It won’t be long now before some happy automaker walks away with the 2013 Car of the Year Award. This coveted award will be given away later today at the Geneva Auto Show and the finalists have all ready been chosen. The judges’ panel for this award includes 59 automotive journalists from 23 European countries. This is a European auto show after all.

Well, these judges have been haggling and voting and have narrowed their choices down to eight finalists. While we aren’t quite sure what criteria they used, we know it was a comprehensive collection of specific points to make up what that “Car of the Year” should require.

Eight Finalists for the 2013 Car of the Year Award:

• Ford B-Max
• Hyundai i30
• Mercedes A-Klasse
• Peugeot 208
• Renault Clio
• Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86
• Volkswagen Golf
• Volvo V40.

Congratulations to these finalists. We’ll be excited to hear who the Grand Prize Winner is. In the meantime, the 83rd International Geneva Motor Show is the first one to have 10% of the 130 World and European premier autos listed as Clean. Along with these premier vehicles, there are 260 exhibitors from around 30 countries showing up in the following categories:

• Motor cars (3 or 4 wheels)
• Electric cars and alternative powered cars
• Special bodywork for motor cars, design and engineering
• Converted cars (tuners)
• Accessories and parts for motor cars
• OEM: original equipment manufacturers
• Workshop installations for the repair and maintenance of motor cars
• Animation

As you can imagine, the news will be pouring in about all the premiers, awards and other particulars from the Geneva Auto Show. So keep a close eye out so you can stay up to date on the most exciting news from the top automakers.

Paying attention to resale value will ultimately bring you the greatest savings and that is pretty much common knowledge.  Unfortunately knowing what to look for in regard to resale value isn’t always clear. For example, paying more for a top of the line vehicle doesn’t necessarily mean it will sell for even close to the amount your originally paid, and opting for the most popular car on the block doesn’t do it either, in fact both those ideas can leave your with a car that’s only worth pennies compared to what you spent for it no matter how carefully you drove or had it maintained.

Resale values also effect leasing options which many drivers are unaware of. Eric Ibara, director of residual consulting at Kelley Blue Book points out “So if you get a vehicle that has a high residual value, your payments will be lower.” He also said, “If you see a vehicle that’s not performing well in residuals, it’s usually because of the volume. If the manufacturer chooses to sell a large volume of vehicles to Avis or Hertz, then those vehicles come back to the market when they’re taken out of service—and that can depress values.”

With that in mind, here are the vehicles you should avoid if you value lower monthly payments and higher resale values.

Avoid These Vehicles if You Want a Better Resale Value:

1. The Volvo S80 priced at $38,825 is only worth 18% of that after 5 years.
2. The Lincoln MKS which starts at $43,765 is worth only 22% of that in 5 years.
3. The Chrysler 200 Convertible priced at $28,095 is worth 23% of that in 5 years.
4. The Chevrolet Impala starting at $26,685 is worth 25% of that in 5 years.
5. The Nissan Armada priced at $40,865 is worth 27% in 5 years.
6. The Suzuki Grand Vitara starting at $20,464 is worth 28% of that in 5 years.
7. The Nissan Titan priced at $32,065 is worth 30% in 5 years.
8. The Ford Expedition starting at $ 41,600 (XLT 2WD) is worth 30% of that in 5 years.
9. Jeep Compass priced at $20,490 is worth 33% in 5 years.
10. GMC Yukon XL 1500 starting at $45,650 (SLE 2WD), worth 33% of that in 5 years.

Source The Car Connection

While Volvo is known for having the most safety features of any other vehicle lineup, apparently great wasn’t great enough, so they added more for the 2014 Volvo XC60. These aren’t the only updates though, Volvo rolled up their sleeves to make this refresh count and while we can’t be sure if their hard work and efforts will pay off or not, what we can tell right now is that it should certainly be a forerunner in its class.

The 2014 Volvo XC60 is continuing to hose the current engine which is a 3.2 liter six cylinder. This engine gives an acceptable 240 horsepower, or up to 325 if you opt for the sportier T6 models that have a 3.0 liter turbo engine. The Corner Traction Control makes sure to give an extra boost of performance and a torque vectoring system will help combat understeer by applying brakes to the inner wheels while applying power to the outside wheels to help accelerate through corners. While this gives assurance for handling, the steering still seems a little too comfortable for those who really enjoy feeling their turns, but for those who don’t mind, it is ultra comfortable.

There are new wood inlays in the 2014 Volvo CX60 to give it a more luxurious image. Along with the wood elements, new headliners have been added along with fabric covered B pillars and updated metal trim around the air vents and light controls. You can have the sports seats fitted if you like and opt for a heated steering wheel. Paddle shifters are also available for the T6 version. To set that off, there is also an electrically heated windshield and self dimming side mirrors you can choose for your own CX60 version.

The pricing for the new 2014 Volvo CX60 is a breath of fresh air. The base model starts at $31,900 and shoots up to $44,100 if you want the extra bells and whistles. In comparison to other models in its class, it makes the Volvo CX60 practically a steal.

Source YouTube

The race is on to see what vehicles will make it into the spotlight at the 2013 World Car Awards. The cars that are eligible for this prestigious award must be introduced and available for sale in at least one major market area between January 1, 2012 and May 30, 2013. While that gives quite a few models a chance for glory, the vehicles waiting for their debuts at the upcoming Chicago and Geneva auto shows might not make the cut unless they get to the dealers pretty darn fast after the coming out parties. The top ten finalists have been named though by the 66 journalists from around the world. The top three winners will be revealed at the Geneva International Motor Show on Tuesday, March 5th, 2013.

The journalists involved in the panel to choose the 2013 World Car winners are chosen based on their experience and professional work. It is a balance that is made sure to balance out representation from Asia, Europe and the U.K., North America, Russia, as well as other parts of the world. Their ballots are secretly cast.

The 2013 World Car of the Year Top Ten Finalists:

• Audi A3
• Land Rover Range Rover
• Mazda6
• Mazda CX5
• Mercedes-Benz A-Class
• Peugeot 208
• Porsche Boxster / Cayman
• Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ / Toyota GT 86 / Toyota 86
• Volkswagen Golf
• Volvo V40

The Top Ten 2013 World Performance Finalists:

• Aston Martin Vanquish
• Audi RS 5
• BMW M6 Coupe / Convertible
• BMW M 135i
• Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
• Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG
• Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster
• Porsche Boxster / Cayman
• Renault Clio Sport
• Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ / Toyota GT 86 / Toyota 86

Best of luck to all the finalists. We’ll be sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to hear which models make it into the top three.

Source World Car Awards

The automakers who won the hearts of America’s Car Brand Perception know how to keep a good thing going and this latest Consumer Reports survey proves it. The top six brands from last year are the top six brands again for this year. This survey goes across the country to poll drivers about what they think of the available brands in seven categories including quality, safety, value, performance, design/style, technology/innovation and environmentally friendly/green. All these scores are added up together and the car with the most points wins.

While the top six from last year held their spots, not all automakers lived up to expectations though. “This past year brought stability and increased sales to much of the automotive industry. Yet, the brand awareness scores for some like BMW, Buick and Hyundai have declined,” said Jeff Bartlett, deputy auto editor online, Consumer Reports. “The data shows that it has become harder for companies to compete for share of mind. Consumers are not seeing as much differentiation between brands as they have in the past.”

Best Overall brand perception Ratings:

• Toyota: 133
• Ford: 118
• Honda: 114
• Chevrolet: 94
• Mercedes-Benz: 77
• Volvo: 77
• Cadillac: 66
• BMW: 66
• Dodge: 56
• Tesla: 55

Worst Overall brand perception Ratings:

• Scion: 6
• Mitsubishi: 6
• Ram: 7
• Fiat: 8
• Mini: 10
• Land Rover: 11
• Jaguar: 15
• Mazda: 16
• Jeep: 16
• Porsche: 21

The survey also proved that quality and safety are the most important considerations for how drivers choose their new vehicles. Next is value and performance. Environmental factors while nice for everyone to talk about, boils down to what is going to help save money versus what will help save the planet, but if a car can offer both, then it immediately ranks higher in popularity.

Source Consumer Reports

While most of the automakers are celebrating great sales seasons for 2012, in fact the best it’s been since 2007, not all of them have reason to celebrate. Of course all the cars can’t win popularity contests and the 10 Worst Selling Cars of 2012 are left feeling like wallflowers. Of course selling the lowest amount of vehicles for 2012 doesn’t mean all of these models are bad cars, it could just be that the public hasn’t really caught on to what the makers had in mind when they released them. Of course some of them should go back the drawing board, and fast, if they hope to do a better job for this year’s sales season.

In order to be in the top ten worst selling vehicles the cars had to come in under the $100,000 mark because let’s face it, there are some awesome cars out there over that mark but people just can’t afford to put out their pennies for them. Also if a model was cancelled in 2012 it didn’t qualify either because who wants to buy vehicles that are no longer going to be in existence anyway? Here is the list though for the vehicles that qualify:

10 Worst Selling Cars of 2012

10. Volvo C30 priced at $25,500 sold 2,827 units

9. BMW Z4 priced at $47,350 sold 2,751 units

8. Audi TT priced at $39,545 sold 2,226 units

7. Subaru Tribeca priced at $32,595 sold 2,075 units

6. Suzuki Equator priced at $19,449 sold 1,966 units

5. Cadillac Escalade EXT priced at $63,060 sold 1,934 units

4. Nissan GT-R priced at $96,820 sold 1,188 units

3. Acura ZDX priced at $50,920 sold 775 units

2. Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback priced at $18,495 sold 702 units

1. Mitsubishi i-MiEV priced at $29,125 sold 588 units