Ever read about a Car of the Year award and say to yourself, "Why in heaven's name did they pick that?" I think we all have. My friend and fellow Aboutnik Keith Griffin -- who runs About.com's Used Cars site -- has decided to do something about it by launching Internet Car and Truck of the Year. What sets this award apart from all the other COTYs is that the winner won't be decided by a group of writers -- the winner will be picked by you.
Internet Car and Truck of the Year does have a jury consisting of twelve Internet journalists, including yours truly. But rather than ask us to pick a winner, Keith charged us with narrowing the field down to fourteen semi-finalists, seven cars and seven trucks. The rest is up to you.
Here's how it works: You will be doing two rounds of voting. The first will narrow the seven semi-finalists in the car and truck categories down to three. On October 19th, the three finalists in each class will be announced, and from there you'll vote for the winner.
So what do you do? Easy: Go to the Internet Car and Truck of the Year web site and click the Vote Here link. The semi-finalists are as follows:
Cars: Chevrolet Camaro SS, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Ford Taurus SHO, Kia Forte, Mazda3, Nissan Cube, Ford Shelby GT500
Trucks: Audi Q5, Audi Q7 TDI, Chevrolet Equinox, Ford F-150 Raptor, Ford Transit Connect, Mercedes-Benz GLK, Volvo XC60
Voting for the semi-finalists closes October 16th, but there's no time like the present. Go vote! -- Aaron Gold
Sadly I would not vote for any of these so called finalists. Oh well, guess I’ll have to abstain from voting altogether.
I agree, none of them get my vote. You should have a choice of “none of the above”
Hmm. A strange selection.
Although I like the Camaro, I can’t say that it’s COTY material. I also like the Ford Fusion. It’s probably Ford’s most improved model of late. I can’t vote for the hybrid, however, because it doesn’t combine the hybrid tech with the higher end trim levels. Although I understand that the whole hybrid thing is about being environmentally friendly, I’d prefer to do so with heated leather seats and all the toys on the top-line V6 car.
The only truck that would get my vote is the Ford Transit. Seems like a relevant vehicle for the times.
Kia Forte and the XC60
Ditto the comments of DFI and Jack T.
Shelby GT500, Camaro SS? Although I love muscle cars these things dont belong on the list. Cube? That’s a joke right? The Fusion and Taurus, although much improved are not up to snuff for any title other than most improved at best. Forte? Not.
The only truck on the entire list is the Raptor. So it’s no contest. The rest are SUV”s.
After reading your selections how can you 12 really be taken seriously as automotive journalists? Just pathetic.
Mazda 3 and the Kia Forte were definitly noteworthy, but the whole excercise is kind like rounding up a bunch of dogs from the SPCA and taking them to an arena and calling it Westminster!
Good comments all – but Jeff, I have to respectively disagree. These are 12 of the best Internet automotive journalists out there – some veterans and some up and comers. Hawaiian Don – love your quote. But are these cars all really SPCA dogs?
One idea already being considered for next year is opening up nominations directly to consumers. We’re a new enterprise still learning our way. I never cast anything in stone.
Something else being explored is three categories: Cars/Trucks/Others. What thinks this group about that idea?
Keith Griffin
Internet Car and Truck of the Year
Sorry Keith. My intent was not to offend. If I didn’t like what any of you had to say I wouldn’t be reading it or commenting on it.
I am very computer illiterate so take the things I say with a grain of salt. I dont know how to put little smiley faces on things. Nor do I want to.
I’ve been misunderstood before so your comment isn’t off track. It’s more the fact that you cant see my face when I comment on things. I like sarcasm and I rarely get offended by ANYTHING.
That being said and after reading what the others have said so far about your guys selections I think I’m right on target.
Cube and Equinox
For cars, I think the Fusion Hybrid is really the only one really noteworthy. The SHO is interesting, and the Forte might be as I’ve heard some good things. As for the others, they don’t really bring anything new to the table. Aside from the Cubes unique(read ugly) styling.
As for the trucks, both the Raptor and the Transit are pretty unique, although I question the Raptor as a pragmatic matter. The rest are SUV’s that strike me as more of the same. The TDI deserves mention I suppose, but it would be better suited to a more mainstream car rather than a Luxo-SUV.
I’ll vote for the Equinox, but nothing else.
Totally off-topic for this blog entry, but I wanted to say I completely disagree with your evaluation on the kid-friendliness of the 06 Scion xB.
(http://cars.about.com/od/scion/ss/ag_06xb_sbs_3.htm)
We purchased this car in the fall of 2005 and now have a 4 year old and 7 month old. Both of their car seats (Britax Marathon and Graco SnugRide32) fit perfectly in the back seat. We put an umbrella stroller at their feet and the travel system stroller fits in the trunk space. It’s not a great fit, but it does fit.
We’ve taken the boys and their gear to the grocery store and still fit $200 worth of groceries in the back end. It’s all about using space wisely.
My question is, what are we using as a measuring stick? Are we voting best car overall? Or best new car? Most significant in class or for the manufacturer?
I think its a great idea to have a “Peoples Choice” type award, and the three class might be better than two. The big issue will have to be defining the classes. Where is the line between truck and other (read crossover)? My thoughts are car platforms with car bodies are cars. Trucks are RWD based platforms, including SUV’s like Tahoe and 4Runner. Other would be FWD based crossovers and minivans.
Just my two sense. I hope this helps you guys (and girls?).
So I was waiting for an April fools joke after seeing the “finalists”, but its not even close to April. You really are kidding though, right? To really make the truck one even funnier, you should have put the Honda Ridge-runner on the list. It’s about as much truck as the “trucks” you have posted. Just goes to show, the dumbing down of America is working.
Having driven the Kia Forte… Definately one of the best values on the market today. For all the options you get for the price…wow… I couldnt touch it. Throw in some rebates…you will see that car becoming a best seller.
Kieth, If you go to the pound(SPCA), you’d be surprised at some of the pure breds you’d find. But you won’t find a BEST IN SHOW. Some of the cars (in my opinion) are good cars, but some are mutts in this group…yet I don’t see any of them being COTY(Westminster) material.
Kia Forte. As far as I’m concerned, a “Best in Show” car would have to be one that is both loaded, safety wise, reasonable gas mileage and affordable by the masses (below $20).
Hawaiian Don -
Could it be that 2009 was just a year of mutts when it comes to cars and trucks? What do you think should have been nominated?
Thanks,
Keith