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

European Car Of The Year 2008 Candidates Announced

We’re sure that most of you are aware of the European “Car Of The Year” award so we’ll just go straight ahead and give you the facts. COTY -yes, that does stand for Car Of The Year, announced the 32 candidates for the 2008 award which include cars like the Fiat 500, Ford Mondeo, Mazda2 and the Chrysler Sebring. Apart from the Chrysler Sebring which we added just for kicks, the other three models are the most serious candidates to win the trophy in our humble opinion. From these 32 vehicles, the jury which consists of 58 member journalist, representing 22 European countries, will pick out seven models for the final round in November. You can check out all 32 models right after the jump.

Via: Autoblog.nl , Source: COTY

• Audi A5/S5
• BMW X5
• Chrysler Sebring
• Citroën C-Crosser/Mitsubishi Outlander/Peugeot 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 2
• Lexus LS460/600h
• Mazda2
• Mazda CX7
• Mercedes C-Class
• Nissan Qashqai
• Nissan X-Trail
• Opel Antara
• Peugeot 308
• Renault Laguna
• Renault Twingo II
• SsangYong Actyon
• Skoda Fabia
• Smart ForTwo
• Subaru Impreza
• Toyota Auris/Corolla
• Volkswagen Tiguan
• Volvo V70/XC70

2007 Car of the Year: Ford S-Max grabs the title

Ford’s S-Max managed to grab the first place in the COTY awards this year with a margin of only two points from the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa. Ford should feel proud for another reason too as the S-Max is only the second MPV (after the Renault Scenic in 1996) in the contest’s 44-year history to win the award.

Having seen and driven all (with the exception of Citroen’s C4 Picasso) I agree 100% with the S-Max’s first place as it’s a truly driver orientated MPV packed with style and practicality. But, I totally disagree with the Opel Corsa’s second place. I can’t understand what they found in it to give it 233 points (!). Stylish yes, but that’s about the only attribute I can find in it in comparison with the other cars in the B-Segment category. What so new in the Corsa? In what way is it better than the Renault Clio for example?

I also disagree with the 5th placing of the Civic (5door Euro version) that managed to gather a mere 148 points. Its spacious interior is dressed in an outer-space design (in and out) and it has powerful but economical engines. In other words it brings a breeze of fresh air in a conventional, not to say boring category without loosing any of the assets that come with a C-Segment hatch.

• 1. Ford S-Max - 235
• 2. Opel Corsa - 233
• 3. Citroen Picasso - 222
• 4. Skoda Roomster - 189
• 5. Honda Civic - 148
• 6. Peugeot 207 - 144
• 7. Volvo C30 - 141
• 8. Fiat Grande Punto - 138

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Car of the Year 2007 : 8 nominees instead of 7

Round one is over for the COTY 2007. But instead of having 7 nominees, this year we're going to have 8 cars compete (from a total of 41 contenders) for the first place as there was a tie in points for the seventh place. For the final vote, the 58 members of the jury will have to apportion 25 points among at least five cars, providing a written justification of their choice. If you're asking for my personal opinion, I think that the three most prominent players for the first place are the Citroen C4 Picasso, Ford SMax and Honda Civic. The result will be announced on November 13th, 2006.

• Citroen C4 Picasso
• Fiat Grande Punto
• Ford S-Max
• Honda Civic
• Opel/Vauxhall Corsa
• Peugeot 207
• Skoda Roomster
• Volvo C30

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