« C63 AMG Estate to be unveiled at Frankfurt Motor Show | Home Page | Volkwsagen is working on a 10-year plan to catch up with Toyota »
Car of the Year 2008 selection
By Yoann Besnard on 4 September 2007 | 
(0) Comments | Permalink
The Car of the Year contest is a bit of a joke. Every year a group of 58 car journalists from 22 different countries meet together to select the best car of the year. Every year, German journalists tend to favour German cars, French the French cars. The vote makes a little more sense in countries where the automotive industry is not a national industry. However, if we add the fact that sometimes carmakers try to cheat by providing the 'experts' with slightly improved cars, the contest becomes even more of a joke. At the end the winning carmaker has the right to put a shiny sticker on the car, adding an extra selling point to the new model.
Despite the contest's weaknesses, we still like it because it allows us car enthusiasts to argue, discuss and fight over the best car of the year.
Here is the list of the thirty selected cars. Later the list will be reduced to seven contestants and in January the committee will reveal the lucky winner.
Audi A5/S5
BMW X5
Chrysler Sebring
C-Crosser/Outlander/4007
Daihatsu Materia
Dodge Nitro
Fiat 500
Fiat Bravo
Ford Mondeo
Honda CR-V
Hyundai i30
Jeep Patriot
Jeep Wrangler
Kia cee'd
Land Rover Freelander
Lexus LS460/600h
Mazda2
Mazda CX-7
Mercedes C-Class
Nissan Qashqai
Nissan X-Trail
Opel/Vauxhall Antara
Peugeot 308
Renault Laguna
Renault Twingo
SsangYong Actyon
Skoda Fabia
Smart Fortwo
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Auris/Corolla
Volkswagen Tiguan
Volvo V70/XC70
