Wheels Car of the Year

"Wheels" magazine has announced its Car of the Year every year since 1963, with the exception of 1972, 1979 and 1986 when no cars were considered worthy of the honour. [http://editorial.carsales.com.au/print.aspx?TabID=801391&R=ce6872&ModID=1602845] It is considered Australia's most prestigious automotive award. Wheels Magazine itself contends that its Car of the Year award remains the oldest continuous award of its kind in the world.

The original intention of the award was to promote excellence in the Australian car manufacturing industry. Until the mid-70's, imported vehicles were not eligible for the award. The big five, Holden, Ford, Valiant, Datsun, and Toyota, now dominated sales with a wide variety of body and engines. With falling sales, the fuel crisis and the instability of the Australian economy, all European brands, such as, Renault and Volkswagen, ceased local assembly.

With a shrinking manufacturing base, reliability and quality issue, Wheels magazine changed the award rules to allow imported vehicles to be eligible. At first, this was condemned by the local industry, unions and media. But by doing this, Wheels magazine enabled local products to judged on a global platform. This, in turn, created a more competitive product and industry. The first imported car to receive the award was the Honda Accord in 1977. Since then, the award has been given to locally manufactured vehicles on 11 out of 28 occasions.

"Wheels"’ Car of the Year winners are: [cite web | url = http://www.wheelsmag.com.au/News/The+road+to+COTY.html | title = The road to COTY | publisher = ninemsn Pty Ltd | date = 2007-11-30 | accessdate = 2007-12-03]

*1963 Renault 8
*1964 Morris 1100
*1965 Ford Falcon (XP)
*1966 Ford Falcon (XR)
*1967 Chrysler Valiant (VE)
*1968 Holden Monaro (HK)
*1969 Holden Torana (LC)
*1970 Renault 12
*1971 Chrysler Valiant Charger (VH)
*1972 Award withheld
*1973 Leyland P76 V8
*1974 Volkswagen Passat
*1975 Holden Gemini (TX)
*1976 Volkswagen Golf
*1977 Honda Accord
*1978 Holden Commodore (VB)
*1979 Award withheld
*1980 Mazda 323
*1981 Mercedes-Benz 380SE (W126)
*1982 Holden Camira (JB)
*1983 Ford Telstar and Mazda 626 (joint award)
*1984 Mitsubishi Nimbus
*1985 Mitsubishi Magna (TM)
*1986 Award withheld
*1987 Honda Prelude
*1988 Holden Commodore (VN)
*1989 Mazda MX-5 (NA)
*1990 Lexus LS 400
*1991 Honda NSX and Nissan Pulsar (N14)
*1992 Mazda 626 and Ford Telstar
*1993 Holden Commodore (VR)
*1994 Subaru Liberty
*1995 Honda Odyssey
*1996 Mitsubishi Magna/Verada (TE/KE)
*1997 Holden Commodore (VT)
*1998 Subaru Liberty Wagon
*1999 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
*2000 Subaru Impreza
*2001 Holden Barina (XC)
*2002 Ford Falcon (BA)
*2003 Mazda RX-8
*2004 Ford Territory (SX)
*2005 Mazda MX-5 (NC)
*2006 Holden Commodore (VE)
*2007 Mercedes-Benz C-Class (W204)

References