. As for the 2008 North American Truck of the Year, the finalists are the Buick Enclave, the Mazda CX-9 and Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid. -Continued

Now the jurors will begin a second round of voting to elect the winner in both categories which will be announced on January 13, 2008 at the Detroit Show. Last year the North American Car of the Year was the Saturn Aura and the North American Truck of the Year was the Chevrolet Silverado.

The jurors represent outlets such as the MSN Autos, the Toronto Star, Car and Driver magazine, AutoWeek, The Chicago Tribune, MotorWeek, USA Today, Autoline Detroit, Edmunds.com, Road & Track magazine, the San Jose Mercury News, Consumer Guide, the Boston Globe, Automotive News and Fortune.

Here are the vehicles on which the jurors voted:

2008 North American Car of the Year nominees

Audi TT

Audi A5/S5

Cadillac CTS

Chevrolet Malibu

Chrysler Town & Country

Dodge Grand Caravan

Honda Accord

Infiniti G37

Infiniti EX35

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Nissan Altima Coupe

Scion xB

Smart ForTwo

Subaru Impreza/WRX

Volvo C30

2008 North American Truck of the Year nominees

Buick Enclave

Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid

Hyundai Veracruz

Jeep Liberty

Jeep Patriot

Kia Rondo

Land Rover LR2

Mazda CX-9

Nissan Rogue

Saturn Vue

Toyota Highlander/Hybrid

Toyota Tundra

Volvo XC70

Officially-Official: Fiat 500 “Car Of The Year 2008”

As our regular readers already know from Friday’s leak (see here), Fiat’s retro-look 500 has been elected Car of the Year 2008 with 385 votes, ahead of the Mazda 2 (325 votes) and the Ford Mondeo (202). According to the official announcement that was released this morning, Fiat distinguished itself by obtaining votes from most members of the jury: 57 out of 58 included it in their short-list, and 33 made it top in their personal rankings. The award ceremony for Car of the Year 2008, organised by the German magazine Stern, will take place in Berlin on 28 January 2008. -Continued after the jump

This is the second time – the first was the Fiat Panda in 2004 – that an A-segment model has won the prestigious award. Interestingly, the Fiat Group has increased its wins to twelve: the Fiat 124 (1967), Fiat 128 (1970), Fiat 127 (1972), Lancia Delta (1980), Fiat Uno (1984), Fiat Tipo (1989), Fiat Punto (1995), Fiat Bravo/Brava (1996), Alfa 156 (1998), Alfa 147 (2001), Fiat Panda (2004) and the Fiat 500 (2008).

Model – Points

Fiat 500 - 385
Mazda2 - 325
Ford Mondeo - 202
Kia Cee’d - 166
Nissan Qashqai - 147
Mercedes C-Klasse - 128
Peugeot 308 - 97

Fiat 500 Is The “2008 Car Of The Year”

The all-new Fiat 500 (click here) has been unofficially-officially named “2008 Car Of The Year” by European auto journalists. But wait; what do we mean by “unofficially-officially”? Well, although the results were initially planned to be announced on Monday, November 19, 2007, Dutch car magazine Autovisie, which is one of the founding publications of the “Car of the year” organization, decided to spill the beans earlier by posting the story on there website.

The 500 was awarded with 385 points by the 58 European journalists that participated while in second place we find the Mazda2 with 325 points followed by the new Ford Mondeo with 202 points. -Results after the jump

Model – Points

Fiat 500 - 385
Mazda2 - 325
Ford Mondeo - 202
Kia Cee’d - 166
Nissan Qashqai - 147
Mercedes C-Klasse - 128
Peugeot 308 - 97

Car Of The Year 2008 Finalists Leaked?

Looks like someone opened the floodgates down at COTY (Car Of The Year) as the seven finalists for the prestigious 2008 Award have been leaked into the web prior to the official announcement expected to be released next week. In particular, the Spanish web site “Elmundo” is reporting that the seven nominees for the title (from a total of 33 candidates – see here) are: Fiat 500, Ford Mondeo, Kia Cee’d, Mazda2, Mercedes C-Class, Nissan Qashqai and the Peugeot 308.

Among the car that didn’t make are: Audi A5/S5, Renault Twingo, Toyota Auris & Corolla, Smart Fortwo, Lexus LS, Skoda Fabia, Honda CR-V, Fiat Bravo and the Kia Cee’d’s twin brother, the Hyundai i30. Now why didn’t the i30 get in?

Via: Elmundo

European Car Of The Year 2008 Candidates Announced

We’re sure that most of you are aware of the European “Car Of The Year” award so we’ll just go straight ahead and give you the facts. COTY -yes, that does stand for Car Of The Year, announced the 32 candidates for the 2008 award which include cars like the Fiat 500, Ford Mondeo, Mazda2 and the Chrysler Sebring. Apart from the Chrysler Sebring which we added just for kicks, the other three models are the most serious candidates to win the trophy in our humble opinion. From these 32 vehicles, the jury which consists of 58 member journalist, representing 22 European countries, will pick out seven models for the final round in November. You can check out all 32 models right after the jump.

Via: Autoblog.nl , Source: COTY

• Audi A5/S5
• BMW X5
• Chrysler Sebring
• Citroën C-Crosser/Mitsubishi Outlander/Peugeot 4007
• Daihatsu Materia
• Dodge Nitro
• Fiat 500
• Fiat Bravo
• Ford Mondeo
• Honda CR-V
• Hyundai i30
• Jeep Patriot
• Jeep Wrangler
• Kia cee’d
• Land Rover Freelander 2
• Lexus LS460/600h
• Mazda2
• Mazda CX7
• Mercedes C-Class
• Nissan Qashqai
• Nissan X-Trail
• Opel Antara
• Peugeot 308
• Renault Laguna
• Renault Twingo II
• SsangYong Actyon
• Skoda Fabia
• Smart ForTwo
• Subaru Impreza
• Toyota Auris/Corolla
• Volkswagen Tiguan
• Volvo V70/XC70

2007 Car of the Year: Ford S-Max grabs the title

Ford’s S-Max managed to grab the first place in the COTY awards this year with a margin of only two points from the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa. Ford should feel proud for another reason too as the S-Max is only the second MPV (after the Renault Scenic in 1996) in the contest’s 44-year history to win the award.

Having seen and driven all (with the exception of Citroen’s C4 Picasso) I agree 100% with the S-Max’s first place as it’s a truly driver orientated MPV packed with style and practicality. But, I totally disagree with the Opel Corsa’s second place. I can’t understand what they found in it to give it 233 points (!). Stylish yes, but that’s about the only attribute I can find in it in comparison with the other cars in the B-Segment category. What so new in the Corsa? In what way is it better than the Renault Clio for example?

I also disagree with the 5th placing of the Civic (5door Euro version) that managed to gather a mere 148 points. Its spacious interior is dressed in an outer-space design (in and out) and it has powerful but economical engines. In other words it brings a breeze of fresh air in a conventional, not to say boring category without loosing any of the assets that come with a C-Segment hatch.

• 1. Ford S-Max - 235
• 2. Opel Corsa - 233
• 3. Citroen Picasso - 222
• 4. Skoda Roomster - 189
• 5. Honda Civic - 148
• 6. Peugeot 207 - 144
• 7. Volvo C30 - 141
• 8. Fiat Grande Punto - 138

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Car of the Year 2007 : 8 nominees instead of 7

Round one is over for the COTY 2007. But instead of having 7 nominees, this year we're going to have 8 cars compete (from a total of 41 contenders) for the first place as there was a tie in points for the seventh place. For the final vote, the 58 members of the jury will have to apportion 25 points among at least five cars, providing a written justification of their choice. If you're asking for my personal opinion, I think that the three most prominent players for the first place are the Citroen C4 Picasso, Ford SMax and Honda Civic. The result will be announced on November 13th, 2006.

• Citroen C4 Picasso
• Fiat Grande Punto
• Ford S-Max
• Honda Civic
• Opel/Vauxhall Corsa
• Peugeot 207
• Skoda Roomster
• Volvo C30

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