The jury deliberated swiftly and the verdict for "Car of the Year" at the 83rd annual Geneva International Motor Show is in favor of a returning champion, the Volkswagen Golf.
The recently redesigned Golf is the German motor company's flagship vehicle. The car was introduced to the market in 1974 and is now in its seventh generation. Every generation of the Golf has finished in the top three of the Car of the Year in the last 38 years, the Car of the Year website stated.
"The decision will be exciting this year", said Frank Janssen, auto journalist and jury member, prior to voting. "There is an upcoming trend in 2013: The return to compact models. Driving pleasure is guaranteed by sportiness and high quality standards."
The compact, hatchback Golf beat out seven other competitors to claim the title of "Car of the Year." Narrowed down from a field of 32, the eight finalists were judged on the main criteria of innovation, performance, price, quality and design.
Fifty-nine European auto journalists cast votes for the winner. In the final vote, each juror must apportion 25 points among at least five cars, with a maximum of 10 points for any one of the cars.
The Golf earned 414 points, putting the car in a solid first place ahead of the Subaru BRZ, also sold as the Toyota GT-86, was second with 202.
Regarding the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT 86, an unnamed jury member said in a promotional video released Monday, that the car "doesn't make sense up here," pointing to his head. But then pointed to his heart and said the car "hits you here really hard."
Since the Golf scored more than double the BRZ/ GT 86, that one judge's affections were clearly not shared by all. Taking home third place was the Volvo V40 with 189 votes.
To be qualified for the "Car of the Year" running, the candidate/cars have to have been sold in Europe during the previous calendar year and have foreseeable sales of at least 5,000 units, the Geneva Motor Show website states.
The Geneva Car of the Year award is one of the most important automotive awards given in Europe. It gives consumers an idea of what experts believe to be in store for cars in the future, the Associated Press reported.
Also in contest for "Car of the Year" were the Mercedes-Benz A Class, Renault Clio, Hyundai I30, Ford B-Max, and the Peugeot 208.
The only American car in the running, the Ford B-Max came in fourth place with 148 points.
President of Jury Hakan Atson said in the video that he felt all the cars were already winners for making it to the final eight.
"But at the end only one of them can be the winner," he said.
The announcement for Car of the Year has always come in November. This year marks a change in procedure; from this year forward the announcement will be made the day before the motor show opens to the media.
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