Countdown Commences For NZ Car Of The Year

Countdown Commences For NZ Car Of The Year

Eleven cars, ranging from small hatchbacks and family saloons to luxury performance machines have made the cut as finalists for the 2007 New Zealand Car of the Year Award.

Voted for annually by more than three dozen established motoring journalists, each of whom is a member of the New Zealand Motoring Writers' Guild, the award is the country's most comprehensive. It is also the most respected by the car industry itself, being the embodiment of the opinions of experts representing every automotive medium.

This includes the motoring sections of all the country's major daily and weekly newspapers, several automotive websites, the main car and lifestyle magazines and a number of radio and television outlets.

Over several months, the Guild's Car of the Year committee has assembled its shortlist of finalists, which has been selected from over 40 new models launched in New Zealand during the 12 months prior to 1 November 2007.

In alphabetical order, the 2007 shortlist consists of: the Audi R8, the BMW M3, the Fiat Bravo, the new Ford Mondeo, and current Honda CR- V. The latest Mazda 2, Mercedes C-Class and Mitsubishi Lancer have also been awarded finalist status, along with the Skoda Roomster. new Subaru Impreza and Volvo C30.

The vehicle that emerges from this list to be selected early in the New Year as the 19th New Zealand Car of the Year will have been tested at length by voting Guild members on roads throughout the country. As well as its performance and handling, the facets under consideration will include the car's suitability for the task for which it was designed, its value for money, ease of operation, fuel economy, and build quality, along with its level of home comforts and safety accoutrements, and yes, even how good it looks.

Every vehicle is scored out of 100 by each voter, and the Guild's winner will take the title of New Zealand Car of the Year only after thousands of separate voting decisions have been collated and assessed.

The distributors of the winning car will be awarded the Peter Greenslade Trophy, named after the now deceased motoring editor of The Press in Christchurch, who was one of the instigators of the Car of the Year award in the late 1980s.

The current holder of the New Zealand Car of the Year Award is the Porsche Cayman. Other recent winners include the Mazda MX-5, Honda Accord Euro, Mazda 6, and previous-generation Ford Mondeo.

ENDS

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