Semi-Finalists for World Car and World Green Car of the Year Announced

Most noticeable in their absence from the finalists for the World Car of the Year are the North American Car and Truck of the Year winners: the Chevrolet Volt and the Ford Explorer. They were probably excluded, though, because to be eligible a vehicle must be sold on at least two continents.

The rules are different for World Green Car of the Year. A vehicle just has to be for sale or lease in quantities of at least 10 (!) in one major market between Jan. 1, 2010 and May 30, 2011. World Car, like so many other organizations, is voting on cars not yet available to the public and probably in some cases, not even driven by them yet as of this voting.

The Nissan Leaf, which is being outsold in the U.S. initially by the Chevrolet Volt, is the only vehicle to make both lists. Finalists will be announced at the Geneva Auto Show in March and the winners in both categories will be announced at the New York Auto Show in April.

All but one of the World Car of the Year finalists are available for sale in the United States. The Audi A1 is not available here yet. It makes its debut in Geneva and goes on sale in May.

The 2011 World Car of the Year will be selected from the following top ten cars listed in alphabetical order:

• Audi A1
• Audi A8
• BMW 5 Series
• BMW X3
• Jaguar XJ
• Jeep Grand Cherokee
• Mercedes-Benz SLS
• Nissan LEAF
• Porsche Cayenne
• Volvo S60 / V60

The six 2011 World Green Car finalists are in alphabetical order:

• BMW 320d Efficient Dynamics Edition
• Chevrolet Volt
• Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
• Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell
• Nissan LEAF
• smart electric drive