Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards.
The Volkswagen Phaeton is a full-size luxury sedan/saloon manufactured by the German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen, described by Volkswagen as their "premium class" vehicle. Introduced at the 2002 Geneva Motor Show, the Phaeton was marketed worldwide. Sales in North America ended in 2006 and global sales ended in 2016.
The Opel Zafira is a car manufactured and marketed across three generations between 1999 and 2019 by Opel. Based on the Opel Astra platform, it is developed to occupy the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) segment.
The Lexus GS is an executive car sold by Lexus, the premium division of Toyota. The same car had been launched in 1991 as the Toyota Aristo in Japan. For non-Japanese markets, it was released as the Lexus GS in February 1993. It continued using the Toyota Aristo name for the Japanese market until January 2005.
The Opel Ascona is a large family car that was produced by the German automaker Opel from 1970 to 1988. It was produced in three separate generations, beginning with rear-wheel-drive and ending up as a front-wheel drive J-car derivative.
The Alfa Romeo 147 is a small family car produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo from 2000 to 2010. The 147 was voted European Car of the Year in 2001.
Parallel parking is a method of parking a vehicle parallel to the road, in line with other parked vehicles. Parallel parking usually requires initially driving slightly past the parking space, parallel to the parked vehicle in front of that space, keeping a safe distance, then followed by reversing into that space. Subsequent position adjustment may require the use of forward and reverse gears.
Automobile handling and vehicle handling are descriptions of the way a wheeled vehicle responds and reacts to the inputs of a driver, as well as how it moves along a track or road. It is commonly judged by how a vehicle performs particularly during cornering, acceleration, and braking as well as on the vehicle's directional stability when moving in steady state condition.
The Audi Quattro is a road and rally car, produced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi, part of the Volkswagen Group. It was first shown at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show on 3 March. Production continued through 1991.
Ferdinand Karl Piëch was an Austrian business magnate, engineer and executive who was the chairman of the executive board (Vorstandsvorsitzender) of Volkswagen Group in 1993–2002 and the chairman of the supervisory board (Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender) of Volkswagen Group in 2002–2015.
Walter Röhrl is a German rally and auto racing driver, with victories for Fiat, Opel, Lancia and Audi as well as Porsche, Ford and BMW. Röhrl has scored 14 victories over his career, with his notable achievements including winning the World Rally Championship twice: in 1980 in a Fiat Abarth and in 1982 while driving for Opel. He has also competed in other forms of motorsport, such as endurance racing, winning in the GTP +3.0 class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1981 with the Porsche System team. Röhrl also set the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record in 1987 driving an Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2. He is often regarded as one of the greatest rally drivers of all time.
The Lexus LS (XF40) is the fourth generation of the Lexus LS line of full-size luxury sedans. Lexus debuted the model line at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, with variants including the standard wheelbase LS 460 (USF40) and long wheelbase LS 460 L (USF41); the chassis codes (USF40/USF41) are derived from the fourth generation XF40 platform code and UR series engine designation. In development from 2001, the final design was selected for the V8 models in late 2003, with the hybrid variant's design finalized in 2004. Introduced at the 2006 New York International Auto Show, all-wheel drive hybrid models, the standard wheelbase LS 600h (UVF45) and long wheelbase LS 600h L (UVF46), joined the lineup in the 2008 model year. The LS 460 and LS 460 L models feature a 4.6 L UR series V8 and an 8-speed automatic transmission, while hybrid models are powered by a 5.0 L UR series V8 engine equipped with electric motors, with a continuously variable transmission and all-wheel drive. All-wheel drive versions of the non-hybrid LS 460 (USF45) and LS 460 L (USF46) models were introduced at the 2008 Moscow International Automobile Salon. The XF40 received updates for the 2010 and 2013 model years.
DEKRA is the world’s largest non-listed expert organization in the TIC sector founded in Berlin, Germany in 1925 as Deutscher Kraftfahrzeug-Überwachungs-Verein . At 28 million per year worldwide, DEKRA inspects more vehicles than any other organization. DEKRA is active in the field in more than 20 countries across the globe, from Sweden to South Africa, from the U.S. to New Zealand. The latest additions were Finland, Mexico and Chile. With approximately 48,646 employees and revenues of more than €3.8 billion, DEKRA is the largest inspection company in Germany and one of the world’s leading expert organizations. By its own account, it is the European market leader. The group focuses on the inspection of vehicles and technical systems, but also offers other services like testing and certification. DEKRA has had its headquarters in Stuttgart since 1946. Business operations are carried out by DEKRA SE, which is wholly owned by DEKRA e. V. The vision for the company’s 100th birthday in 2025 is that DEKRA will be the global partner for a safe, secure and sustainable world. With a platinum rating from EcoVadis, DEKRA is in the top one percent of sustainable businesses ranked.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia is a compact executive car produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo. Known internally as the Type 952, it was unveiled in June 2015, with market launch scheduled for February 2016, and it is the first saloon offered by Alfa Romeo after the production of the 159 ended in 2011. The Giulia is also the first mass-market Alfa Romeo vehicle in over two decades to use a longitudinal rear-wheel drive platform, since the 75 which was discontinued in 1992. The Giulia was second in 2017 European Car of the Year voting and was named Motor Trend Car of the Year for 2018. In 2018, Giulia was awarded the Compasso d'Oro industrial design award.
The Lexus GS (S190) is the third generation of the Lexus GS line of executive cars. Sold by Lexus since 2005, the line includes multiple V6, V8, and hybrid models. A concept model for the GS line, the LF-S, debuted in late 2003 at the Tokyo Motor Show. The third generation GS first appeared as a pre-production vehicle at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit with the production version being shown a year later at the 2005 show. The initial lineup featured V6 and V8 engines with rear-wheel drive, and for the first time on a Lexus sedan, the option of all-wheel drive with the V6-powered GS 300 and GS 350 models. The GS 450h performance hybrid joined the lineup in 2006.
Bild am Sonntag (BamS) is the largest-selling German national Sunday newspaper published in Berlin, Germany.
The C207/A207 Mercedes-Benz E-Class are coupé and convertible models based on the W204 C-Class sedan chassis. It was produced between 2008 and 2017 as the successor to the previous C209/A209 CLK-Class. The body styles of the range are 2-door coupé (C207) and 2-door convertible (A207).
The Volkswagen Arteon is a car manufactured by German car manufacturer Volkswagen. Described as a large family car or a mid-size car, it is available in five-door liftback or estate body styles. The Arteon was unveiled on 6 March 2017, at the Geneva Motor Show, and at the Chicago Auto Show for the North American market. It is direct successor to the CC; however, Volkswagen announced that the Arteon is positioned to be more upmarket than the CC. The vehicle is based on the MQB platform.
The Mazda CX-30 is a subcompact crossover SUV produced by Mazda. Based on the fourth-generation Mazda3, it debuted at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, to slot in between the CX-3 and the CX-5. It went on sale in Japan on 24 October 2019, with global units being produced at Mazda's Hiroshima factory, North and South American units built in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico, Thailand and initial Australian units made at the AutoAlliance Thailand plant in Rayong, and China-market units produced in Nanjing by Changan Mazda.
