The race is on for the World Car of the Year award for 2006. The initial entry list of twenty seven qualified vehicles from all over the world has already been narrowed down to ten finalists.
The 2006 World Car of the Year finalists were chosen by a jury of forty six international automotive journalists from Asia, Europe, North America and other parts of the world, based on their respective experiences with the vehicle entrants.
The jury will reevaluate the top ten finalists for the final voting in March. The criteria for rating each vehicle include the vehicle’s overall merit, value, safety, environment responsibility, emotional appeal and significance. The top three finalists will be announced in April 1, 2006. The 2006 World Car of the Year will be declared on April 13, 2006 at the New York International Auto Show. Aside from the World Car of the Year, other awards categories include World Performance Car, World Green Car, and World Car Design of the Year. Finalists for these awards will also be announced by March.
The Top Ten finalists for the 2006 World Car of the Year are:
1. BMW 3-Series
2. Honda Civic / Civic Hybrid
3. Land Rover Range Rover Sport
4. Lexus IS
5. Mazda MX-5
6. Mercedes-Benz M-Class
7. Mercedes-Benz S-Class
8. Porsche Cayman S
9. Suzuki Swift
10. Volkswagen Passat
The Audi A6 was the recipient of the award in 2005. The World Car of the Year program is initiated, organized and conducted by automotive journalists from all over the world and is intended to complement, not to compete, with existing national and regional car of the year awards.