European Brands Dominate World Car of the Year Contest

NEW YORK — In what amounts to a major snubbing, no U.S. domestic brand vehicles made the cut for this year's World Car of the Year. European brands account for eight of the 10 finalists for the title, which will be announced on April 5 at the New York auto show.

The finalists are: the Audi Q7, Audi TT, Citroën C4 Picasso, Citroën C6, Fiat Grande Punto, Jaguar XK, Lexus LS 460, Mercedes-Benz CL-Class, Mini Cooper and Suzuki SX4/Fiat Seidici.

The cars were judged on overall merit, value, safety, environmental responsibility, emotional appeal and significance. The domestic manufacturers were shut out of the awards, in part, because judges only consider new models that are sold in at least five countries on two continents.

The judges also released their top 10 choices for World Performance Car. European brands were even more dominant in this category, grabbing all but one of the top spots. Finalists include the Audi RS4 and Audi S6, BMW 335i, BMW M coupe/Z4, Ferrari 599GTB, Jaguar XKR, Mazda 3 MPS/Mazdaspeed 3, Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche 911 Turbo and Renault Clio Renault Sport.

Finalists in the environmental and design categories will be announced later.

This is the third year for the award, which was won last year by the BMW 3 Series.

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