UCP Nominations (2007) - UCP Car of the Year

[Kooper]

BMW 335i, if for no other reason than making me question the M3.

[fisetdavid26]

I'll continue "keep-it-real" theme.

Fiat 500.

Cheap. Practical. Cool.

The Fiat 500 definitely is a good choice. I spent some time on Fiat's website customizing my own, I love that little car. I want one so bad...

[dydzi]

The Fiat 500 definitely is a good choice. I spent some time on Fiat's website customizing my own, I love that little car. I want one so bad...

the only thing is, it's by no means practical - it's based on panda, and it's heavier than it, and has less space. besides, it's does more or less the same as mini in 2001, so it's not that innovative really as well. thus, i think mazda 2 is better than it.

i'd call BMW M3. the engine is said to be great, and it handles great, no matter what road/speed. and the new 3-series coupe looks so great to me... it doesn't continue that woeful tendency of aggressive, offensive and tiring design, there's a saying it should take 10 minutes to realise a man is well dressed, and that's how this car looks

[SlickHolden]

Holden Ute?.. Ford Mondeo?.

Mitsubishi Lancer?

[Kitdy]

i'd call BMW M3. the engine is said to be great

Looking at the stats, it doesn't seem anything too special. I know there are more to engines to stats, but a 295 lb.-ft. of torque from a 445 lb. engine isn't very impressive I have to say.

I looked for more stats on competitors but it is hard to find engine mass to compare. Anyways, the IS F, 4.2L V8 FSI, 6.2L AMG all boast superior raw numbers than the S56B40. Not in the same class but also significant performers are the LS2, LS3 and LS7.

In my travels for this info, I learned that M-B used a 2.1 terrabyte digital replica of the new C Class and carried out 15 million digital miles of testing. Pretty cool.

[motorsportnerd]

Looking at this thread almost everyone seems keen to nominate a supercar as "Car of the Year". Understandable, since supercars are the most desirable, and represent the epitome of automotive technological and design achievement. So, we certainly need to have an "outright" Car of the Year. And I'll add my voice for the Audi R8.

However, not many of us can afford a supercar. Most of us would be stretching to afford a high performance car like a BMW M3. So I suggest that we should also consider a couple of other catagories.
Perhaps Luxury Car of the Year, Performance Car of the Year (excluding supercars), Recreational Car of the Year (incl SUVs and utes/sports trucks) and Everyday Car of the Year?

For Luxury Car of the Year, I'll nominate the new Jaguar XF. This car looks great in my opinion and by all early accounts goes very well.

For Performance Car of the Year, I'll nominate two cars. BMW M3 and Nissan GT-R.

For Recreational Car of the Year, I'll nominate the Holden VE Ute, partly to give us Aussies something to cheer for and because it has the most car-like driving dynamics of any commercial vehicle released in the Aussie market yet.

For Everyday Car of the Year, I'll nominate four cars. Fiat 500 - simply for its cute looks if nothing else. Mazda2 for actually being lighter yet safer than its predecessor. Ford Mondeo for having BMW 3-series like dynamics at a considerably cheaper price. Pity about the badge and the weight though. And finally, Mazda6, for being everything the Mondeo is plus having the "right" badge on the front.

[motorsportnerd]

Just in case anyone has forgotten, we did have a UCP Car of the Year for 2006, eventually won by the Alfa 8C Competizione: http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum...ar-voting.html The Audi R8 was in last year's awards, and received only three votes. Does this mean the Audi is ineligible this year? IF that is the case then I'll switch my nomination for outright car of the year to the Porsche 997 GT3 RS.

[my porsche]

The new Audi RS6? R8? S5?

Porsche Carerra GT2?

[baddabang]

Just in case anyone has forgotten, we did have a UCP Car of the Year for 2006, eventually won by the Alfa 8C Competizione: http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum...ar-voting.html The Audi R8 was in last year's awards, and received only three votes. Does this mean the Audi is ineligible this year? IF that is the case then I'll switch my nomination for outright car of the year to the Porsche 997 GT3 RS.

Why would that make Audi ineligible? It didn't even win.

[motorsportnerd]

True. But was the R8 officially released in 2006 or 2007? This being for the 2007 UCP Car of the Year award.

[Jack_Bauer]

Porsche Carerra GT2?

A what now?

[baddabang]

True. But was the R8 officially released in 2006 or 2007? This being for the 2007 UCP Car of the Year award.

Didn't production start in 2007?

[The_Canuck]

Looking at the stats, it doesn't seem anything too special. I know there are more to engines to stats, but a 295 lb.-ft. of torque from a 445 lb. engine isn't very impressive I have to say.

I looked for more stats on competitors but it is hard to find engine mass to compare. Anyways, the IS F, 4.2L V8 FSI, 6.2L AMG all boast superior raw numbers than the S56B40. Not in the same class but also significant performers are the LS2, LS3 and LS7.

In my travels for this info, I learned that M-B used a 2.1 terrabyte digital replica of the new C Class and carried out 15 million digital miles of testing. Pretty cool.

You and the damn numbers again?

[motorsportnerd]

Didn't production start in 2007?

Yep, seems you're right. UCP's report on the R8 states: "The Audi R8 will be available to order from 28 September 2006; first deliveries will be made in the first half of 2007"; see Audi R8 - Ultimatecarpage.com - Images, Specifications and Information.

So I would guess that would make the R8 eligible again. The R8 is surely better than 3 votes.
I guess this also makes the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione eligible to win two years in a row? Production of the 8C recently began.

[my porsche]

A what now?

Onna dems:

Spied: 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 - Car News - Car and Driver October 2006