World car awards for VW, Honda and Fiat
Golf 6, Honda Clarity and Fiat 500 get the nod at 2009 New York Auto ShowVolkswagen, Honda and Fiat were among the beneficiaries of the annual world car awards announced at this month's New York International Auto Show.
Undoubtedly the happiest car-maker among the winners is Volkswagen, which scored the 2009 World Car of the Year award with its sixth generation Golf.
The world car gong was particularly satisfying for VW after the lively, sometimes negative, debate around the new Golf in the lead up to its introduction. The Golf 6 replaced the Golf 5 -- which had drawn criticism from without for its quality standards, and from within because it was expensive to build -- quite early in its life (it came to Australia in late 2004).
The World Car of the Year award tends to confirm early positive impressions of VW's most important model, with testers noting the improved build, quality and overall refinement.
Speaking at the award presentation, President and CEO of Volkswagen of America, Inc. Stefan Jacoby said: "It is a tremendous honour for Volkswagen to have its global best selling model, the Golf, named the 2009 World Car of the Year."
Also at the New York show, Honda was recognised as a leader in green technology with its FCX Clarity model, which scored the 2009 World Green Car award.
The FCX Clarity is powered by an electric motor drawing its energy from a hydrogen-fed fuel cell stack. It emits only water, and Honda says it is as much as three times more fuel-efficient than a regular petrol-engined car, and twice as efficient as a petrol hybrid.
The fuel cell Honda is available in some countries on a limited-lease basis as a toe-in-the-H2O exercise testing the reliability and viability of hydrogen as a fuel source.
Fiat's retro 500 was a winner at the New York show too, picking up the 2009 Design Car of the Year award.
The revived Fiat Bambino came in ahead of Citroen's C5 and the new Jaguar XF. In all, the short list for the design award totalled 51 cars.
According to Fiat design chief Roberto Giolito, the 500 is "an expression of 'practical beauty', which is what the world expects of Italian cars."
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