Autoblog

The editors of Motor Trend have tallied up the votes and crowned the Cadillac CTS their 2008 Car of the Year, GM's first since the Corvette won a full decade ago. The CTS beat an 18-car field including the Honda Accord, Audi TT, Subaru WRX, Chevrolet Malibu, Mitsubishi Lancer, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and others. MT was smitten with the Caddy's balanced handling, smooth-revving V6, exterior and interior design, and attention to detail. Our man Damon would certainly agree, who gave the CTS a thumbs up after piloting it around the Milford Proving Grounds. You can read Motor Trend's thoughts on the CTS here, or read their full evaluation of all the cars here.

Photo Copyright ©2007 Alex Núñez / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Motor Trend]

Has Ernie Boch Jr. let the cat out of the bag? Autoblog reader Jason tipped us that he heard a fleeting mention of the 2008 Honda Accord being Motor Trend's Car Of The Year during a commercial for a seasonal promotion at the national sales champ dealership. Could it be that Jason's sharp ear has uncovered Motor Trend's announcement traditionally made in November? Boch Honda's website mirrors the statement that Jason heard, as well, offering a "newly redesigned 2008 Honda Accord LX, Motor Trend's Car Of The Year" for a $198/month lease. Motor Trend, on the other hand, remains mum so far on its pick. The press always blows the automaker's embargoes, how meta is it that a dealer appears to have deflated the COTY balloon? We'll be giving Ernie a ring on Monday, stay tuned.

Thanks for the tip, Jason!

The Toyota Camry, despite being knocked by many enthusiasts as soulless and bland, has still managed to outsell every other car on the market. Second on the list is its own sibling, the Corolla. And sales keep going up, so it obviously has a lot going for it. First it wins "Most Popular" award for its sales record and now it has won Motor Trend's Car of the Year for 2007. We'd say it's a shoe-in for Miss Congeniality, too. Motor Trend Magazine's Editor-in-Chief Angus MacKenzie issued a statement that said the award goes to the whole Camry range for its innovation and wide appeal. This is, amazingly enough, the first win for the Camry. It beat 26 other nominees for the title.

The MT COTY awards are reserved for vehicles that are all, or significantly new during the model year. This explains, for instance, why last year's winner, the Honda Civic, wasn't nominated. Looking at the list of competitors, we see 10 Japanese cars, six Americans, five Koreans, four Germans, one Brit and one Swede. A pretty good group of cars, including the Chevrolet Aveo, Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Caliber, Honda Fit, Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Entourage, Infiniti G35, Jaguar XK, Jeep Compass, Kia Optima, Kia Rondo, Kia Sedona, Lexus ES 350, Lexus LS 460, Mercedes Benz S-Class, Nissan Altima, Nissan Sentra, Nissan Versa, Porsche Cayman, Saturn Aura, Saturn Sky Redline, Suzuki SX4, Toyota Camry, Toyota Yaris, Volvo C70 T5, Volkswagen EOS, and Volkswagen Rabbit.

Did it deserve the golden calipers? Sound off in the comments.

[Source: MSNBC]

Thanks for the tip, Justin!