DETROIT- October 30, 2009 - Car lovers around the world fasten your seatbelts, as the top contenders for the 2010 International Car and Truck of the Year (ICOTY) battle it out in a race to the finish line. The ICOTY jury is proud to announce its top three nominees in each category. After months of intense vehicle testing by the auto industry's leading automotive editors and journalists, only the most innovative and emotionally compelling vehicles have cruised into the top three positions. Listed alphabetically, the top three nominees are...
2010 INTERNATIONAL CAR OF THE YEAR
Chevrolet Camaro
Ford Taurus
Hyundai Genesis Coupe
2010 INTERNATIONAL TRUCK OF THE YEAR
Chevrolet Equinox
Ford Transit Connect
Volvo XC60
The mission of the ICOTY Awards is to honor and highlight the emotional connection between cars and consumers, in addition to how well automakers achieve that goal through the design and marketing of their vehicles.
"The awards are not centered on power and performance," said Courtney Caldwell, ICOTY's creator and executive producer. "It's about how cars reflect our personalities, lifestyles and self image, an attitude most consumers identify with."
For the first time in its fourteen year history, the annual ICOTY Award announcements will be moved from the North American International Auto Show to the Los Angeles Auto Show in December 2009. There, the City of Angels will transform into the City of Cars as glitz, glamour and gorgeous automobiles fill the Los Angeles Convention Center. Winning vehicles for International Car of the Year and International Truck of the Year will be revealed and trophies presented by members of the new ICOTY nominating committee.
The mission of this five-member committee was to establish vehicle eligibility criteria, which jurors used as a guideline when voting. The committee was also responsible for approving eligible vehicles for the 2010 International Car and Truck of the Year (ICOTY) nominated by each automaker. Members of the committee include Kevin Smith, editorial director, Edmunds.com; James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book; Rick Cotta, editor, Consumer Guide Automotive; Perry Stern, editor, MSN Autos; and Howard Walker, automotive journalist, Palm Beach Illustrated.
The ICOTY jury is made up of a pantheon of nationally-renowned automotive editors and journalists. They include Denise McCluggage, senior-contributing editor, Auto Week; Kevin Smith, editorial director, Edmunds.com; Ken Gross, contributing editor, Playboy; James Bell, executive marketing analyst, Kelley Blue Book; Joe Weisenfelder, senior editor and lead reviewer, Cars.com; Rick Cotta, editor, Consumer Guide Automotive; Perry Stern, editor, MSN Autos; Howard Walker, automotive journalist, Palm Beach Illustrated; Steve Siler, west coast bureau chief, Caranddriver.com; Dan Wiese, auto editor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Ann Job, automotive test driver, Associated Press; John Rettie, auto contributor, Autotrader.com; Bob Plunkett, editor-in-chief, New Car News Syndicate; Kim Viano, lead auto editor, Yahoo! Autos; Greg Whale, automotive contributor for New Car Test Drive, Truck Trend; BJ Killeen, editor-at-large, Driver Talk Radio; Jeff Voth, auto writer, Sun Media and Yahoo! Canada Autos; and Courtney Caldwell, editor-in-chief, Earth, Wind & Power Media and Road & Travel Magazine.
