Prizegiving in Berlin, January 2008

Hosted by stern editor in chief, Andreas Petzold, the prize-giving ceremony for Car of the Year 2008 was suitably held in Berlin ‘Meilen Werk’, a paradise for classic car lovers. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Group, collected the trophy and emphasized the key factors for the success of new Fiat 500. The president of the Jury, Ray Hutton, summed up the charm, quality, value and environmental virtues of the winner.

Ray Hutton: The Fiat 500 sends out the message that inexpensive and economical small cars need not be dull, drab, boring and slow. They can be fun. Fun to look at, fun to drive, fun to travel in.”

This evening we go back to the future. We are here to celebrate a thoroughly modern car that captures the carefree spirit of one from an earlier time.

Although the Car of the Year institution is 45 years old this year, it had not been invented when Dante Giacosa’s Fiat Cinquencento appeared as the car to put thousands of Italians on four wheels for the first time.

Sergio Marchionne: We knew we had to keep to heart the original line of thought – an economical car, attainable for all. To this we wanted to add today’s virtues of comfort, safety and environmental responsibility.

Today we live in a world where there is an award for virtually any product, be it aimed at consumers at large or a narrow band of professionals. From Oscars to computer games there is a seemingly unsatisfied hunger for the opportunity to be recognised as ‘the best’ in whatever field. And the list grows ever longer. Were you aware, for example, that this year’s Weird Science Award was presented to a South Korean scientist that managed to make a cloned cat glow red under ultraviolet light? Me neither.

Fiat 500