Jealous that only journalists seem to be able to weigh in on “car of the year” judging? Now’s your chance to make your own voice heard! Voting is underway for the Internet Car and Truck of the Year, now in its second year. The ICATOY actually pools votes from two juries for a pair of awards – one from professional internet auto writers (*full disclosure: author is a member of said jury) and the other from enthusiasts like yourself.
Before you go and make your picks, we’ve assembled a gallery of the semi-finalists in both the car and truck categories. Take a look, then go tell them what you think! The official press release explaining the whole process is posted after the jump.
Featured Gallery
[Source: Internet Car and Truck of the Year]
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Voting Opens on Internet Car and Truck of the Year/
Journalists Invited To Participate in
Writing Contest
SEPT. 23, 2010 – For the second year in a row, consumers will have the opportunity
to vote on their choice for Internet Car of the Year and Internet Truck of the Year. It
all happens at www.internetcarandtruckoftheyear.com, where the Internet Pros and the
Average Joes Pick the Car and Truck of the Year. At the same time, Internet automotive
journalists are invited to submit pieces for a writing contest.
A panel of 15 Internet automotive writers has voted on 8 semi-finalists for Internet Car of
the Year and 7 semi-finalists for Internet Truck of the Year. That’s right – this year there
are 8 semi-finalists for car of the year because of a tie in voting by the jurors.
Consumers are now invited to vote on the website for Consumer Internet Car of the Year
and Consumer Internet Truck of the Year starting at Noon (EDT), today, Sept. 23.
This is the only place on the Internet (where 91% of new car shoppers begin their
shopping process) for consumers to vote on a Car and Truck of the Year at a website
not dominated by manufacturer advertising. The website will not accept any OEM
advertising for vehicles eligible for a Car or Truck of the Year award.
Consumers will have until Oct. 16 at noon to register their selections for Internet Car of
the Year and Internet Truck of the Year. Then, starting Oct. 19 at noon they will select
among three vehicles in each category that have been selected as finalists. Voting ends
Nov. 13. The awards will be presented in December.
The semi-finalists for Car of the Year are:
Buick Regal
Cadillac CTS-V coupe
Chevrolet Cruze
Ford Fiesta
Ford Mustang GT
The semi-finalists for Truck of the Year are:
Cadillac SRX
Ford Super Duty
GMC Sierra 2500
Hyundai Sonata
Infiniti M56
VW Jetta
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Hyundai Tucson
Kia Sportage
Ram 2500
Another exciting aspect of the Internet Car and Truck of the Year is the Internet
Automotive Journalism Contest. Writers and bloggers will be invited to submit their
best automotive Internet pieces from September 1, 2009 to September 1, 2010. Internet
automotive writers will be awarded in the following categories:
• Best Feature written solely for the Internet
• Best Automotive Review written solely for the Internet
• Best Single Blog Entry
• Best Series of Blog Entries.
All winners will have their work either presented or linked to on
www.InternetCarandTruckoftheYear.com (depending on original publication guidelines).
The emerging dominance of the Internet has created a major opportunity for further
recognition of “best of the best.” The founding of Internet Car and Truck of the Year
LLC fills a void in this important medium. It will be creating four major awards that,
because of their nature, will gain instant credibility and prestige: Internet Car of the
Year, Internet Truck of the Year, Consumer Choice Internet Vehicle of the Year and the
Internet Automotive Journalist of the Year.
The Internet Car of the Year was created by Keith Griffin, the Guide to Used Cars for
About.com, and the National Hyundai Examiner for Examiner.com, as well as a print
automotive journalist and vice president of the New England Motor Press Association.
Marketing for the awards is being handled by Al Vinikour of Vinikour Communications
in Trenton, Michigan.