3/2/2009 - 2009 World and Performance Car of the Year finalists announced

2009 World and Performance Car of the Year

Not to be outdone by the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards from last month’s Detroit Auto Show, the organizers of the New York Auto Show are heavily promoting their own World and Performance titles and today revealed the top ten finalists for each of the award categories. This is only the fourth time the awards have been run and just like last year and the ones that preceded it some of the choices for the finalists are a little dubious.To be eligible, a car has to be in production and sold in at least five countries and on two continents. The final winners will be picked by a team of 59 judges - mostly motoring journalists - and announced on April 9 at the New York AutoShow.

The list of awards don’t end there as the New York event will also see a winner picked for the title of World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year.
World Car of the Year finalists:
Audi A4
BMW 7 Series
Citroen C5 Sedan
Fiat 500
Ford Fiesta
Honda Fit (Jazz)
Jaguar XF
Mazda6
Nissan GT-R
Toyota iQ
Volkswagen Golf Mark VI

Performance Car of the Year finalists:
Audi RS6 Avant
BMW 135i
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
Mercedes Benz C63 AMG
Mercedes Benz SL63 AMG
Mitsubishi Evo X
Nissan GT-R
Porsche 911 Carrera
Subaru Impreza WRX STI