In the USA, Motor Trend magazine was the first to give a Car of the Year award, doing so to Cadillac in 1949 (the earliest awards were given to the manufacturer, not to a specific vehicle). It has since expanded the award category to include the Truck and SUV of the Year, awarding these separately from the Car of the Year. Until 1999, the award was only eligible to American-made cars; imports had their own category, the Import of the Year. The ra...
more
In the USA, Motor Trend magazine was the first to give a Car of the Year award, doing so to Cadillac in 1949 (the earliest awards were given to the manufacturer, not to a specific vehicle). It has since expanded the award category to include the Truck and SUV of the Year, awarding these separately from the Car of the Year. Until 1999, the award was only eligible to American-made cars; imports had their own category, the Import of the Year. The rationale for the combination was explained by editor Angus Mackenzie as "because it's so hard to say that, for example, a Toyota Camry, built in Kentucky and designed in California, is less American than a Ford that may have been built in Canada or Mexico and designed in Europe." Since the combination of the awards, American cars have won the award five times, and imports have won four times. Most cars who win the award report a spike in sales because of how they were judged to be the best: however, getting "The Calipers" is no guarantee of...
less
