Nissan Picks Up 2011 COTY Trophy for Leaf

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.

The trophy was received by Nissan Motor Co.'s President and CEO Carlos Ghosn, who of course, was extremely happy with the results.

"It is a great honor for Nissan LEAF to be recognized as the European Car of the Year - the first all-electric car to receive this distinction, " said Mr. Ghosn. "Like previous Car of the Year winners, Nissan LEAF is an appealing, competitive car, with no compromise on style, features, safety, performance or handling. Yet it stands apart as an innovative car that reflects a clear vision of the future of transportation - a vision of sustainable mobility."

Speaking at the ceremony Håkan Matson, president of the CoTY jury said: "I am convinced that we will see other electric cars named Car of the Year in the future. But when we do, we must always remember that only one can be the first. And that is why Nissan LEAF Car of the Year 2011 is - and will remain - so very special," said Håkan Matson, president of the CoTY jury, speaking at the ceremony.

You can view the results in detail here, but we'll remind you that the 58 jury members from 23 European countries placed the all-electric Nissan Leaf in first place with 257 points, followed by the Alfa Romeo Giulietta with 248 points and the Opel Meriva small MPV with 244 points. This is the second time Nissan has won the COTY, the first being in 1993 with the Micra, which became the first ever Japanese model to win the accolade.

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Opel Officially Receives 'European Car of Year' Award for the Insignia

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.

2009 North American Car and Truck of the Year Finalists Announced

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.

In order to be eligible for the awards, the vehicles must be "all-new" or "substantially changed" from the previous year model. From now and the opening of Detroit Show, 50 journalists from the United States and Canada who represent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and web sites, will vote ranking the finalists with the winners set to be announced at the show's first press conference on Sunday, Jan. 11.

2009 North American Car of the Year nominees

• Audi A4
• BMW 1 Series
• Cadillac CTS-V
• Dodge Challenger
• Ford Flex
• Honda Fit
• Hyundai Genesis
• Jaguar XF
• Lincoln MKS
• Mazda 6
• Nissan GT-R
• Pontiac G8
• Toyota Venza
• Volkswagen Jetta TDI

2009 North American Truck of the Year nominees

• BMW X6
• Chevrolet Traverse
• Dodge Ram
• Ford F-150
• Honda Pilot
• Infiniti FX35/50
• Kia Borrego
• Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC
• Nissan Murano
• Subaru Forester
• Volkswagen Tiguan

“Car Of The Year 2009” Initial Candidates Announced

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

Fiat 500 Receives “Car Of The Year 2008” Award in Berlin

The European “Car of the Year 2008” award, which was given to the Fiat 500 by a jury of 58 automotive journalists from 22 European countries, was presented this evening (28 January) at a ceremony in Berlin.

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Group Automobiles (he’s the poor-looking guy on the left), who received the award, said: “We have gone a long way in a short space of time, and I am proud to be able to underline that Fiat was the fastest growing car brand in Europe last year. The 500 is not a final target for the brand, but just the first stage in the ongoing development of the ‘new Fiat’. Which is why we see the 500 as not just a car, but as a ‘travelling agenda’ of what we want to achieve.”

Officially-Official: Fiat 500 “Car Of The Year 2008”

As our regular readers already know from Friday’s leak (see here), Fiat’s retro-look 500 has been elected Car of the Year 2008 with 385 votes, ahead of the Mazda 2 (325 votes) and the Ford Mondeo (202). According to the official announcement that was released this morning, Fiat distinguished itself by obtaining votes from most members of the jury: 57 out of 58 included it in their short-list, and 33 made it top in their personal rankings. The award ceremony for Car of the Year 2008, organised by the German magazine Stern, will take place in Berlin on 28 January 2008. -Continued after the jump

This is the second time – the first was the Fiat Panda in 2004 – that an A-segment model has won the prestigious award. Interestingly, the Fiat Group has increased its wins to twelve: the Fiat 124 (1967), Fiat 128 (1970), Fiat 127 (1972), Lancia Delta (1980), Fiat Uno (1984), Fiat Tipo (1989), Fiat Punto (1995), Fiat Bravo/Brava (1996), Alfa 156 (1998), Alfa 147 (2001), Fiat Panda (2004) and the Fiat 500 (2008).

Model – Points

Fiat 500 - 385
Mazda2 - 325
Ford Mondeo - 202
Kia Cee’d - 166
Nissan Qashqai - 147
Mercedes C-Klasse - 128
Peugeot 308 - 97

Fiat 500 Is The “2008 Car Of The Year”

The all-new Fiat 500 (click here) has been unofficially-officially named “2008 Car Of The Year” by European auto journalists. But wait; what do we mean by “unofficially-officially”? Well, although the results were initially planned to be announced on Monday, November 19, 2007, Dutch car magazine Autovisie, which is one of the founding publications of the “Car of the year” organization, decided to spill the beans earlier by posting the story on there website.

The 500 was awarded with 385 points by the 58 European journalists that participated while in second place we find the Mazda2 with 325 points followed by the new Ford Mondeo with 202 points. -Results after the jump

Model – Points

Fiat 500 - 385
Mazda2 - 325
Ford Mondeo - 202
Kia Cee’d - 166
Nissan Qashqai - 147
Mercedes C-Klasse - 128
Peugeot 308 - 97

Car Of The Year 2008 Finalists Leaked?

Looks like someone opened the floodgates down at COTY (Car Of The Year) as the seven finalists for the prestigious 2008 Award have been leaked into the web prior to the official announcement expected to be released next week. In particular, the Spanish web site “Elmundo” is reporting that the seven nominees for the title (from a total of 33 candidates – see here) are: Fiat 500, Ford Mondeo, Kia Cee’d, Mazda2, Mercedes C-Class, Nissan Qashqai and the Peugeot 308.

Among the car that didn’t make are: Audi A5/S5, Renault Twingo, Toyota Auris & Corolla, Smart Fortwo, Lexus LS, Skoda Fabia, Honda CR-V, Fiat Bravo and the Kia Cee’d’s twin brother, the Hyundai i30. Now why didn’t the i30 get in?

Via: Elmundo