Nissan's Brian Carolin claims the World Car of the Year Trophy for the new Nissan Leaf battery car.
The Nissan Leaf won the latest round in its ongoing battle with battery-car competitor Chevrolet Volt – though both can claim a bit of a victory.
The Japanese battery-electric vehicle was named World Car of the Year at an event at the New York Auto Show, but Chevy’s plug-in hybrid didn’t walk away empty-handed, Volt being named the World Green Car of the Year.
“Leaf is truly a game-changer,” declared Brian Caroling, director of sales and marketing for Nissan Americas, as he picked up the WCOTY trophy.
The World Car winner was chosen by a groupof 66 jurors from six continents, organizers noted, a structure designed to minimize the impact of regional tastes and prevent any media outlet from dominating the selection.
Jurors also named:
- Aston Martin Rapide the World Car Design of the Year;
- Ferrari 458 Italia the World Performance Car of the Year.
The latter ballot reflected the challenge of picking from an extremely competent list of contenders, suggested WCOTY’s co-chair Matt Davis. “The vote is always close and sometimes borders on the personal.”
The curious split of awards between Volt and Leaf will only fuel the seemingly personal battle between GM and Nissan as they each vie to be seen as the trend-setter in advanced technology.
Leaf has taken several key victories, including not only WCOTY but European Car of the Year, but Volt has captured a number of other kudos, including North American Car of the Year and Motor Trend magazine’s much-promoted Car of the Year.
At least the Volt will start, which is more than a lot of LEAF owners can say. I still can’t believe with the limited range of the LEAF (which if it doesn’t start is -0-) that it could be named for any award, but then again European cities are much more compact with more limited commutes, so maybe 100 miles at slow speeds and an overnight charge will satisfy them. It might work okay in New York City, compact as it is. You sure couldn’t drive a LEAF from New York to LA without taking about 3 weeks, though. Besides, and this is subjective, the LEAF is sure an ugly little dude.
Faddish or Fetish. Take your pick!