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It’s that time of the year again, when car manufacturers hold their collective breaths and cross their fingers as the seasonal wave of motoring awards begin to break.

Despite the recent emergence of new awards, there remains only one Wheels Car of the Year. Now in its 45th year, Wheels COTY is Australia’s original and the world’s longest continuously running motoring award.

Wheels COTY recognises and rewards one car each year that best meets a set of simple criteria: Function, Technology, Efficiency, Safety and Value. An exhaustive six-day test program sorts the wheat from the chaff; and often with just as much certainty, separates manufacturer hype from reality.

Significantly, Wheels’ coveted red trophy goes to a single new car model range. No second prize, no category winners, just one outstanding winner.

In 2007 a staggering 38 models are eligible to contest Wheels COTY. A number failed to meet our simple eligibility requirements. All are named in the December issue.

Underscoring the breadth of the testing task ahead for our panel of judges, the list includes cars from the $16,500 Mazda 2 to the $240,00 Lexus LS600hL (for a full list of the cars eligible, see John Carey’s news article here).


Over its 45 year history, the vehicles which have taken out the coveted COTY prize come from diverse market segments. There have been small cars (Holden XC Barina, 2001; Mazda 323, 1980); people-movers (Mitsubishi Nimbus, 1984; Honda Odyssey, 1995); premium sedans (Lexus LS400, 1990; Mercedes-Benz S-Class, 1981 and 1999); sports cars (Mazda MX-5 (twice) and RX-8,… etc) even an SUV (Ford Territory, 2004); plus of course, local large cars, including last year’s winner, the Holden VE Commodore.

Trawling through the dusty shelves of the Wheels archives – a mammoth 22 bookcases that tower above the tallest staffers – exposes decades of decisions and controversy.

Perhaps more than winning, manufacturers hate losing. Ford Australia was furious when the XD Falcon didn’t win Wheels COTY in 1979, and it was no less pleased when the EA lost in 1988, followed by the AU in 1998. Fortunately, the frowns turned to cheers when the excellent BA Falcon spearheaded a return to form for the Blue Oval in Australia, winning the award in 2002.

While there have been many more hits than misses, not all Wheels COTY winners have aged as gracefully, or been remembered as favourably as others. GM’s ‘world car’ the JB Camira, which claimed the gong in 1982, went on to drive some owners mad with its poor quality and erratic reliability. But it’s the 1973 Wheels COTY, the Leyland P76, which is perhaps remembered as the real barker of the COTY pack.

People who were there at the time, such as former editor Peter Robinson, who is still a judge and who has participated in more Wheels COTYs than anyone, point out that the award went specifically to the impressive V8-engined version of the P76, and not its less impressive six-cylinder stablemate.


History tends to neglect such nuance and, as a result, these days an entire model range must be deemed worthy of the award, rather than one stand-out variant, as was originally the case. This position means the Wheels judges must these days drive a representative sample of every nominated model’s various drivetrain, chassis and body combinations. This means that sometimes up to a half dozen variants of the same core vehicle must be assessed so the judges can satisfy themselves that they know and understand the model range intimately.

In late December the magazine will publish the list of cars nominated from among the 38 eligible models to proceed to the Wheels COTY test program. The 2007 Wheels Car of the Year will be officially announced on 22 January next year, in the February 2008 issue.

One – and only one – company will walk away from the event wearing a smile and carrying the big red trophy…




LINKS

Coty opts for ESP

COTY 2006