Ford Mondeo, Mazda2 Make World Car Short List

March 4, 2008 -- Ford and Mazda have a shot at having one of their vehicles named World Car of the Year (WCOTY). The Ford Mondeo and Mazda2 have survived preliminary balloting to become two of the three finalists for the award.

The winners of the awards -- which are selected by a panel of 47 auto journalists from around the world -- will be announced on March 20, at the New York Auto Show.

The third finalist is the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

In addition, the Mazda along with the Volvo C30 join the Audi R8 as the three finalists for the 2008 World Car Design of the Year.

The Ford Mondeo and Mazda2 reached the awards by besting an initial list of 39 vehicles from across the world. Just to reach the finalist list, a vehicle must satisfy rigid criteria in terms of styling, performance, handling and comfort and then go beyond those criteria to prove its value, safety, significance, emotional appeal and environmental responsibility.
Ford Mondeo

WCOTY is a program initiated, organized and conducted by automotive journalists from all over the world. It is administered by a non-profit corporation, under the guidance of a Steering Committee of automotive journalists from Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States.

While the award is traditionally announced at the New York Auto Show, the award itself is has no affiliation with any auto show, publication, automaker or other commercial enterprise.

Along with the WCOTY and the design award, the organization also honors the World Performance Car of the Year and the World Green Car.

Both the Ford Mondeo and the Mazda2 debuted at last year's Geneva Motor Show. Since then the Mondeo has won praise from auto critics and been named the Auto Express Car of the Year. The Mazda2 is sold in Europe and in Japan where it is known at the Demio.

Should either the Mondeo or the Mazda2 be named WCOTY, it will join some select automotive company. Past winners are the Lexus LS460 in 2007, BMW 3 Series in 2006 and the Audi A6 in 2005.

(By Mike Thomas, FCN)

Source: Ford Motor Company

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