2008 European Car of the Year Finalists Announced

With the end of this year approaching quickly, it's time again for the various car of the year awards to show off their short lists.

The latest announcements are with regards to the 2008 European Car of the Year. Originally, there were 32 contenders in the running, which have now been narrowed down to just seven.

As usual, a large number of well-received contenders were cut from the final crowd. Some cuts were very surprising this year, however, including the new Audi A5 / S5, the BMW X5, smart fortwo, Honda CR-V, Land Rover Freelander II (LR2), the new Toyota Corolla / Auris, and the magnificent, technology-packed Lexus LS 460 / 600h L. Incidentally, the LS 460 won the title of this year's International Car of the Year, an award ceremony unrelated to ECOTY.

Now, the final seven vehicles have been selected and will be further analyzed.

They include the Fiat 500, Ford Mondeo, Mazda2, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Peugeot 308, Nissan Qashqai, and a surprise, the Kia cee'd. The only vehicles that are on the shortlist that are sold – or will be sold – in North America are the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the Nissan Qashqai (twin of the Nissan Rogue compact crossover), though Kia may bring a version of the cee'd and Mazda has been contemplating the sale of the 2 on our side of the Atlantic for quite some time. Also, Fiat is expected to reenter the North American market with its 500 sometime soon. With much praise being directed at tiny Italian by the media as well as the new Ford Mondeo (cited by one magazine as the finest car Ford has ever made), it seems that these two vehicles are likely to duke it out for first place.

The winner of last year's award was the Ford S-Max,

a sort of sporty, seven seat people mover based on the EUCD architecture that underpins the Volvo S80 and Land Rover LR2. Previous winners have included the Toyota Prius, for its innovative hybrid powertrain, the Fiat Panda and Renault Clio superminis for their use of interior space, advanced powertrains and clever designs.

Unlike most car of the year competitions, the ECOTY has one single category that groups together all vehicles regardless of type; there are no subdivisions of categories as with the North American Car and Truck of the Year.

The winner of ECOTY will be announced on the 17th of November; stay tuned for the results.

Other awards that will take place shortly include the World Green Car of the Year (November), followed by North American Car and Truck of the Year in January as well as World Car of the Year in April.