Car of the Century

The Car of the Century (COTC) was an international award given to the world's most influential car of the 20th century.[1] The election process was overseen by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation.[2] The winner, the Ford Model T, was announced at an awards gala on December 18, 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada.[3]

1st place: Ford Model T

The selection process

An elaborate and formal process for deciding the Car of the Century was devised. It started in October 1996, when a list of 700 cars was offered by the COTC organising committee as candidates for the award, which their experts had selected from recommendations made from within the car industry and from car clubs.[4]

In February 1997 a list of 200 eligible cars was announced at the AutoRAI motor show in Amsterdam, having been selected from the 700 by an honorary committee of experts who were all independent and highly respected and experienced automotive experts.[5]

The next step was for a jury of 133 professional automotive journalists [6] from 33 different countries, under the presidency of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu,[7] to reduce the list to 100, and the result was announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1997.[8]

The elimination process proceeded with an Internet-based public vote [9] to select 10 cars, and for 25 cars to be selected by the jury of professionals. In the event, 9 out of the 10 cars selected by the public were also amongst the 25 selected by the journalists (the AC Cobra being the extra car selected by the public), so 26 cars were announced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1999, as the nominees for the next round.[10]

2nd place: Mini cross section shows packaging maximizes passenger space
3rd place: Citroën DS
4th place: Volkswagen Beetle
5th place: Porsche 911
The 26 nominees
MakeTypeYearCountry
ACCobra1965–1967UK/US
Alfa RomeoGiulietta Sprint Coupé1954–1968Italy
AudiQuattro1980–1991Germany
AustinSeven1922–1939UK
BMWBMW 3281936–1940Germany
BugattiT351926–1930France
ChevroletCorvette Stingray1963–1967US
CitroënTraction Avant1934–1957France
Citroën2CV1948–1990France
CitroënDS191955–1975France
Ferrari250 GT SWB Berlinetta1959–1962Italy
Fiat500 Topolino1936–1948Italy
FordModel T1908–1927US
FordMustang1964–1968US
JaguarXK1201948–1954UK
JaguarE-Type1961–1975UK
Land RoverRange Rover1970–presentUK
Mercedes-BenzS/SS/SSK1927–1932Germany
Mercedes-Benz300 SL Coupé1954–1957Germany
Morris/AustinMini1959–2000UK
NSURo 801967–1976Germany
Porsche9111963–presentGermany
RenaultEspace1984–presentFrance
Rolls-RoyceSilver Ghost1907–1925UK
VolkswagenBeetle1946–2003Germany
VolkswagenGolf1974–presentGermany
WillysJeep1941–1945US

From the 26, the jury were asked to nominate five finalists which would go through to the last round of voting, using a points system. The final nominees were announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, 1999.[11]

The final results

The jury each ranked the five cars in their preferred order, and the results were combined with a points system. The final results are shown in the table below.[12]

PositionCar modelPoints
1Ford Model T742
2Mini617
3Citroën DS567
4Volkswagen Beetle521
5Porsche 911303

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-03-27. Retrieved 2015-03-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Law, Alex (1999-12-22). "Car of the Century". Auto123. Archived from the original on 2006-03-08. Retrieved 2006-04-29.
  3. Wright, Richard A. (1999-12-20). "Car of the Century? Ford's Model T, of course". Joyrides. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2006-04-29.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. http://europe.autonews.com/article/19970217/ANE/702170815/car-of-the-century-search-begins%5B%5D
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. http://www.cwn.org.uk/motoring/rover/press-releases/9906/990624-car-of-the-century.htm
  8. http://www.drivers.com/article/247/
  9. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-11-04/business/9911040100_1_autos-poll-car-collector-top-cars
  10. "Car of the century voting narrows", Tim Dornin, AAP General News, March 15, 1999
  11. "Car of the Century?" Archived October 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Wired, December 17, 1999
  12. "This Just In: Model T Gets Award", James G. Cobb, The New York Times, December 24, 1999
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