UCP Nominations (2007) - UCP Car of the Year

[fisetdavid26]

Onna dems:

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

It's a 911 GT2. Not Carrera GT2.

[Kitdy]

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.

I think that the 8C should be eligible again.

EDIT: I'm really surprised that R8 fared so poorly.

[Revo]

Why do you people want to vote about the same cars as last year?

I totally agree with Rockefella here, the rules should be simple. The date on the official press release shows if the car is eligible for 2006 or 2007 competiton. Not the model year or the start of the production, these are way too vague.

Alfa 8C Competizione press release is dated 12.09.2006.
Audi R8 press release is dated 28.09.2006.
Porsche 997 GT3 RS press release is dated 29.05.2006
BMW 335i press release is dated 21.04.2006

All of these cars were included in last years competition. They had their chance, now its time to move on.

[henk4]

Citroen C5

[Ferrer]

Why do you people want to vote about the same cars as last year?

I totally agree with Rockefella here, the rules should be simple. The date on the official press release shows if the car is eligible for 2006 or 2007 competiton. Not the model year or the start of the production, these are way too vague.

Alfa 8C Competizione press release is dated 12.09.2006.
Audi R8 press release is dated 28.09.2006.
Porsche 997 GT3 RS press release is dated 29.05.2006
BMW 335i press release is dated 21.04.2006

All of these cars were included in last years competition. They had their chance, now its time to move on.

I agree completely. Only cars released in 2007 should be eligible.

[Gardin]

FIAT 500 the only sane choice...

[dydzi]

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.

M3's engine is 10% lighter than the predecessor. my colleague was driving it along with all previous M3s. the current engine is said to be really outstanding, it revs easily up to 8600 rpm and presumably it could rev even to 10000 rpm if it weren't for the liveability. and remember it's build on the same line as V10s for BMW Sauber F1 cars, not many engines can say that

[ZeTurbo]

I nominate the BMW M3, Audi R8, and the Mazda 2. Its an amazing little car, and i cant wait untill it come to NA.

Also, ui think there should be 3 seperate categories fot the UCP COTY.
Car of the year - 0 to 100 000$
Dream car of the year - anything abve 100 000$
Race car of the year - This IS UCP after all!

[henk4]

IRace car of the year - This IS UCP after all!

Peugeot 908

[fisetdavid26]

Peugeot 908

I've been told seniors are always right, so... I agree, the 908 is the race car of the year.

[The_Canuck]

Acura ARX

[Kooper]

If the 335i isn't eligible, M3 it is.

[orne]

M3's engine is 10% lighter than the predecessor. my colleague was driving it along with all previous M3s. the current engine is said to be really outstanding, it revs easily up to 8600 rpm and presumably it could rev even to 10000 rpm if it weren't for the liveability. and remember it's build on the same line as V10s for BMW Sauber F1 cars, not many engines can say that

You're indeed right, but BMW also built the 35i engine which is a fantastic engine and even in its purposely lightly tuned mode is capable of achieving very close performance in real world driving to the M3's V8...

As car of the year, I think all has been said:

- Audi R8, for the surprisingly good driving experience that it is.
- Fiat 500, while it might not be as great to drive as it could, somehow Fiat managed to create a desirability capable of being a serious threat to the Mini.
- Mazda 2, like Ferrer said, in a time where generation after generation cars get heavier, it's good to see Mazda take a step in the other direction with a lighter and therefore more fuel efficient car while making it more fun to drive.

[Kitdy]

I agree completely. Only cars released in 2007 should be eligible.

I completely disagree. So many publications limit themselves to cars released in that year only - we should do something different and allow all cars on sale in 2007 to be eligible.

That being said, cars the only debuted in 2007 should not be eligible. I think we're gonna need a voting thread to decide what cars are eligible.

That being said,

M3's engine is 10% lighter than the predecessor. my colleague was driving it along with all previous M3s. the current engine is said to be really outstanding, it revs easily up to 8600 rpm and presumably it could rev even to 10000 rpm if it weren't for the liveability. and remember it's build on the same line as V10s for BMW Sauber F1 cars, not many engines can say that

I am aware that it is 10% lighter than it's predecessor, but I am not concerned with what came before it. I am concerned with it's contemporaries.

Peugeot 908

I'm gonna play a bit of devil's advocate.

Does the later release of the 908 mean thst Peugeot could use the R10s engine performance numbers as a benchmark? Furthermore, the 908 utilized a coupe design which is apparently favoured under the new rules.

Surely, Audi has more experience than Peugoet and it would be hard to win for the 908 at Le Mans, and maybe the 908 will win this year, but we are talking about what is the best racer in 2007, not 2008. Peugeot did dominate the LMS but they were not up against any diesel engines so that victory in my view is unimpressive.

That being said, the 908 performed admirably for it;s first year of racing and is a fair selection for car of the year.

Possibly much more impressive than either of those cars was a certain LMP2 car...

Acura ARX

...and the ARX-01a is definitely not it. Barring it's win at Sebring, it and the R10 were embarrassed by Porsches' RS Spyder Evo.

There are so many other racing series' that we are not considering as well. In the GT2 class, I would say that the F430 GT2 did very well, ending Porsche's dominance. The exceptional Maserati MC12 running in the FIA GT also I think must be considered.

[motorsportnerd]

I nominate the BMW M3, Audi R8, and the Mazda 2. Its an amazing little car, and i cant wait untill it come to NA.

Also, ui think there should be 3 seperate categories fot the UCP COTY.
Car of the year - 0 to 100 000$
Dream car of the year - anything abve 100 000$
Race car of the year - This IS UCP after all!

While I agree with seperate catagories, there would be one problem with a under $100,000 catagory. Different markets have different pricing. For example here in Australia, many cars that would be under $100,000 in the US are over that figure here.
I'd suggest it would be better to define by type of car rather than price (ie: luxury, dream, recreational, everyday, etc).