Autoblog

Road and Travel Magazine crowned the winners of its 2008 International Car Of The Year at 12th annual NAIAS-eve ceremony last night. Honda's newly-ginormous Accord took the coronation on the car side, while Chrysler's revamped Town and Country used its slick new features to win the truck category. RTM's judges are a veritable who's who of heavy-hitting auto journos, including Ann Job, David E. Davis, Jr., Denise McCluggage and Autoblog's own John McElroy. The pundit firepower lends real credence to the selections, even if you don't agree 100%. Results were sorted by JD Power and Associates, and General Motors had the most vehicles named to the overall list. GM was also presented with the first Earth Angel award, honoring the environmentally-friendly efforts of the automaker. The full list of winners is included in RTM's press release, posted after the jump.

[Source: Road and Travel]

Okay, let's get this straight. Back to the Future movies: cool. Making your DeLorean into a replica of the movie car: incredibly lame. Halfway between would be a reproduction flux capacitor. If you did buy this thing, you could certainly attain full lameness by installing in in your non-DeLorean.

There were talented people working in the entertainment industry to dream up those iconic vehicles of the 1980s like KITT, the BTF DeLorean and the A-Team van. Those cars have staying power with a generation of enthusiasts, but dressing up your car to match a prop is akin to putting on your C-3PO finery to go see Episode III. If you must have it for your '96 Neon, climb the stairs from your basement lair and ask your mom for $220 for what equates to a couple of lights in a box. Hey, Christmas is coming, if you jump up and down and stomp like you did in '85, you'll find this thing under the tree.

[Source: Engadget]

Those who have followed the post-Talladega Nights stream of Formula One refugees fleeing to NASCAR will be happy to learn that former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has been awarded Rookie of the Year in the Nextel Cup.

The announcement of Montoya's citation comes right after the series' season closer at Homestead, where Jimmie Johnson took the title after a hot season-long showdown with teammate and title rival Jeff Gordon.

Montoya becomes the fourth Rookie of the Year for Texaco/Havoline Racing, who, in their 21 years in NASCAR have also sponsored star newcomers Davey Allison (who got the award in 1987), Kenny Irwin, Jr. (1998) and Jamie McMurray (2003). Montoya's award also calls to memory the Rookie of the Year award which fellow former F1 driver Robert Doornbos took this year in Champ Cars with Team Minardi USA, which likewise crossed the ocean to oval tracks for this past season. They're coming for you, Ricky Bobby.

Press release after the jump.

[Source: Chip Ganassi Racing]

Hot on the heels of the announced winner of EVO's Car of the Year award comes the revelation from the bigger European Car of the Year, which bestowed the citation for 2008 to the impossibly charming Fiat 500. While EVO's, like Motor Trend here, is awarded by one magazine, the European Car of the Year is named by a collection of several major European publications in several different languages from several European countries.

As we reported earlier, the 500 made the short-list of seven finalists from a pool of 33 nominees. Ultimately the retro Italian hatch beat out some stiff competition from Ford (Mondeo), Kia (cee'd), Mazda (2), Mercedes (C-Class), Nissan (Qashqai) and Peugeot (308).

Not only did the 500 take it by a wide margin – 385 points to the runner-up Mazda2's 325 – but the recognition pushes Fiat even further ahead in the annals of the award's history. Fiat itself has won the contest no less than nine times, while its subsidiaries Alfa Romeo and Lancia add another two and one, respectively. Now if they'll only start bring the 500 stateside, it can start racking up the awards here, too.

[Source: Autovisie via Italiaspeed]

The European car market is filled with all sorts of interesting models that we only wish we had Stateside, and every year our counterparts across the pond pick the best with the European Car of the Year awards. Last year Ford's S-Max, the minivan that makes grocery runs exciting, won the citation, preceeded by the new Renault Clio in 2006 and the greentastic Toyota Prius before it.

The gaggle must have had a real challenge this year, but managed to narrow down the field to seven nominees out of a total 33 contenders. While you may not be surprised to see the likes of the SsangYong Actyon and Daihatsu Materia cut from the list, Lexus and Audi might feel a bit differently about their LS600h and A5, respectively.

In the end, the Fiat 500, Ford Mondeo, Kia cee'd, Mazda2, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Nissan Qashqai and Peugeot 308 will be holding the stage on November 19 when the envelope is opened, and with such stiff competition, this year they're bound to have a real winner on their hands. Watch this space in six week's time to see which one takes the crown.

[Source: CarOfTheYear.org]

click above image for desktop-sized pics of the 2007 Mercury Montego

Alas, Montego, we hardly knew ye. Of course, the large sedan from Mercury is not going away, but being relaunched as the Sable with a new schnoz, larger engine, and some interior upgrades. The Montego name will once again drift off into obscurity like its Torino-based forebear. While the Sable picks up where the Montego left off, it would be foolish to think the Montego is a dud. The 2007 Montego Premier AWD is a big car, with some dimensions exceeding the Grand Marquis. With a bump here and a nip there, the Montego would make the best Marquis ever. As it is, the Volvo-donated architecture underneath the Montego makes it a very modern driving sedan that belies the comfort-sized dimensions.

"Hell knows no wrath like a woman scorned" goes the old proverb. What about a woman with her car scratched up? This video is a surprisingly entertaining clip from the Fox sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle", where a simple tap of the door, fueled by downright bitchiness, devolves into a full on demolition derby between one woman in an old Tempo and another in a Mustang, all while stunned bystanders look on in amazement. The comically joyous Christmas music in the soundtrack is just the icing on the cake.

Disclaimer: No mothers were harmed during the filming of this segment. Just a couple old Fords. Awesome.