2006 World Car of the Year Awards

Forty-six automotive journalists from 22 different countries got together for the second time in two years to pick the best cars in the world, and while this new “of the year” award ceremony is ripe for ridicule by those who didn’t think of it first, you’ve gotta admit that it makes sense. After all, the automotive marketplace is going global, baby, and isn’t it good to know that such an esteemed sampling of the motoring press is so serious about making sure you know that the car you just bought is the right choice whether you live in Topeka or Tunisia? For the second annual World Car of the Year (WCOTY) Awards ceremony held at the 2006 New York Auto Show, the judging panel’s steering committee added three new categories to bring the award count to four. This year, there was a World Green Car award, a World Design of the Year award, and a World Performance Car award. And rather than let a bunch of opinionated wanks from every time zone submit recommendations for the Green Car and Design categories, the WCOTY group invited experts in the field to narrow the choice to three. Here now, without further delay, the finalists in each category: 2006 World Green Car:

Green Car

To determine the 2006 World Green Car of the Year, the WCOTY panel enlisted the help of four green technology experts to create a list of eight candidates for the award. From that list, three finalists were determined, and in the end, the 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid emerged the victor over the Citroen C1 1.4HDi and the Lexus RX 400h/Toyota Harrier Hybrid. Key reasons the Civic took the award include is combined U.S. fuel economy average of 50 mpg and its ability to meet stringent California Partial Zero Emission Vehicle (PZEV) regulations.

Design of the Year

Judging design is a highly subjective discipline, so it helps credibility to turn the job over to those in the know. The WCOTY panel did just that, asking four design experts from around the world to create list of six candidates for the honor. From that list of six, the panel selected three finalists, and gave the win to the Citroen C4. This car is not sold in North America, but perhaps it should be. Citing the C4’s originality, efficiency, aerodynamics, and innovation, the C4 hatchback beat out the Europe-only Honda Civic hatchback and the BMW 3 Series.

Performance Car

For the 2006 World Performance Car of the Year award, no outside experts were asked to voice opinions. That would defeat the whole purpose of becoming an automotive journalist, now wouldn’t it? Driving fun cars is why freaks like us perform this gig, otherwise we’d be writing schlock scripts for the next Matt LeBlanc sit-com out in Hollywood and raking in big bank. Plenty of no-brainer supercars landed on the list of eligible candidates, from the Bugatti Veyron to the Porsche Cayman S, and it was ultimately the Porsche, the least expensive car in the running, that snagged the award. Beating out the BMW M5 and Audi RS4 for top honors, the WCOTY panel lavished the Cayman S with praise, using words like “balance,” “perfection,” “sonorous,” “seamless,” and “stellar.” Really. Who couldn’t have guessed that.

World Car of the Year

The BMW 3 Series is the 2006 World Car of the Year, because it does all kinds of things exceptionally well. Can’t argue with that logic, especially since the other two finalists are two-seat sports cars: the Mazda MX-5 and the Porsche Cayman S. Long called “the ultimate driving machine” by BMW’s advertising agency, the redesigned 2006 3 Series is versatile in addition to being a blast to drive, and the WCOTY panel cited the fact that it comes in sedan, wagon, coupe, and convertible body styles; with or without all-wheel drive; and in thrifty turbodiesel or high-performance M-tuned editions. We couldn’t have chosen any better.

Photos by Ron Perry and the manufacturers