Car of the Year Newsfeed

Nissan Micra and Juke shine in Geneva

2010-03-10 00:00:00

Kept tightly secret till the first press day, the fourth generation of Micra made a star appearance in Geneva auto show 2010, as part of a new Nissan offer in the small and compact segments that will also include the crossover Juke and the electric vehicle LEAF. While the commercialization of the zero-emission hatchback will start late in the year in selected markets, the more conventional Micra will be on sale soon at a global scale. The Nissan supermini utilizes a new small platform 'V'.

Prizegiving in Wolfsburg. Volkswagen kingdom

2010-02-16 00:00:00

Volkswagen was proud to celebrate the Polo's win of Car of the Year 2010 award in their own headquarters. The imposing complex made of classic and modern buildings where the big VW factory stands in Wolfsburg, was the venue for this prize giving event. The appealing and ever-changing exhibit Autostadt was, as usual, another point of interest close by. The manufacturer was again at the top of this contest, 18 years after the Golf III got the coveted trophy in Madrid. Plenty of top Volkswagen executives were in Wolfsburg representing the distinguished team of specialists behind the development and production of the Polo and the rest of a wide model range that explains the current success of the manufacturer in spite of a global economic crisis. Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, head of Volkswagen AG, was there to collect the trophy from the hands of Hakan Matson, president of CotY Jury. Prior to this event, the General Assembly of CotY Jury elected a new Secretary General, Frank Janssen, as a successor to Eduardo Azpilicueta, who has retired from the Jury after 25 years of membership.

Car of the Year 2010: VW Polo wins the match

2009-11-30 00:00:00

The Volkswagen Polo is the Car of the Year 2010. It won a close contest with the Toyota iQ. Just ten points, 347 to 337, separated the two leading contenders, while the Opel/Vauxhall Astra took third place, with 221 points.

A break in the assembly line: prizegiving in R�sselsheim

Eduardo Azpilicueta — 2009-01-26 00:00:00

Night-shift workers, with their tee-shirts emblazoned with the Car of the Year logo, stopped for a while their activity in the assembly line of Opel Insignia in Russelsheim complex to be protagonists of a prizegiving ceremony of unprecedented ambience. Opel/GM Europe executives and CotY Jury members were of course all there, surrounded by units of the award-winning model in different phases of completion in this emblematic factory where Opel car brand was born one century ago. Business as usual but with an original and emotive touch, thanks to the good cooperation of GM and 'Autocar', the oganizing publication for 2009 edition of CotY award. The event went appropriately on in an old dispatching facility of Russelsheim where classic Opel of different ages, well cared for, flourish now.

Hybrid Insight, key for �new� Honda

2008-12-30 00:00:00

Compact hybrid car Insight, to be presented in production form in Detroit Auto Show 2009 and be on sale next April at a global scale, may be the big product news in Honda new direction, according to CEO, Mr. Fukui.

Testing fever

2008-12-29 00:00:00

According to CotY Statutes, Jury members are necessarily full-time professional journalists, who regularly drive and test the new cars produced by the industry.

Insignia, five stars

2008-12-27 00:00:00

Euro NCAP today releases the results for some of Europe's best-selling cars. This is the last time that Euro NCAP will release results under its current rating system, before the organisation's new rating system is launched in February 2009. Of the twelve vehicles whose results are released today, eight received Euro NCAP's maximum award of five stars. With the implementation of the new rating scheduled for 2009, Euro NCAP also reveals its high ambitions for manufacturers: without ESC, the achievement of five stars will no longer be possible.

Car of the Year 2009: Insignia wins by one point

2008-11-17 00:00:00

In the very closest of contests, the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia emerged victorious as Car of the Year 2009 with 321 points against the 320 for the Ford Fiesta. The Volkswagen Golf took third place with 223 points.

Prizegiving in Berlin, January 2008

2008-01-25 00:00:00

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.

Car of the Year 2008: A winning legend

2007-11-19 00:00:00

Nostalgia and charm have been key factors in the good marks the Car of the Year 2008 Jury has given to the retro-looking 500, a car of classless appeal in the Fiat tradition. In the showdown between two small cars, the Fiat has had a clear win with 385 points against the Mazda2, that finished with just 60 points less. The 500 has received top points from 33 of the 58 Jury members plus 15 second places. The Ford Mondeo was third, with 202 points, with the other finalists well behind.

Car of the Year 2007: Ford S-Max wins close contest

2006-11-20 00:00:00

The S-Max, winner of the award with a margin of only two points from the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, was seen by the Jury as a sporty and spacious seven-seater with strong personality and design and excellent safety. The balance between family roominess and versatility and, at the same time, pleasant dynamics, refinement and driving fun, was the most praised feature of this good looking MPV that started a new line of design in Ford.

Car of the Year 2006: Renault Clio

2005-11-21 00:00:00

The new Clio Clio emerged as the winner with just five points more than the Volkswagen Passat. The car was especially praised for its quality, safety, comfort and space. Several described it as the new benchmark for its category. This is the first repeat win in the history of the award; the first Clio was Car of the Year 1991. A Renault model has won the Car of the Year on six occasions, the previous being the Megane, three year before.

Car of the Year 2005: Ecology for all

2004-11-22 00:00:00

The winner takes all. No less than 37 jurors gave their top points to the hybrid Toyota. The margin of victory was higher than any winner since the first Ford Focus six years ago. The second placed Citroandeuml;n C4 scored twice as many top nominations as the new Focus, but the Ford received points from all Jury members andndash; as did the winner.

Car of the Year 2004: When less is more

2003-11-24 00:00:00

The gathering of seven notable cars for the final voting produced a very close assessment, with no less than five cars receiving more than 200 points each. The small Panda got the same number of individual top positions than Volkswagen Golf, but the amount of second places was decisive, as it was for Mazda3 tie with Golf (see voting grid).

Car of the Year 2003: Courage pays

2002-11-25 00:00:00

Everybody says Renault Megane's exterior style is very daring for a popular car. Almost half of Car of the Year jurors gave their top points to the French model, many of them quoting the unusual looks among its winning assets. Mazda 6, the other top contender, was first or second best for 30 out of 58 Jury members (see voting grid).

Car of the Year 2002: A clear winner

2001-10-22 00:00:00

Backed by 30 out of 55 Jury members who gave it their first or second choice, the 2002 award goes for a clear winner, well ahead of the rest of Nominees (see voting grid).