2006 World Car of the Year Awards

And Now There Are Three ...
Top Three Finalists Announced In Four Categories

NEW YORK, April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The countdown continues! From an initial entry list of twenty-seven (27) new vehicles from all over the world, then a short list of ten finalists, the top three contenders for the second annual World Car of the Year awards were announced today by the international accounting firm KPMG.

The 2006 World Car of the Year top three finalists are, in alphabetical order:

* BMW 3 Series
* Mazda MX-5
* Porsche Cayman S

A jury of 46 international automotive journalists considered a variety of parameters; then individually reviewed, evaluated, and voted on the World Car of the Year entrants by secret ballot. The international accounting firm KPMG tabulated the ballots to first determine the finalists, and finally the winner.

The 2006 World Car of the Year will be declared on Thursday, April 13, 2006 during a press conference presented by The Midway Group and hosted by the New York International Auto Show.

Announcing the annual World Car of the Year awards at the New York show is a fitting finale to the auto show season that begins each fall with either the Paris or Frankfurt motor shows. Next, it's on to Tokyo in alternating years. The Detroit show takes centre stage in January while Geneva claims the spotlight in March. Finally, in April, the season reaches its exciting climax at the New York International Auto Show.

Three additional groups of finalists, for World Performance Car, World Green Car, and World Car Design of the Year, will be announced during the same press conference on April 13, 2006.

Graham Johnson, co-chair of the World Car of the Year steering committee, announced the addition of the new awards in October. "Performance, design, and environmental responsibility are all key elements in the success of a vehicle on a global scale," he said, "so we believe it is appropriate that we recognize exceptional achievement in those specific areas with their own awards."

A panel of international experts in each of the environmental and design fields was chosen to assist the jurors by developing the short lists of finalists from the array of eligible candidates in each of those categories.

The three finalists for the 2006 World Green Car are: Citroen C1 1.4 Hdi (Diesel), Honda Civic Hybrid and the Lexus RX 400h/Toyota Harrier Hybrid.

For the 2006 World Car Design of the Year, the three finalists are: BMW 3-Series, Citroen C4, and the Honda Civic / Civic Hybrid (European version).

The 46 member jury themselves determined the top three finalists in the World Performance Car category. They are: the Audi RS4, the BMW M5 and the Porsche Cayman S.

Today's world is truly a global village -- especially within the automotive industry. National borders are effectively non-existent in terms of where vehicles and their components are designed, engineered, developed, built, and sold. The World Car of the Year Awards, of which the Audi A6 was the inaugural winner in 2005, reflect the truly global nature of the 21st-century automotive business and, at the same time, recognizes and rewards automotive excellence on a global scale.

The World Car of the Year Awards program is initiated by, organized by, and conducted by, automotive journalists from around the globe. A non-profit association guided by a steering committee of journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America administers the awards program. WCOTY is intended to complement, not compete with, existing COTY awards by raising consumer awareness of regional Car of the Year award programs as well as the World Car of the Year.

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i'm sick with those "enter country/region" car of the year awards. we have world/european/american/asian/australian....
the only one we don't have is an iraqi car of the year award...

I think its fun that 3er is nominated for the 2006 World Car Design of the Year

Fun how? I don't see the fun part...

That the design is finally being appreciated and nominated.

The BMW design is very appreciated in the design world. Even the latest "Bangelized" cars.




For example BMW got many red dot awards by Design Zentrum NW, Essen*:

Z4 got the red dot award in 2003, 5-series got it in 2004, and 5-series touring in 2005. Also Z8 got the award in 2001, and E46 cabrio in 2000.

Last year Audi A6 also got the red dot award.

Here are the other winner in vehicle categories over the recent history:
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* Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, based in Essen, Germany is one of the leading European institutions in the field of design promotion. Design Zentrum has acted as an intermediary between industry, business and designers since 1954, organising high prestige competitions such as the red dot design affording design oriented companies the opportunity of comparing performance and quality on an international level. With 4,165 participants the red dot design award is the largest design competition in Germany, establishing its award world-wide as one of the most desired quality labels for good design.

Update

http://germancarzone.com/showthread....ed=1#post56716


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World Performance Car:
winner: Porsche Cayman S
finalists: M5, RS4

Overall World Car of the Year:
winner: BMW 3-Series


World Design of the Year:
winner: Citroen C4
finalists: BMW 3-Series, Honda Civic / Civic Hybrid

Congrats to the 3-series, it probably deserved it.

Probably?

Seriously i hope that Audi and Mercedes work really hard on the new C class and A4 cause E90 will be very hard to beat.