Car Moon

The Nissan Leaf was named 2011 World Car of the Year at the New York International Auto Show, taking the top spot ahead of the BMW 5-Series and the Audi A8. It is the second important award for the Japanese automaker’s all-electric car after being voted 2011 European Car of the Year. Read more »

Now, before someone adds a comment of the sort "in other related news, Audi unveiled the new A6", let us make it clear that we're not reporting on the actual Car of the Year (COTY) 2011 results, which were announced in late November 2010, but on the special ceremony that took place at the Pavillion Gabriel in Paris earlier this week to hand over the trophy to this year's winner, the new Nissan Leaf.

While our readers favored the Alfa Romeo Giulietta in our poll, the jury of the 2011 European Car of the Year Award (COTY) announced that the Nissan Leaf is the winner, earning a total of 257 points. This is the first time in the 47-year history of the competition that the award goes to an electric vehicle.

“The jury acknowledged today that the Nissan LEAF is a breakthrough for electric cars. Nissan LEAF is the first EV that can match conventional cars in many respects”, said Håkan Matson, President of the Jury, Car of the Year.

The Giulietta came in second with 248 points, while the Opel/Vauxhall Meriva took the bronze, with 244 points.

There were 41 candidates eligible for the European 2011 Car of the Year (COTY) award, with quite a few big names being mentioned, such as the Audi A7 Sportback and A8, BMW 5-Series and X3, Jaguar XJ and Mercedes Benz CLS. This week, the list was narrowed down to just seven finalists and, as in previous years, some of them weren't really expected to make it this far.

Our summary presents the remaining candidates in alphabetical order, with the winner set to be announced on November 29. We'd really like to know which of the seven cars would get your vote, though, so comment away below.

Volkswagen's "mini-me Golf", the fifth-generation Polo, has won the coveted 'Car of the Year' award for 2010 with 347 points against 337 for the Toyota iQ mini which came in second. The new Opel / Vauxhall Astra, which was considered by many a favorite to snatch the award and continue General Motors' success with the Insignia that won the 2009 title, finished in third place receiving 221 points.

The list with the initial nominees for the 2009 European Car of the Year has been released. Currently there are thirty candidates but the organizing committee noted that more cars could be added by September. The contenders must be new models available in at least five European countries at the time of voting, with projected sales of at least 5,000 units per year. Toyota has five entries this year including the Avensis, the iQ, the Prius, the Urban Cruiser and the Verso people carrier.

It may look like a ceremony for the UEFA cup winner, but in fact, what you're seeing here in this picture is the presentation of the European "Car of the Year 2009" award for the Opel Insignia to GM Europe's President, Carl-Peter Forster. The ceremony took place on Monday 26th, January, at Opel's plant in Russelsheim, Germany, that produces the Insignia. The final results for the 2009 COTY were announced last November. Opel's Insignia claimed victory with a total of 321 points followed by the new Ford Fiesta and the VW Golf VI that gathered 320 and 223 points respectively.

The finalists for the 2009 North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards were announced today. All in all, 14 passenger cars and 11 trucks and SUVs have been nominated for the respective awards. Among the finalists for the Car of the Year award is the Hyundai Genesis -the first ever Korean model to make it to the finals, the Nissan GT-R, the Audi A4, the Dodge Challenger, the Jaguar XF and the Pontiac G8. Finalists for the 2009 North American Truck of the Year award include the Dodge Ram, the BMW X6 and the Subaru Forester.

For the first time in 22 years, a General Motors vehicle has been voted 'Car of the Year' (COTY) in Europe. The brand-new Opel insignia gathered a total of 321 points beating the second Ford Fiesta by the narrowest possible margin - a solitary point. The Insignia is the third Opel / Vauxhall model to be awarded with the COTY after the Kadett (Vauxhall Astra in the UK) scooped the award in 1985 with the Omega (Vauxhall Carlton) following in 1987. The COTY jury, which is made up of 59 senior motoring journalists from 23 European countries gave the VW Golf VI a total of 223 points placing it third of the contest's seven finalists.

The world's smallest four-seater passenger car -or so Toyota claims, the iQ, has won the 2008 Japan Car of the Year award. Toyota's new proposal in the minicar segment that will most likely come to the States as a Scion (click here for details) triumphed over its antagonists scoring more than double the points of the second placed Citroen C5, receiving top marks from 39 of the 65 jurors who voted.

Surprisingly, Japan's own Nissan GT-R finished in third place followed by the new Audi A4 and Jaguar XF. Even more surprising is the fact that Fiat's highly acclaimed 500 minicar that was included in this year's ballot finished 7th. We remind you that the 500 won the European Car of the Year award in 2007.

The countdown has began for the announcement of the European 'Car of the Year 2009' winner as the organizers released the shortlist with the seven finalists. The cars that made it to the final round of the 2009 COTY are: Alfa Romeo MiTo, Citroen C5, Ford Fiesta, Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, Renault Megane, Skoda Superb and Volkswagen Golf VI. The COTY jury, which is made up of 59 senior motoring journalists from 23 countries around Europe will reveal the winner on November 19.

The COTY's organizing committee also released a statement in concern of recent news stories that gave the result of a 'European Car of the Year'. According to the committee, this contest was a national one staged by the Italian Motor Journalists Association and had no connection whatsoever with the 'Car of the Year'.

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