2012 World Car Awards

The winners of the 2012 World Car Awards have been announced at the New York International Auto Show.

2012 World Car of the Year

The main prize went to the Volkswagen Up!, a victory that will come as some consolation to the German manufacturer after its new city car narrowly missed out on the 2012 European Car of the Year title.

Volkswagen Up! 5-Door (2012) Front Side
2012 World Car of the Year: Volkswagen Up!

Thirty-four new models were originally considered for the award, all of which met the eligibility requirement of being available on at least two continents between the 1st of January 2011 and the 30th of May 2012.

A jury of sixty-four automotive journalists from twenty-five countries then narrowed the entrants down to a shortlist of ten, from which three finalists were selected. Alongside the Up!, they were the BMW 3 Series and the Porsche 911.

2012 World Performance Car

Winner of this category was the Porsche 911, an accolade that poignantly came on the same day that the death of Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, designer of the first-generation 911, was announced.

The entry list initially consisted of nineteen new cars, all of which have an annual production figure of at least 500 units. Again, this was reduced to a shortlist of ten, before the jury put the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4, McLaren MP4-12C and 911 through to the final ballot.

2012 World Car Design of the Year

This award was won by the 2012 North American Truck of the Year - the Range Rover Evoque.

The judging for this title worked slightly differently, as a panel of five design experts reduced the forty-six candidates down to a shortlist, which was then presented to the jurors for their final voting.

2012 World Green Car

Given that the finalists in this category were the Mercedes-Benz S 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY, the Ford Focus Electric and the Peugeot 3008 Hybrid, it was perhaps surprising that the S-Class ended up being declared the winner.

On the face of it, a large Mercedes-Benz could be considered the least ‘green’ car in the company of the Focus and 3008. However, the jurors obviously felt that average fuel consumption of 49.5 mpg (5.7 l/100km) and carbon dioxide emissions of 149 g/km were evidence that efficiency doesn’t necessarily have to mean electric or hybrid power.

Twenty-three models were originally eligible for the award, from which a shortlist was derived by three green technology experts.

Related posts:
2012 Euro COTY winner
2012 NACTOY winners
World Car Awards winners

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