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Esquire is not only the first publication out the gate with a "Car of the year" list, they're also the first to fall flat on its face. Hearst's man mag spread the SEO love around, picking some commendable choices — like the Audi A7 as car of the year, and the Cadillac CTS-V Wagon as family car of the year. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5840326&view=rss&microfeed=true The Chevy Volt is Motor Trend's Car Of The Year. Editor Angus Mackenzie calls it "the most significant car" in the award's history. More than the '02 Thunderbird or Cirrus? More »
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We've had 25 years to get accustomed to the look of the first-generation Ford Taurus, especially since so many others emulated its "melted bar of soap" look soon after, but we all did double-takes the first time we saw one. More »
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The folks at U.S. News & World Report have named their top cars for 2008 and the old U.S. of A. did not far so well. In 11 categories there were only two pickups for Detroit automakers: Chevy Silverado 1500 (Best Full Size Pickup) and Tahoe (Best Large SUV). Honda picked up five awards, BMW picked up two and Mazda tied with two cars. There's nothing quite shocking with the picks, as few are going to be surprised to see the Honda Accord Best Midsize Car or the Fit make Best Economy Car. Full list and press release below the jump: More »
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Words you don't expect to hear: "Chevy Lumina" and "Sports Saloon of the Year." But there's an explanation for how that particular namesake managed to pick up the prestigious Middle Eastern Award. The Middle Eastern version of the Chevy Lumina is exactly nothing like the American Chevy Lumina, but rather is the twin of Australia's Holden Commodore VE and the upcoming Pontiac G8 and is therefore a wicked RWD saloon propelled by the Vette's 6.0-liter V8. Buy hey, I bet they don't have a FlexFuel version. Press release below. More »
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What does it really matter what Japanese automotive journalists think is the Japanese Car of the Year, or what the European journalists think is the European Car of the Year? Who even cars what Motor Trend says is their Car of the Year? We want to know what Playboy thinks. LBJ said it best, "So goes Playboy, so goes the nation." The venerable Audi R8 is the lad's mag's pick for this year's top ride, along with some selections in a few other random categories. The full list below the jump: More »
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Motor Trend has chosen the Cadillac CTS as its 2008 Car of the Year, attributing the win to sharp styling, great driving dynamics and luxury value — pretty much, the car rocked every category. For the General, it marks the first time in ten years that the company has taken home MT's top award. The Corvette won the Golden Calipers in 1998. Cadillac also has a special place in COTY history: Motor Trend's very first Car of the Year award went to Cadillac in 1949 when the award was given to an entire company, not just a single car. The CTS beat out the Audi A5/S5, Chevrolet Malibu, Dodge Grand Caravan, Honda Accord, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Scion xB and Volvo V70/XC70 finalists to earn the award. The testing consists of a barrage of track tests and a 28.5-mile road loop to explore everyday driving characteristics. And finally, in a sign that gas prices really are out of control, Texaco has become the official fuel of Motor Trend by supplying all of the gas for COTY testing. Full press release from the General after the jump. More »
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Europe has selected its COTY and it's Fiat's itty-bitty 500/Cinquecento, a car that's impossible not to like. As you'll remember, last year's winner was the edgy and muscular Ford S-Max. In order to win the honors, the micocar had to best the second place Mazda 2 and third place Ford Mondeo. The award will be officially announced Monday, but we're just happy to have an excuse to run these pics again.[Reuters] More »
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GTI! Redeem thyself! And in its fifth iteration, the heated up Golf/Rabbit/Golf/Rabbit VW hatch seems to have done just that with the world's motoring press, and the lads and lasses at Automobile are apparently not immune to the car's charms. While the Automobiles don't quite lavish the praise on the DSG that Farago does, they do call it "the best automatic-type transmission we've ever driven." For more superlatives and a rundown of what they've thought of GTIs past, ve haff posted ein link below. – Davey G. Johnson More »
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The heads at Hot Rod got together and lined up an eclectic mix of cars for their top ten of the year list. From a mid-engined, small-block-powered Microbus to '65 Goat kitted out for serious road racing, we like every car on the list but the fastback 1st-gen Mustang dropped onto the '03 Cobra chassis. However, there is one glaring omission: Kirk Hammett's '36 Ford. Maybe we're partial to it because we watched it being built, but that car is simply a work of genius — and we're generally not big on '35/36 Fords. Can we have our five bucks now, Cole? – Davey G. Johnson More »
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The Sydney Morning Herald has compiled a list of the year's worst vehicles available in Oz, and with the exception of the Subaru B9 Tribeca, we're slightly surprised at the results. True to form though, no utes were listed. Oddly, though, the Honda Legend (aka the Acura RL) made the list. Why? According to Morning Herald writer Bill McKinnon, "The Legend demonstrates that supposedly rational, analytical engineers, left to frolic unattended, can do some exceptionally dumb, indulgent things - such as using a devilishly complex all-wheel-drive system, supposedly to mimic a rear-drive car's characteristics, and ending up with a Camry-sized sedan that weighs 1.85 tonnes." What's Australian for "Ouch?" – Davey G. Johnson More »
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Grab your toques, hosers, because it's time for the little green autojournos of the Canadian Dominion to play hail-to-the-Queen, quaff a chilled Molson and run down their favorite vehicles available in a land that is north of most of our states, and features a bay that is larger than San Francisco's or Chesapeake's. Much larger, in fact. It was named after Henry Hudson, and as far as we know, he predates the step-down Hornet, a car which our father admires greatly and was once portrayed by Paul Newman. The bay also features the Belcher Islands, which must be quite humorous after seventeen bottles of Labatt's. Also, there is a track there called Mosport, which we think is almost as good a name as "Sears Point" or "Sacramento Raceway." Click through for the results. More »
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That shadow organization known as the jury for the North American Car of the Year and North American Truck of the Year awards (NAMBLA) has picked its finalists for 2007 — 11 cars and 15 trucks from the '07 model year. The final voting takes place in late December, when 50 automotive journalists (a couple of whom are neither white nor male) will decide the winners, which will be announced at the Detroit show in January. Click through for the finalists. More »
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The "Gang of 46" (actually, no one calls them that, it just sounds cool) of the world's car writers has announced the finalists for 2006 World Car of the Year, culled from an initial list of 27 vehicles. In typical egalitarian style, the group's chosen vehicles run the gamut from econoboxes to luxury flagship sedans and SUVs. The winner will be announced at the New York Auto Show in April (represent!), along with specific picks for performance, design and greeness. One surprise: The Suzuki Swift made the list; Not so much: The Fiat Grande Punto didn't. [Click through for the list.] More »
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Our pal Punkey zapped us the results of TopGear's awards for 2005, including runners-up. As most watchers figured, the Bugatti Veyron won for Best Car, beating the Jalopnik pick — the Ferrari F430 — and the BMW M5, which we won't get to drive until January (knock on wood). The Ferrari also lost to the Aston Martin V8 Vantage in the Best Noise category. Man, we really have to get across the pond more often. Click through for more results. More »
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There's this magazine based outta Ann Arbor, a town whose only connection to San Pedro is that the city's most famous rock band's current bass player lives here. Nevertheless, near-lack of Pedro cred aside, their yearly 10Best list is generally one of the most widely well-regarded in the industry. It's after the jump. More »
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We've always been uncomfortable calling the Detroit Free Press "Freep," an obvious diminutive for its relative tongue-twister of a name. Such cuteness doesn't make us think of hard-boiled newsmen facing down minus-10-degree wind chills to chase an elusive lead on the wrong side of town, stopping only to knock back a shot of rotgut, for warmth and courage, from the flask hidden in his overcoat; it makes us think of Muppets. Nonetheless, the (ahem) Freep has chosen the 2006 Chevrolet SSR HHR and Ford Explorer for Car and Truck of the Year, explaining their picks in terms of bang for the buck. All righty, Mr. Freep, but can you tell me how to get to Mr. Hooper's store? More »
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As the vote continues over at Cnet's Tech Car of the Year polling place, the 2006 BMW 750 Li and 2005 Acura RL are locked in an epic battle for pocket-protector superiority. Will the Bimmer's oft-maligned iDrive usurp its drive-by-wire in readers' minds, putting it at a disadvantage against the Acura's raft of "What th'" tech, including a wacky electro-acoustical approach to canceling road noise? Will a dark horse bearing the three-pointed star emerge in the eleventh hour to sweep the race? When will we stop asking freaking questions? More »
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Opel's new-for-'05 compact van Zafira and concept Antara CTC took home awards handed out by a committee of around 140 German auto journalists. The Antara took home "Best Concept," while the Zafira won its class. We're sure all of this is very exciting to Opel, but frankly, we stopped caring about anyone else's Car of the Year after our own contest was over. Take that, scribes! More »
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In a bout of self-referential goofiness, the kids over at CorvetteBlogger have chosen the Z06 as their Car of the Year. From the press release: "We reviewed several cars for this award and actually narrowed our search to three vehicles," said Keith Cornett, Senior Editor of CorvetteBlogger.com. "The Corvette Coupe and the Corvette Convertible models were considered, But the Z06, with its heart-thumping 505 horsepower and relatively low super car price of $65,800 made the decision easy." Now we just need Fleshbot's Car of the Year and the roundup may well be complete. More »
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We didn't get to drive the Corvette Z06 this year (something about a "Death Watch" of some sort). If we had, the mast-topping 'Vette may have figured more prominently among our own year-end list. MPH selected the Z06 to ride atop its "Top Ten Spins of the Year," for a reason that seems obvious, at least in theory, considering the car's $65,000 price tag. It's about value. "The new Corvette Z06," they write, "is, dollar for dollar, the best sports car in the world, and unequivocally the best American car ever made." (They picked the Jalopnik Car of the Year, the Ferrari F430, for the #2 spot.) More »
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Farago may have lost out to Jalopnik readers' pick of the Ferrari F430 as Jalopnik Car of the Year (over his lobbying for the Porsche Boxster S), but in his own admittedly less democratic venue, The Truth About Cars, the Boxster S trounced the competition. It's less about the looks of it (it still resembles a hairdresser's ride, despite recent improvement) than the feel and sound of the thing. "The Boxster S s true genius lies in its ability to reward drivers of all talents and abilities, at all speeds," he says, and that pretty much sums it up. Oh, and there's a whole bit about tools that makes us want to skip down to Home Depot and see what ol' Mister DeWalt is up to. More »
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At at a news conference at the Detroit Economic Club yesterday, the The North American Car and Truck of the Year jury named its finalists for the awards, which will be named at the NAIAS show in Detroit next month. If you remember, Jalopnik readership also made its picks from the cars and trucks nominated, and we've compiled the top three in each category to compare with the jury's picks. How close do you guys think you came to the decisions of the vaunted 49 automotive journalists from the U.S. and Canada on the jury? Have a look after the jump. More »
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Despite a late run by the Dodge Charger R/T, Jalopnik readers have picked the Ferrari F430 as the Jalopnik Car of the Year 2005. Was it the Ferrari's superior blend of technical wizardry and visceral firepower that lured readers from the Charger's brute force, despite a near $170,000 price premium? And what of the Boxster? How did Porsche's fine, entry-level roadster — darling of the motoring press — wind up in last? Let us know in the comments. We'll be busy coming up with come kind of trophy that has nothing to do with lollipops. More »
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With the Dodge Charger R/T coming out of the gate strong enough to challenge the Ferrari F430 for Jalopnik's Car of the Year (2005) award, we wanted to extend the voting period another day to see if an upset is brewing, or if it's just a temporary setback for the leading contender. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=142476&view=rss&microfeed=true You've read all the arguments (well, you should have), you've considered the finer points, now you get to vote for the car that will be named Jalopnik Car of the Year (2005). Will it be the Porsche Boxster S (Farago's pick), Ferrari F430 (Spinelli's pick) or Dodge Charger R/T (Johnson's pick)? Whose argument stands tallest, and whose will fall like Demoptolemus to the Ulyssian sword of truth? We'll keep the voting open all weekend, and announce the winner on Monday. While write-ins won't be considered in the vote, feel free to put 'em in the comments. Click through to vote. More »
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You'll be voting for Jalopnik's Car of the Year (2005) soon, kids (tomorrow to be exact), but not until you've read a plea for the last nominee — the Dodge Charger R/T. That's Davey G. Johnson's argument in favor of the institution, in brand name(s) at least. How does DGJ feel about purists' admonishments that the new Charger's a mere Epcot-like approximation of the original? Or that it's a sheer rental car with Hemi pretense? Read on, Mac Duffs, and find the hell out. More »
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Automobile has let fly with its annual roundup of the best in the automotive world for '06. This year's pick for the Automobile of the Year? The BMW 3-Series, which probably doesn't come as too much of a shock, given that it seems to be the perennial gold standard of entry-lux RWD sport coupe/sedans among the auto-journo set. The rest of the odds 'n' sods of the past 365 (ish) days, as well as the Ann Arbor mag's choices for this year's All-Stars follow after the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=141047&view=rss&microfeed=true Many of you already know my pick for Jalopnik s Car of the Year (2005) is the Ferrari F430. You also know that Farago has dismissed my opinion — and advanced his own choice of the 05 Porsche Boxster — by holding the F430 liable for the sins of Ferrari owners, whose reckless adventurism has led many to their deaths in grinding, high-speed crashes. Naturally, blaming an entire marque for nudging rich morons toward eternity is a rather desperate argument of a man who knows he doesn t have a leg to stand on. Don't you think? More »
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The UK's TopGear, a brilliant show that until recently was carried on the Discovery Channel in the US (network reps say TG is coming back, but we stopped believing network PR people about the time NBC's "Boomtown" vanished amid a similar schpiel), has nominated the Bugatti Veyron as its Car of the Year. As host Jeremy Clarkson wrote in his Times review of the Unlikeliest Volkswagen Ever, "It makes even the Enzo and the Porsche Carrera GT feel slow and pointless. It is a triumph for lunacy over common sense, a triumph for man over nature." Actually it's a triumph of ego over common sense, which former VW chairman Ferdinand Pi ch — whose unstable rantings gave rise to the Veyron — also experienced in reverse with the ill-fated Phaeton. [Update: False alarm. We got some bad info — it was merely nominated.] More »
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Friggin' Farago decided to make a case for voting the Porsche Boxster S Jalopnik's Car of the Year by tearing down my pick, the Ferrari F430. I could say he makes a good point, but since he doesn't know his ass from a sack of mangelwurzel, I'll just let him prattle on about his beloved Boxster. Later on, he'll get his. Then, when it comes time to vote, let your conscience be your guide. — ed. More »
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Here on planet Jalopnik, gravity doesn t suck quite as much as it does elsewhere. When we decided to choose a Car of the Year, we knew our award could never share the pseudo-objective gravitas of our distinguished colleagues attaboys. (Or, as Farago put it, fuck that shit.) So, after a particularly perspicacious puddle of consciousness conference call, we established a format which reflects our unifying passion for all things automotive, while maintaining our complete disdain for journalistic pretension. Here s the deal More »
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