The top three finalists in all award categories will be announced at the Geneva International Motor Show on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010. A jury of fifty-nine (59) distinguished international automotive journalists selected the following top ten finalists in both categories by secret ballot, based on their experience with each candidate as part of their professional work. The jury members constitute a balance of representation from Asia, Europe, North America, South America, as well as other parts of the world. All hold significant stature within their own regions and countries. For more details about our jurors, and their outlets, please visit our web site: www.wcoty.com and choose “Juror Details”.
The international accounting firm KPMG then tabulated the jurors’ ballots and announced the top ten finalists in both categories today.
The 2010 World Car of the Year will be selected from the following top ten cars listed in alphabetical order:
Audi Q5
BMW X1
Chevrolet Cruze
Kia Soul
Mazda3
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Opel/Vauxhall Insignia / Buick Regal
Porsche Panamera
Toyota Prius
Volkswagen Polo
The 2010 World Performance Car will be chosen from one of these top ten finalists:
Aston Martin V12 Vantage
Audi R8 V10
Audi TT RS Coupé / Roadster
BMW Z4
Ferrari California
Jaguar XFR
Lotus Evora
Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG
Nissan 370 Z
Porsche 911 GT3
Porsche Boxster / Cayman
The jurors’ next step is to re-evaluate the “top ten” cars in both classes, in preparation for a final round of voting in February. They will specifically rate each vehicle in terms of overall merit, value, safety, environmental responsibility, emotional appeal, and significance. KPMG will again tabulate the vote results. The top three finalists in both categories will be announced at the Geneva International Motor Show on March 2nd during a press conference co-hosted by the New York International Auto Show, the BASF Group, and Bridgestone Corporation.
Prime Research International, a global leader in strategic communication research and consultancy, has joined forces with the World Car Awards to form a unique research partnership that will provide strategic reports in 2010, analyzing global automotive media coverage.
Finalists in the World Car Design of the Year category are handled quite differently. A panel of five highly respected world design experts assisted the jurors by developing for them a short list of recommendations taken from the array of entries in the 2010 World Car of the Year category. The experts Masatsugu Arimoto (Japan): chairman Japan Auto Colour Award program; juror “Good Design Award”, Car Styling magazine’s “Car Design Awards”; judge – Japan Car of the Year awards; Silvia Baruffaldi (Italy): Managing Editor of Auto & Design magazine; Gernot Bracht (Germany): former designer at Renault and currently teaching at Pforzheim design school in Germany; Sam Livingstone (UK): Associate Editor of Car Design News and Senior Tutor in Vehicle Design, Royal College of Art in the UK and Tom Matano: former Mazda designer and currently Executive Director, School of Industrial Design, at Academy of Art University, San Francisco, USA. The fifty-nine jurors will now choose the 2010 World Car Design of the Year winner from the experts’ short list of finalists when they vote in February.
The same system applies to the World Green Car* award. A panel of three experts, each representing a continent, reviews all entries in this category; then creates a short-list for the jurors’ vote in February. The World Green Car panel consists of Sam Abuelsamid representing North America (GreenFuelsForecast.com, DieselForecast.com and HydrogenForecast.com); Dean Slavnich representing Europe (Engine Technology International (ETi), Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International (E&H) and Tadashi Tateuchi representing Asia (creator and chairman of the Japan Electric Vehicle (EV) Club).
Now in their seventh year, the annual World Car awards have become one of the world’s most prestigious, credible and significant programs of its kind.
The awards were inaugurated in 2003, and officially launched in January 2004, to reflect the reality of the global marketplace, as well as to recognize and reward automotive excellence on an international scale. The awards are intended to complement, not compete, with existing national and regional Car of the Year programs.
The awards are administered by a non-profit association, under the guidance of a Steering Committee of pre-eminent automotive journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America. Peter Lyon (Japan) and Gerry Malloy (Canada) are the co-chairs; Matt Davis (Italy), John McCormick (USA) and Jens Meiners (Germany) are the directors. There is no affiliation with, nor are the awards in any way influenced by any publication, auto show, automaker, or other commercial enterprise.
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