Award Winning Motors
April 15th, 2008 by Alex Jeffery
If you’re anything like the team at Sureterm Direct Insurance, you’ll love reading stuff about motors, particularly ones in the headlines. That’s why we found this story about the World Car of the Year fascinating. Read on…
The World Car of the Year Awards began in 2005 when the Audi A6 triumphed, followed by the BMW 3-Series in 2006 and the Lexus LS460 last year.
This year the top three contenders for 2008 World Car of the Year title were the Ford Mondeo, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the Mazda2/Mazda Demio, which became the first compact car to win the award.
The Mazda2/Mazda Demio was chosen from an initial entry list of thirty-nine entries nominated by forty-seven World Car jurors from twenty-four countries throughout the world. Each juror was appointed by the World Car Steering Committee on the basis of his or her expertise, experience, credibility, and influence. Each juror typically drives and evaluates new vehicles on a regular basis as part of their professional work.
The jurors stated that, “The new Mazda version is exactly that – completely new – particularly on the outside. The two-door sportier look was recently unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show and reviews around the world have been primarily one big ‘thumbs up’. Consumers will be drawn to the new Mazda compact because of its very appealing looks and high levels of standard equipment for the price.”
“We are honoured to receive this prestigious award recognizing the Mazda2/Mazda Demio as the 2008 World Car of the Year,” said Dan Morris, Mazda’s senior managing executive officer in charge of Marketing, Sales and Customer Service. “This is wonderful recognition which Mazda2 car owners and Mazda employees alike can celebrate worldwide.
The 2008 World Performance Car award went to the Audi R8. Candidates for the World Performance Car award must demonstrate a specific and overt Sports/Performance orientation. They must also satisfy the same availability criteria as for the overall World Car award and may be chosen from that list of eligible vehicles.
“Last year, the Audi RS 4 won the World Performance Car award and we are thrilled to have retained the title with the Audi R8,” said Johan De Nysschen, Executive Vice President of Audi of America. “This award is recognition for the superb work done by the engineers and designers who worked on the R8. It has immediately taken up a leadership position in the super sports car segment. We are also delighted that the World Car of the Year jurors voted the Audi S5 into the top three.”
2008 World Green Car of the Year was won by the BMW 118d – “BMW is very excited that the BMW 118d with EfficientDynamics won the World Green Car title,” said Tom Purves, Chairman and CEO of BMW of North America. “The measures that we’ve implemented within our EfficientDynamics strategy into every BMW mean that we’re able to provide customers with the driving pleasure they expect from a BMW, while still meeting the stringent requirements for fuel-efficiency and low emissions.”
Jurors felt that BMW’s EfficientDynamics technology, as applied to the 118d, comprises a range of features and improvements with the specific purpose of reducing fuel consumption and lowering emissions. Its 143-hp, 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine, with third-generation common-rail fuel injection, piezo-injectors, and up to 2,000 bar injection pressure is said to reduce fuel consumption by up to eight percent.
The top three contenders for the third annual World Green Car in addition to the BMW 118d were the Mercedes-Benz Smart fortwo cdi and the Volkswagen Passat 1.9 TDI.
Previous World Car winners were the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec in 2007 and the Honda Civic Hybrid in 2006.
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