|
There are two major “Car of the Year” contests in Japan that select the very best car among all brand-new cars launched in the market for the year. One of the contests is “RJC (Automotive Researcher’s & Journalist’s Conference of Japan) Car of the Year” and the other contest is the established “CAR OF THE YEAR JAPAN.”
In October, the hybrid vehicle (HV) PRIUS of Toyota Motor Co. was selected as the best by “CAR OF THE YEAR JAPAN” followed by another HV, INSIGHT of Honda Motor Co., which was chosen as the 2009 “CAR OF THE YEAR” by RJC in November.
The “Car of the Year Japan” tends to select more high-end luxury vehicles and sports cars, and has never picked a low cost car in all of its history. On the other hand, RJC “Car of the Year” has selected many smaller and less expensive cars due to the technological excellence and originality.
Only four times in the last 19 years, has the same car won both awards. Winning these awards has a large influence on the sales of the cars that receive these awards. Not only do the two “Car of the Year” winners draw increasing attention from car buyers, but also from automakers.
|
