The Car of the Year judging panel have announced the short list for the much awaited 2007 Car of the Year Award. The Car of the Year 2007 finalists:-

Citroen C4 Picasso
Fiat Grande Punto
Ford S-Max
Honda Civic
Peugeot 207
Skoda Roomster
Vauxhall Corsa
Volvo C30

A record 41 vehicles were eligible for the award, vehicles launched in the past 12-months and were then reduced to eight finalists in a first vote by the 58 members of the Car of the Year Jury.

Steve Cropley, COTY juror and Editor-in-Chief Autocar magazine said "Every single member of the shortlist has some outstanding features, proving that the cars we buy are getting better than ever. This year's eventual winner is going to be very talented indeed".

The COTY jury is made up of 58 senior journalists from 22 countries. Their objective is to choose the most outstanding new car to go on sale in the past 12 months. Jurors vote twice: first to select a short-list from the new cars launched in Europe, then again to choose the winner. Last year's COTY winner was the Renault Clio.

Autocar is one of seven leading publications from around Europe that organise the COTY contest. Each publication takes it in turn to organise the vote, publicise and promote the contest and hold the prize-giving ceremony. The jury is completely independent of the Organising Committee in matters connected with the award itself, the selection of eligible cars and the voting.

The Car Of The Year 2007 winner will be announced on November 13th 2006 simultaneously across Europe.

COTY PREVIOUS WINNERS
2006 RENAULT CLIO
2005 TOYOTA PRIUS
2004 FIAT PANDA
2003 RENAULT MEGANE
2002 PEUGEOT 307
2001 ALFA ROMEO 147
2000 TOYOTA YARIS
1999 FORD FOCUS
1998 ALFA ROMEO 156
1997 RENAULT MEGANE SCENIC
1996 FIAT BRAVO / BRAVA
1995 FIAT PUNTO