Things Get Better for VW; Four Products Competing For World Car Awards

Things keep getting better for Volkswagen. Though it has been only 18 months since the automaker admitted it had been involved in a decade-long diesel emissions scam and though sales had slackened in 2016, the automaker has rebounded as the scandal has ended. Now, it is on track potentially to two major automotive awards.

Things just keep getting better for Volkswagen. Who would have thought a-year-and-a-half following its admission that it had engaged in a decade-long diesel emissions scam that it would have four models in the running for two categories of the World Car of the Year Award?

The World Car of the Year program, now in their 13th year, were launched in 2004 to reflect the reality of the global marketplace and to recognize and reward automotive excellence on an international scale. An unusual feature of the program is its inclusive nature. The program, called the Road to the World Car, began in Paris in September and was followed by a five-day stop in Los Angeles for test-drives in November. The Road continued with Monday’s announcement of the finalists for the awards and will end at next month’s New York International Auto Show when the winners will be named.

In Geneva, the following finalists were selected (three selected per category):

2017 World Car of the Year

• Audi Q5
• Jaguar F-PACE
• Volkswagen Tiguan

2017 World Luxury Car

• BMW 5 Series
• Mercedes-Benz E-Class
• Volvo S90 / V90

2017 World Performance Car

• Audi R8 Spyder
• McLaren 570s
• Porsche Boxster Cayman

2017 World Green Car

• Chevrolet Bolt
• Tesla Model X
• Toyota Prius Prime

2017 World Urban Car

• BMW i3 (94 Ah)
• Citroen C3
• Suzuki Ignis

2017 World Car Design of the Year

• Jaguar F-PACE
• Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet
• Toyota C-HR

Aside from Toyota, with two vehicles, and Jaguar, whose F-Pace is on tap in two categories, Volkswagen has the largest number of vehicles vying for one of two slots, World Car of the Year and World Performance Car. The Audi Q5, newly redesigned, and Volkswagen Tiguan are competing in the top category (car of the year), while the Audi R8 Spyder and the Porsche Boxster Cayman are vying for performance vehicle.

This awards program, which has rapidly moved to become the premier honor program in the car business, brings together a broad cross-section of the automotive community. The professionals share their ideas, insights while discussing the trends of tomorrow. It is the real deal of automotive awards. Major supporters are Prime Research, Bridgestone Corp., Autoneum and Brembo.

Source: World Car of the Year