The countdown for the announcement of the 2010 World Car of the Year (WCOTY) will soon be over. This Thursday, the winner will be announced at a press conference to be held starting at 8:30am at the New York International Auto Show.
From an initial entry list of thirty vehicles from all over the world, the top three contenders for the 2010 WCOTY title were announced at the Geneva International Motor Show in March. In alphabetical order, they are:
-Mercedes-Benz E-Class
-Toyota Prius
-Volkswagen Polo
To be eligible for the overall WCOTY award, the contender had to be in production, and sold, on at least two continents during 2009.
World Jury for World Awards!
Vehicles are selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of fifty-nine automotive journalists from twenty-five countries around the world, including Canada. Each juror is appointed by the WCOTY’ Steering Committee on the basis of his or her expertise, experience, credibility, and influence.
In addition to the WCOTY award, this organization presents three other awards: the World Performance Car, the World Green Car award, and the World Car Design of the Year, all of which will also be announced Thursday in New York.
World Green Car of the Year Contenders
For 2010, the World Green Car award will be sponsored by Bridgestone Corporation from Japan. Due to the complexity of some of the 'green' technologies, three independent « green car experts » were appointed by the Steering Committee. Those journalists who were not part of the jury extensively reviewed all documentation and specs associated with each vehicle and then create a short-list of finalists for review by the jurors in a second round of voting they made in February. The jury members then chose the following top three finalists:
-Honda Insight;
-Toyota Prius;
-Volkswagen BlueMotion (Golf, Passat and Polo).
World Car Design of the Year Contenders
As for the 2010 World Car Design of the Year award, it will be presented by BASF SE. It comes from another short-list of recommendations compiled for the jurors by a five design experts: Tom Matano (USA), Masatsugu Arimoto (Japan), Silvia Baruffaldi (Italy), Gernot Bracht (Germany) and Sam Livingstone (UK). Jurors nominated the following top three design finalists:
-Chevrolet Camaro;
-Citroën C3 Picasso;
-Kia Soul.
It is interesting to note that it is the fourth time that a Citroën design is among the finalists for this Design award.
World Performance Car of the Year Contenders
The short list for the 2010 World Performance Car award was a bit simpler to compile, as one may guess, any following finalists came out of the jury’s votes:
-Audi R8 V10;
-Ferrari California;
-Porsche 911 GT3.
Now in their seventh year, the annual World Car awards have become one of the world’s most prestigious programs of its kind. The awards are administered by a non-profit association, under the guidance of a Steering Committee of independent automotive journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America. Peter Lyon (Japan) and Matt Davis (Italy / USA) are the co-chairs; John McCormick (USA), Jens Meiners (Germany) and Gerry Malloy (Canada) are the directors.
From an initial entry list of thirty vehicles from all over the world, the top three contenders for the 2010 WCOTY title were announced at the Geneva International Motor Show in March. In alphabetical order, they are:
-Mercedes-Benz E-Class
 |
| Photo: WCOTY |
-Toyota Prius
 |
| Photo: WCOTY |
-Volkswagen Polo
 |
| Photo: WCOTY |
To be eligible for the overall WCOTY award, the contender had to be in production, and sold, on at least two continents during 2009.
World Jury for World Awards!
Vehicles are selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of fifty-nine automotive journalists from twenty-five countries around the world, including Canada. Each juror is appointed by the WCOTY’ Steering Committee on the basis of his or her expertise, experience, credibility, and influence.
In addition to the WCOTY award, this organization presents three other awards: the World Performance Car, the World Green Car award, and the World Car Design of the Year, all of which will also be announced Thursday in New York.
World Green Car of the Year Contenders
For 2010, the World Green Car award will be sponsored by Bridgestone Corporation from Japan. Due to the complexity of some of the 'green' technologies, three independent « green car experts » were appointed by the Steering Committee. Those journalists who were not part of the jury extensively reviewed all documentation and specs associated with each vehicle and then create a short-list of finalists for review by the jurors in a second round of voting they made in February. The jury members then chose the following top three finalists:
-Honda Insight;
-Toyota Prius;
-Volkswagen BlueMotion (Golf, Passat and Polo).
World Car Design of the Year Contenders
As for the 2010 World Car Design of the Year award, it will be presented by BASF SE. It comes from another short-list of recommendations compiled for the jurors by a five design experts: Tom Matano (USA), Masatsugu Arimoto (Japan), Silvia Baruffaldi (Italy), Gernot Bracht (Germany) and Sam Livingstone (UK). Jurors nominated the following top three design finalists:
-Chevrolet Camaro;
-Citroën C3 Picasso;
-Kia Soul.
It is interesting to note that it is the fourth time that a Citroën design is among the finalists for this Design award.
World Performance Car of the Year Contenders
The short list for the 2010 World Performance Car award was a bit simpler to compile, as one may guess, any following finalists came out of the jury’s votes:
-Audi R8 V10;
-Ferrari California;
-Porsche 911 GT3.
Now in their seventh year, the annual World Car awards have become one of the world’s most prestigious programs of its kind. The awards are administered by a non-profit association, under the guidance of a Steering Committee of independent automotive journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America. Peter Lyon (Japan) and Matt Davis (Italy / USA) are the co-chairs; John McCormick (USA), Jens Meiners (Germany) and Gerry Malloy (Canada) are the directors.