It's getting to be that time of the year when jurists select their favorites for the various Car of the Year awards. And so, hot on the heels of the announced list of nominees for the 2010 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards comes the roster of candidates for the 2010 European Car of the Year awards.

For those unfamiliar, the European COTY award is a joint effort between several automotive publications across Europe that banded together way back in 1964 to select their one favorite. England's Autocar, Italy's Auto, Spain's Autopista, Holland's Autovisie, France's L'Automobile, Germany's Stern and Sweden's Vi Bilagare all contribute jurists who take several months to narrow down the list of eligible candidates to a seven-car shortlist before picking their choice for the year.

Although it doesn't have any nominees in the field this year, Fiat has won the award nine times (plus two for Alfa Romeo and another for Lancia). Recent winners have included the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, Fiat 500, Ford S-Max and Renault Clio. Follow the jump to view the list of this year's candidates and stay tuned for the seven-car shortlist before the winner will be announced on November 30.

[Source: CarOfTheYear.org]

In another sign of good things to come from Ford later this year, the company's new Fiesta has just won a Car of the Year award from What Car? magazine in the UK. Specifically, the Fiesta 1.25i Zetec was selected by the publication's editors. They praised the looks, handling and efficiency of the new B-segment entry that's now available in Europe and has just started production in China. At the end of 2009, Ford will start production at a plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico that is being converted from production of F-Series trucks.

Fortunately, Ford has seen the light and will offer both hatchback and sedan variants of the Fiesta in North America. The U.S. market is expected to initially get the car with a 1.6-liter normally aspirated four-cylinder and a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox. We can't wait to try it out for ourselves and pit the Fiesta against the Honda Fit and its other segment-mates. Check out a high-res gallery of the Fiesta below and then click on the jump to read the official press release.


[Source: Ford]

Now that the motoring world has announced the International COTY and TOTY contenders, the finalists for North American Car and Truck of the Year have been revealed. The six chosen chariots consist of some of the same nameplates, but whereas the international body tapped the Dodge Challenger, Ford Flex and Nissan GT-R for the car honors, the 50 N.A. automotive journalists have elected the Ford Flex, Hyundai Genesis and Volkswagen Jetta TDI as finalists for the 2009 NACOTY. So the Challenger makes the International list but not the North American one? Baffling. The Nissan GT-R didn't make the N.A. cut, but it could be argued that the Flex and Genesis are more important to their respective companies, and the Jetta, well, it's green and all. The Jetta TDI did appear on the separate Earth, Wind & Power list from the international committee.

On the Truck side we have the Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram making both lists, but the N.A. group selected another Earth, Wind & Power nominee, the Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC, instead of the internationally-nominated Subaru Forester. All of the contendors seem worthy of recognition, but we're sure you'll have your own suggestions, as do we. Both sets of winners will be announced January 11th at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The full press release with all of the eligible nominees is after the jump and we've assembled a gallery of the finalists below.


[Source: North American Car & Truck of the Year]

Do you sense a pattern here? Not only has the Nissan GT-R won just about every comparison test on the planet, but it's also racked up a Popular Science Best of What's New award, Car of the Year honors from Automobile Magazine, and now the GT-R can add Motor Trend's CotY trophy to its mantle, as well. Calling it simply "Ichiban", the MT team praised Nissan's supercar-for-the-people as a standout in a pretty deep pool of contenders. While practically none of its CotY competitors even comes close to matching the GT-R's performance, several that are almost as good in their own right made the finals. Good as they are, the Honda Fit, Hyundai Genesis, BMW 1 series, Jaguar XF, Acura TL and TSX, Audi A4, Mazda6 and Volkswagen Passat CC just couldn't match the dominance of Gozilla. It would have been more difficult for MT to justify picking something other than the GT-R for this honor, and we can't think of any reason to disagree with their choice. Full press release after the jump.


[Source: Motor Trend]

Looks like there won't be much of a fiesta for Ford this year, as the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia has captured the 2009 European Car of the Year award by just one point over the hot little hatch with the big blue oval on its snout. Scoring 321 points to the Fiesta's 320, the Insignia claimed the victory with the bronze going to the Volkswagen Golf (223 points). It's the first win for Opel in 22 years, although the European branch of GM has scored four runner-up spots in the past. You might even say this is payback for Ford, which snatched the top prize from Opel in 2007 when the Ford S-Max nipped the Corsa by two points in the balloting. According to the jurors, the Insignia won this year based on its "artistry with German precision" good looks, active and passive safety features, comfort and a wide array of efficient engines including that 280-hp turbo V6. Options such as the Opel Eye that reads road signals, FlexRide suspension and nine-mode Adaptive Forward Lighting were also cited. Hopefully this car will eventually show up Stateside as the next Saturn Aura. Thanks for the tip, everyone!


[Source: Car of the Year]

Any guesses on what car Japanese jurors might pick as their Car of the Year? Guess again; and again. That's right, the Nissan GT-R only managed to snag enough votes to garner a bronze finish in Japanese COTY voting. Wondering what epically amazing machinery bested the mighty Godzilla? That would be the miniscule Toyota iQ. Once again, it is clear just how far the priorities for transportation have changed. Supercar levels of acceleration, on-board supercomputers and remarkable handling prowess just aren't enough to woo the top pick from judges in Japan. Not only was the iQ the top overall choice in a landslide victory, the Citroën C5 managed to garner enough votes to steal second place from the mighty GT-R.

Don't get us wrong, the Toyota with the funny name is a vehicle deserving of all the recognition it gets. A packaging miracle, the smarty-pants iQ manages to cram four real human beings inside a footprint that's pretty darn close to that of the smart fortwo, a car that seats just two people including the driver. These days, exceptional fuel economy, low emissions and intelligent packaging are apparently the way to a Japanese heart, and likely many from the rest of the world, as well. What do you think? Is the Toyota iQ the, ahem... smart person's COTY?


[Source: Inside Line]

The panel of 59 automotive journalists which decide each year's European Car of the Year have narrowed down their selection from the initial list of 38 contenders to just seven finalists, which have now been announced. Along the way, some noteworthy new vehicles have been forsaken, among them the new Audi A4, BMW 7 Series, Honda Accord, Jaguar XF and Volkswagen Scirocco, but not everyone could make the short-list. Otherwise it wouldn't be a short list.

The finalists for the coveted prize includes the Alfa Romeo MiTo, Citroen C5, Ford Fiesta, Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, Renault Megane, Skoda Superb and Volkswagen Golf. It's worth noting that previous versions of the Megane took home the trophy in their hatchbacks twice since the contest was instituted thirteen years ago. Fiat and Alfa Romeo, meanwhile, have won it six times. We'll see who takes home the prize for 2009, with the winner scheduled for release in just over a week on November 19.

[Source: CarScoop]

Nissan has hit a major home run with its latest Skyline, known as the GT-R here in the States. In fact, the car was knocked so far out of the park that it seems an obvious choice for anyone's Car of the Year. Nissan's latest supercar boasts enough performance to take on the best from the rest of the world regardless of price, making it an amazing value despite costing upwards of $80,000. As such, the new GT-R has been awarded the Car of the Year trophy from Automobile Mag. Who are we to argue?

Other winners of Automobile's year-end awards include Audi's stunning A5 coupe, which takes the award for Design of the Year, though it seems it feels like the A5's already been around for more than a year. Man of the Year goes to Honda's CEO, Takeo Fuki, who's company is now reaping the rewards for staying true to its initial vision of rational, fuel efficient designs after all these years. It's pretty hard to take exception with these choices, though 2009, which is right around the corner, is shaping up to be the year of fuel efficiency. Follow the jump for Automobile Mag's official press release, which has a few extra award winners we didn't mention.


[Source: Automobile]

Isn't it nice when everyone gets along? Every year, rather than naming their own selection, several of the largest automotive publications in Europe get together and pick their Car of the Year. A list is compiled of all eligible bachelors nominees, then the list is narrowed down to a handful (usually seven or eight) finalists before the single winner is announced.

The panel, which is composed of 59 judges from 23 different countries across Europe (including six representatives each from France, Great Britain, Italy and Spain), will announce the winner in Paris on November 17. Previous winners include the Fiat 500, Ford S-Max, Renault Clio and Toyota Prius. The organization has now releaved their list of 38 contenders; among those nominated are the Alfa MiTo, Audi Q5, Ford Fiesta, Honda Accord, Jaguar XF and Volkswagen Scirocco. Follow the jump for the full roster.

[Source: CarOfTheYear.org]

The 2008 Chevy Malibu has snatched up awards and media accolades, and JD Power data shows that customers are paying Chevy dealers handsomely to own one. The average transaction price of a Chevy Malibu is $22,358 -- $5,000 higher than the inherently uncool last-gen 'Bu. Twenty-one percent of buyers are also opting for the top-of-the-line LTZ vs. only 5% for the outgoing model.

The news isn't all rosy, however, as most of these customers are trading in other GM products to get themselves into the North American Car of the Year. Only 1.4% of buyers traded in a Toyota Camry, 1.3% swapped a Nissan Altima, and less than 1% turned in a Honda Accord. Those aren't exactly the kind of numbers GM will want to brag about, but at least the General is pulling in the equivalent of two Tata Nanos more per car than the last generation model did.

[Source: Detroit News]