NEW YORK — If it's February, that means the latest World Car of the Year awards are now "live," and the race to be this year's WCOTY champion is heating up.
The WCOTY awards, now in their seventh year and always presented at the New York auto show, are becoming ever more prestigious and influential. A year ago, it was the Volkswagen Golf and Nissan GT-R that drove off with two of the top prizes. So, how about 2010?
A global group of 59 auto writers make up the WCOTY voting panel and have already been hard at work selecting a top 10 list of candidates for the overall WCOTY winner and the 2010 Performance Car award.
The 2010 World Car of the Year nominees include the Toyota Prius, Porsche Panamera, Audi Q5 and new Volkswagen Polo. The BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Mazda 3 and Kia Soul are also up for contention.
In the U.S. camp, the Chevrolet Cruze and the Buick Regal (also sold as the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia in Europe) make the list as well.
The voting process doesn't get any easier when surveying the formidable list of World Performance candidates. They are, in alphabetical order: Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Audi R8 V10, Audi TT RS coupe/roadster, BMW Z4, Ferrari California, Jaguar XFR, Lotus Evora, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, Nissan 370Z, Porsche 911 GT3 and Porsche Boxster/Cayman. Yes, there are 11 WCOTY Performance Car contenders — because the first round of voting produced a tie.
The WCOTY process also brings out two further awards: World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year, as voted on by a different, specialist panel.
The 2010 WCOTY Green Car finalists include the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Honda Insight, the Mercedes-Benz S400 hybrid, the Toyota Prius and VW's BlueMotion family (Golf, Passat, Polo).
When it comes to the WCOTY Design award, America is again in with a strong shout thanks to the impressive style of the Chevrolet Camaro. The other three cars up for design contention are the Citroën C3 Picasso, the Kia Soul and the Toyota Prius.
Come the 2010 Geneva Auto Show in March, a top-three list in each category will be announced. Then, it's the WCOTY finals at the 2010 New York Auto Show on Thursday, April 1.
Inside Line says: Right up there with the Oscar nominees list for fun and anticipation. — Peter Nunn, Correspondent
Add A Comment »
charlesb says:
08:41 AM, 02/05/2010
I want the Prius to win World Car right at the time that Toyota is doing a massive recall on the vehicle just to show what a sham all these "awards" really are.
zoomzoomn says:
05:06 AM, 02/04/2010
It's too weird having all of these cars in one place being nominated. They are all of diffrering backgrounds, intending different missions in life! I nominate either the Mazda 3 or the VW Golf. Both are decently "green", well packaged for their price point, reasonably accessible due to their price point and still fun and comfortable to spend time in.
icecubefosho says:
06:38 PM, 02/03/2010
On a second note...
Go Jaguar XFR Performance Car of the Year!
icecubefosho says:
06:38 PM, 02/03/2010
SUVs are considered "Cars"?
I'd think it would make more sense to make a seperate category, or change it to "World vehicle of the year"