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The Car of the Century (COTC) is an international award that was given to the world's most influential
Tim Dornin, ''AAP General News'', March 15, 1999
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."Car of the Century?"
, ''
James G. Cobb, '' The New York Times'', December 24, 1999
car
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
of the 20th century. The election process was overseen by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation. The winner, the Ford Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
, was announced at an awards gala on December 18, 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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. In February 1997 a list of 200 eligible cars was announced at theAutoRAI
The Amsterdam International Motor Show or AutoRAI was a motor show that took place every two years in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The history of the AutoRAI goes back to 1893, when the bicycle exhibition was established. The first RAI exhibition was o ...
motor show
An auto show, also known as a motor show or car show, is a public exhibition of current automobile models, debuts, concept cars, or out-of-production classics. It is attended by automotive industry representatives, dealers, auto journalists a ...
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.
The next step was for a jury of 133 professional automotive journalists from 33 countries, under the presidency of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu
Baron Montagu of Beaulieu (, Engl. pronunciation: "bewley", from French ''beau'', "beautiful" and ''lieu'', "place"), in the County of Hampshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for the Conservative poli ...
, to reduce the list to 100, and the result was announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1997.
The elimination process proceeded with an Internet-based public vote 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
The AC Cobra, sold in the United States as the Shelby Cobra and AC Shelby Cobra, is a sports car manufactured by British company AC Cars, with a Ford V8 engine. It was produced intermittently in both the United Kingdom and later the Unite ...
being the extra car selected by the public), so 26 cars were announced at the Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
in March 1999, as the nominees for the next round."Car of the century voting narrows"Tim Dornin, ''AAP General News'', March 15, 1999
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."Car of the Century?", ''
Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...
'', December 17, 1999
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."This Just In: Model T Gets Award"James G. Cobb, '' The New York Times'', December 24, 1999
See also
*Car Designer of the Century The Car Designer of the Century was an international award given to the most influential car designer of the 20th century. The election process was overseen by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation.
The winner, Giorgetto Giugiaro, was announ ...
* Car Engineer of the Century
* Car Entrepreneur of the Century
* Car Executive of the Century
* List of motor vehicle awards
This list of motor vehicle awards is an index to articles that describe notable awards given to motor vehicles. The list is broken into "car of the year", other car awards, awards for commercial vehicles including trucks and trains, engines and pe ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Car Of The Century Motor vehicle awards