Type of award
Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards.[citation needed]
The "Car of the Year" phrase is considered to have been introduced by Motor Trend magazine in 1949 when the new publication named Cadillac as Motor Trend Car of the Year.[1][2][3]
Other publications and various organizations also have developed COTY recognitions.[citation needed] The Australian automobile magazine Wheels began an award in 1963.[citation needed]
In 1964, a jury of European automotive journalists began selecting the European Car of the Year award.[citation needed]
Many COTY awards focus on regional markets, vehicle types, or market segments.[citation needed] An example is the "tow car of the year" in the UK (for pulling travel trailers).[4] or the COTY AJAC award in Canada.[citation needed]
The COTY is meant to award excellence in automotive design.[citation needed]
Criteria vary, but the World Car of the Year are typical:[5]
- eligible cars are all those that have been launched and gone on sale in the past year
- must be available on at least two continents
- juror can borrow the car in question from manufacturer fleet of test cars
- fitness for purpose
- real-world practicalities such as running costs, interior space and comfort, acceleration, handling, roadholding, ride comfort, noise levels, fit, finish, visual and tactile quality of the interior
- Innovation - advance of car design and engineering
The originator of the COTY award, Motor Trend, uses these criteria:[6]
- Advancement in design
- Engineering excellence - integrity of the total vehicle concept and execution and use of technologies that benefit the consumer
- Efficiency - fuel economy and overall operating costs
- Safety - protect occupants from harm in a crash and avoid a crash
- Value - relative to competitors in the same market segment
- Performance of intended function
- World Car of the Year selected by a jury of 102 international automotive journalists from 30 countries,[7] beginning in 2003
- Arab Car of the Year (ARABCOTY) (Middle East) [8] https://www.arabcoty.com/
- European Car of the Year selected by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organisers of the award are Auto (Italy), Autocar (United Kingdom), Autopista (Spain), Autovisie (Netherlands), L'Automobile Magazine (France), Stern (Germany) and Vi Bilägare (Sweden). The voting jury consists of motoring journalists from publications throughout Europe.
- Middle East Car of the Year (MECOTY)[9] https://www.mecoty.com/ Archived 2020-02-05 at the Wayback Machine
- North American Car of the Year - 60 automotive journalists from the US and Canada