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Archive for the ‘awards’ Category

Quite a few shiny new cars have rolled through the Top Speed garage over the last 365 days, we have logged countless miles and spent enough time in drive thrus to thoroughly evaluate the ins and outs of everything from a stripped down fuel efficient Chevy Cobalt XFE that we thought would make a great racecar all the way up to a fully loaded ginormous GL 550 from Mercedes, everything from the gas/electric hybrid king of the road Toyota Prius to just about every iteration of Subaru’s all new Legacy. But it wasn’t until recently when Santa brought us the best early Christmas gift of all time, a Victory Red Chevrolet Camaro SS.

Ever since spending an afternoon with the man who drew the car, Luciano Nakamura, we have grown fond of the 2010 Camaro’s sinister grin, broad shoulders and classic Coke bottle shape. However when we received the keys to the more economical V6 equipped RS model earlier this year and we found it to be lacking in a few areas, mainly performance. At the heart of the the 21st century Super Sport pony car is a 426 HP LS3 V8 that breathes new life into the Camaro. The rumble of fuel injected Detroit iron miraculously made the interior much larger and while most journalists have complained about the extra cylinders adding too much weight over the front axle, but we felt the Camaro SS was more then well equipped to hang the tail out or handle a hard turn in.

It didn’t matter if we were banging gears or just cruising, we loved the way the retro steering wheel made you drive the Camaro with your fingertips, not to mention staring at those broad shoulders every time you look back at someone who isn’t having as fun as you are in the side mirror. Combine that kind of performance with a mid $35,000 price tag and you have just opened up an entire new audience to a beautifully styled high performance muscle car, and for that we must name the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS as the 2009 Top Speed Car of the Year.

Continued after the jump.

Top Speed 2009 Car of the Year originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 31 December 2009 18:00 EST.

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Jaguar showed off their 2010 XJ at the 2009 Miami Auto Show. Although they had already unveiled the new Jag in London with our favorite late night funny man Jay Leno and super model Claudia Schiffer to take wraps off the new cat, the new XJ was just as stunning in South Florida. This particular model was the very first of the special edition XJs built for Neiman Marcus and quite possibly put the car over the top with its wraparound wood interior and cat claw inspired rear tail lamps. The 2010 XJ is the first Jaguar model to be built using Jaguar’s aerospace-inspired aluminum body technology and will be available with a stretched wheelbase option as well as a choice of new ultra-efficient Gen III classification petrol and diesel engines consisting of a 3.0 Liter diesel V6, a 5.0 Liter naturally aspirated V8 as well as the almighty 5.0 Liter supercharged 8 cylinder power plant.

The Jaguar XJ wins the 2009 South Florida International Auto Show Star of the Show Award originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 26 October 2009 16:00 EST.

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While most readers don’t peruse the pages of Playboy for insight into the latest car models, the premier Entertainment for Men magazine does happen to have quite a bit of insight into a world of style and elegance beyond most of our wildest imaginations. And it just so happens that we agree with their unique look at everything on four wheels. Taking the top spot was Porsche’s Panamera Turbo, thanks to the German sports car maker devotion to innovation and sophistication along with insane amounts of power. The Best Convertible award went to the Ferrari California with its unique styling and retractable metal roof.

The Best Horsepower Value was deemed to be the Nismo 370Z while the front wheel drive Mazdaspeed3 was named the Best Bang for your Buck and Audi’s diesel sipping A3 TDI became the best alternatively fueled vehicle. Bold styling and a twin turbocharged 365 HP ECOBoost six cylinder helped the Ford Taurus SHO to win the Best Reborn Beauty award. An unlikely candidate for the crossover segment, but BMW’s 5-Series GT was Playboy’s look good while carrying a lot of stuff was the best CUV. Not only is the Ford Fusion Hybrid the most fuel efficient mid size sedan on the market, but it also won Mr. Hefner’s Mean and Green award while the Mercedes Benz E 63 AMG took home the award for best sports sedan with its wide fenders and hand built V8. Now that Playboy has announced the winners, we can’t wait to see the spread.

Press release after the jump.

Playboy announces their picks for COTY 2010 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 7 January 2010 14:00 EST.

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While most readers don’t peruse the pages of Playboy for insight into the latest car models, the premier Entertainment for Men magazine does happen to have quite a bit of insight into a world of style and elegance beyond most of our wildest imaginations. And it just so happens that we agree with their unique look at everything on four wheels. Taking the top spot was Porsche’s Panamera Turbo, thanks to the German sports car maker devotion to innovation and sophistication along with insane amounts of power. The Best Convertible award went to the Ferrari California with its unique styling and retractable metal roof.

The Best Horsepower Value was deemed to be the Nismo 370Z while the front wheel drive Mazdaspeed3 was named the Best Bang for your Buck and Audi’s diesel sipping A3 TDI became the best alternatively fueled vehicle. Bold styling and a twin turbocharged 365 HP ECOBoost six cylinder helped the Ford Taurus SHO to win the Best Reborn Beauty award. An unlikely candidate for the crossover segment, but BMW’s 5-Series GT was Playboy’s look good while carrying a lot of stuff was the best CUV. Not only is the Ford Fusion Hybrid the most fuel efficient mid size sedan on the market, but it also won Mr. Hefner’s Mean and Green award while the Mercedes Benz E 63 AMG took home the award for best sports sedan with its wide fenders and hand built V8. Now that Playboy has announced the winners, we can’t wait to see the spread.

Press release after the jump.

Playboy announces their picks for 2010 COTY originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 7 January 2010 16:00 EST.

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The last three cars left standing to duke it out for the prestigious World Car of the Year Award has been announced. From a list of 30 cars around the world, the field for the WCOTY title was whittled down to three vehicles – the Volkswagen Polo, the Toyota Prius, and the Mercedes- Benz E-Class.

The awarding ceremony is scheduled to take place on the 1st of April in New York City in time for the opening of the 2010 New York Auto Show.

In addition to the announcement of the last three cars vying for the World Car of the Year Award, the other finalists from different categories, including one for performance vehicle and another for design, were also announced.

The Audi R8 V10, the Porsche 911 GT3, and the Ferrari California will compete for the performance vehicle category while the Citroen C3 Picasso, the Kia Soul, and the Chevrolet Camaro will vie for the design category.

Rounding out the list of finalists are the ones left standing in the green category with the aforementioned Prius, the Honda Insight and Volkswagen`s BlueMotion diesel offerings jostling for eco-friendly supremacy.

Be sure to check back here when the winners for all the categories are announced on April 1.

Press Release after the jump

Three finalists for World Car of the Year Award announced originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 8 March 2010 10:00 EST.

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