Autoweek Readers' Choice Awards

Bruce · 01:09 AM

AutoWeek Readers’ Choice Awards 273 cars, trucks and sport/utility vehicles on the market in 2006 vied for top honors–here’s what you chose as tops in their categories

Germany picks up four awards, two for Audi and two for BMW

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"A day does not go by for the AutoWeek staff that we aren’t grilled on what car we like. This is The Question. While we don’t mind giving opinions, it isn’t always The Answer, because those answers emerge as a result of living with cars, understanding the segment in which they compete, appreciating their strengths and recognizing their weaknesses. And, besides, any one of our writers is just one knowledgeable person with opinions and biases.

Everyone knows there is strength in numbers, so it is best to get the opinion of many; if many say the same thing, you get a quorum, a trend, a following.

When you ask the ultimate hard-core car enthusiasts to share what they think qualifies as the top vehicle in various segments, you get something special: the AutoWeek Readers’ Choice Award winners.

Here is a truism: More than with any other car magazine, AutoWeek’s readers know about cars. That’s not just us saying it—or even you confirming it. The data, as culled, dissected and evaluated by the third-party source J.D. Power and Associates, prove it. Among all car magazine readers, AW readers influence more people with what they have to say. You spend more time reading each issue than do readers of any monthly publication, too. And on average—yes, there are readers who skew this number on both sides—you own a whopping 6.6 cars (don’t ask what that 0.6 car looks like, either). The point is that you care about automobility and the car lifestyle; your friends recognize this and seek your counsel when time comes for them to lay down cold, hard cash.

Who better, then, for us to turn to and ask The Question?

For six weeks, we asked AutoWeek readers and those who visited the autoweek.com website to tell us which of all the cars, trucks and sport/utility vehicles sold in the United States are worthy to be called tops in class. We identified nine categories—from Best Exotic Car to Best First New Car—with a total of 273 nameplates represented. We tallied the numbers and are compelled to share those with you.

After all, this is you speaking.

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Best Exotic — Bugatti Veyron

How many of you have fantasies of walking arm in arm to your high school reunion with a supermodel? You could leave the runway stars home if you drive up in any one of these beautiful babes. But the way your ideal date plays out, it is the near-1000-hp, quad-turbo, 257-mph über-supercar that tickles your fancy. This one you could wake up to with no remorse.

Best Sports Car — Chevrolet Corvette

There is nothing more evocative of enthusiast lust than a sports car. It is central to our existence. Without it, there is no mantra, no focus. A sports car represents liberation but also membership in a fraternity of passion. A sports car is life, and for the majority of us, life begins with the Chevrolet Corvette.

Best Luxury Car — Audi A8L

For our tastes, the word “luxury” is used too often on unworthy objects. Granted, it means different things to different people, but when you have true luxury, you innately understand its embrace, you know its value and its qualification. Climb inside this winner and there is no confusion about what makes a world-class luxury car.

Best Coupe/Convertible — BMW 6 Series

Two-door designs express a preference for stylish motoring that emphasizes the driver and perhaps a special companion. With or without a retractable roof

(most leading candidates are offered in both versions), such cars are all about

freedom and making a statement that you’re not just going from point A to point B, that the journey itself is the point. You expressed a strong preference for cars with performance as exceptional as their looks.

Best Sedan — BMW 3 Series

If forced to settle for only one car, most of us would pick a sedan—something to carry friends and stuff. It must be fun, too. That means nimble. It must say something about us as smart car folks, and it can’t embarrass us. If it has been the target for every other car company for a decade or more, it doesn’t hurt, either.

Best People Mover/SUV — Honda Odyssey

Amazing how the market determines need, isn’t it? Less than a generation ago, there was no such thing as a minivan, let alone the thought of a sport/utility vehicle that could function as a daily driver. But we have them because they fill our need to carry our daily life wherever we go, and the best one is functional, comfortable, affordable and efficient.

Best Truck — Ford F-Series

If one vehicle exemplifies America’s ingenuity, purposefulness on the wide-open spaces, and our ability to work hard, it is the pickup truck. It is a vehicle our country consumes with a voracious appetite and something that, quite frankly, puzzles buyers around the world. But get behind the wheel, load it up, and there’s no better way to feel home on the range. Or bring home a new range.

Best Economy Car — Audi A3

Just because you’re trying to do right in getting a small car that has good gas mileage doesn’t mean it must be a dreadful bore. So it is true with all the leading cars in this category. In the winner, you have a ride that’s not just a blast to drive on the daily commute, but it carves corner apexes and delivers a glorious experience every time you crank the key.

Best First New Car — Honda Civic

You know you get one shot to make a good first impression. And that’s why you give great thought to this category. It’s not something you’re thinking about just for your children or your grandkids, but it’s what your friends are asking you about, too. And it is also here that you set the path for the future leaders of our car-enthusiast nation.