VW cleans up at World Car of the Year awards

STAN HONDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The Volkswagen Polo won the 2010 Word Car of the Year award, beating out the Mercedes E-class and Toyota Prius.

John Leblanc

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

As it marches along in a bid to leapfrog General Motors and Toyota as the world’s best-selling automaker, Volkswagen took three out of the four final 2010 World Car of the Year awards during a presentation at this year’s New York auto show.

From an initial list of 30 entries nominated by 59 jurors from 25 countries throughout the world, the new generation Volkswagen Polo subcompact won the top prize of 2010 World Car of the Year, beating out the two other finalists: the Mercedes-Benz E-class and Toyota Prius.

Previous World Car of the Year winners were the 2009 VW Golf, Mazda2 in 2008, 2007 Lexus LS460, BMW 3-series in 2006 and the 2005 Audi A6.

VW Group’s Audi R8 V10 won the 2010 World Performance Car title over the Ferrari California and Porsche 911 GT3.

During the five years the World Performance Car award has been handed out, the R8 has won it twice, the V8 model winning in 2008.

The final VW win was for its range of fuel-sipping Golf, Passat, and Polo BlueMotion models, taking home the 2010 World Green Car trophy.

According to the announcement, jurors felt, “As far as internal combustion engines go today, these models are the ultimate you can get.”

The sole non-VW Group winner this year was the new Chevrolet Camaro coupe, bettering the Citroen C3 Picasso, and Kia Soul for the 2010 World Car Design of the Year award.

Ford tops March sales

For the fourth straight month, Canadians bought more new cars in March than the same month the previous year, and the main beneficiary seems to be Ford.

Overall, 145,428 new vehicles were sold last month, up 14 per cent over March 2009, based on numbers from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. Year-to-date sales are now up 15 per cent, tracking towards 1.55 to 1.6 million for the year.

Ford led, selling 22,018 new vehicles — up 29 per cent from a year earlier.

Toyota finished right behind Ford in second place, selling 19,792 vehicles, a rise of 24.5 per cent, despite its executives appearing in front of the Canadian government last month over the way the carmaker handled its massive recall.

Third place Chrysler sold 19,470 vehicles in the month (up 22 per cent) helped by truck sales rising by 34 per cent.

Although General Motors hung on to fourth place, with its sales dropping 22 per cent to 19,433 vehicles, its market share shrank again.

Last year, GM’s share in Canada fell to 17.3 per cent (from 21.8 per cent in 2008), according to Dennis DesRosiers, which ranked GM’s market share though March at 14.7 per cent.

“You would have to go back to the period between 1915 and 1919 to find GM’s market share below 15 per cent,” said DesRosiers.

When you drive, just drive

If you’re ignoring Ontario’s recent ban on the use of handheld devices while driving, yet another study reports that you better stop dialing/texting/talking when behind the wheel of your car.

The U.S. National Safety Council has released a report saying that all handheld device use (cellphones, BlackBerrys, iPhones, etc.) while driving a vehicle (even hands-free) is potentially dangerous and “risky behaviour.”

The NSC says that, at any given time, 11 per cent of drivers on the road use their phones or devices at the same time. And these people are causing accidents.

Referencing more than 30 scientific studies, the NSC estimates that one out of every four automobile accidents is the result of a driver on the phone.

The report argues that while drivers have the ability to use these handheld devices with some degree with success, the human brain can’t handle the combination of driving and dialing/texting/talking at the same time.

According to the NSC, our brains are only processing about half the available information while we’re on the phone.

As of October last year, Ontario’s new distracted driving law made it illegal for motorists to use hand-held wireless communication devices or any hand-held electronic entertainment devices while driving.

Based on this study, unfortunately, hands-free devices will still be permitted.

Ford’s Edge the cat’s meow

New-car buyers have a wealth of resources to compare any set of wheels they’re interested in, but information about which vehicle is best-suited for pets is harder to come by.

That’s where the U.S. pet travel safety organization, Bark Buckle UP, comes into play, this year awarding its Top Dog award to the 2010 Ford Edge crossover.

From a list of 10 Pet Safe Choice Award winners announced at this year’s Chicago auto show in February, the Edge was picked for its high “pet-friendliness” factor and proved an “accommodating mode of transportation for pets and their owners.”

Pet friendly nominees are judges on criteria such as ease of access, ventilation and the availability of pet-friendly surfaces.

Of note: Ford vehicles took four of the award’s “choice” slots for 2010, with the Transit Connect, Flex and Lincoln MKT also making the finalist list.

Last year’s Top Dog went to the GMC Acadia, while the Volvo XC90 won in 2008.

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