European cars

Europe is the true homeland of the automotive industry. It was in European countries that the automotive industry was born and flourished. Most of the brands known in the modern world have European roots, being created, for example, by Italian or Czech designers. The Second World War was an event that greatly influenced the development of the engineering industry. This is due to the fact that most of the factories in Europe have changed their initial priority in favor of the creation of military equipment. However, at the end of the war, the surviving factories began to restore their production. Today in Europe there is a huge number of machine building factories that occupy leading positions in world ratings, regardless of class.

European Cars of the Year is an international automotive award given by a group of professional European automotive journalists. The Car of the Year competition has been held since 1963.

The main common advantage of machines from Europe is their accessibility to consumers. In addition, spare parts for European cars, whether Volvo, Fiat or Maseratti, can be purchased without any problems in any relevant store in the world. European car brands can be determined as: reliable; comfortable; available. In general, all European cars have their own technical characteristics and a number of features.

Jury Composition

The jury consists of 58 members representing 22 countries. At the same time, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain are represented by six representatives each in jury, the interests of the Scandinavian countries - six journalists, Poland and Russia - two journalists each, one each from the Czech Republic, Greece, Slovenia and Turkey. The jury members from Russia are Mikhail Podorozhansky (Autoreview) and Vadim Ovsyankin (Klaxon).

Procedure

Every year, in September, a list of pretender cars is compiled. These are machines, the mass production and sale of which began in the previous 12 months. The peculiarity of the competition is that the cars in it are presented without division by class, size or price. At the same time, cars should be completely new models: restylings, new motors or transmissions are not considered. At the time of voting, cars must be sold in at least five EU countries. The annual circulation of the model should not be less than 5 thousand pieces. At the first stage, the jury selects seven finalists by simple voting. Then each of the experts distributes 25 points between them, while one machine can give no more than 10 points. The highest rating is 580.

The jury member must justify his decision in writing. The expert opinion is based on impressions received during the first test drives organized by manufacturers and special test sessions held by the organizers of the competition. The criteria for the selection of models are design, comfort, safety, environmental friendliness, manufacturability, functionality and even the adequacy of the price for the category of customers for which they are designed, and technical innovation and price are priority factors. points.

According to M. Podorozhansky, the founders choose journalists according to the recommendations of the largest Western automobile concerns present in this country. By the way, the expert’s place in the competition is almost lifelong - while a person is working by profession or has not reached the age of 65 years.

The decisions of the jury were often amazed by surprise - therefore, candidates are betting on sweepstakes, and prizes are drawn among the guessing winners. In 2020, for example, a reader of the German magazine Stern, who was able to anticipate the victory of Toyota Prius, received a FIAT Panda - a 2020 year car.

As a rule, this class includes European car models designed for more people. Of particular note: Skoda; Volvo Fiat; Bentley Each of these machines is more suited to urban use. That is, cars of these brands do not have a heavy-duty engine and an incredibly elegant appearance, but provide the consumer with feelings of comfort and coziness after each trip.

What cars have been holding the leading position in terms of popularity for more than one year? Peugeot 208 The list of the most popular cars in Europe opens with the famous Peugeot 208. And although the first cars with this name appeared back in 2012, the model remains one of the most desired. A spacious interior, a roomy trunk, excellent seats in the rear passenger seats, when the knees do not rest on the backs of the front seats, a large 7-inch display and an on-board computer - these are the features of this car. In Russia, the car was delivered with a gasoline engine and a 5-speed manual gearbox or with a four-speed automatic. Diesel engines were only available with 5-speed mechanics.