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Winners Announced at Chicago Auto Show – Automotive Journalist of the Year Named

Chicago (February 10, 2010)–The Internet Car and Truck of the Year website, an online venue not dependent on OEM advertising, held its inaugural Internet Pros and Average Joes vote for their favorite new cars.
The Internet Pros are comprised of a select team of 12 online writers from some of the leading automotive Internet sites, while the Average Joes consisted of more than 50,000 votes from the motoring public.
The winners, announced from the Chicago Auto Show today, are:

Internet Pros:
Car of the Year: 2010 Mazda3
Truck of the Year: 2010 Chevrolet Equinox

Average Joes:
Car of the Year: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro
Truck of the Year: 2010 Chevrolet Equinox
Automotive Analyst Lauren Fix, one of the 12-member jury for the Internet Pros, had this to say about the Mazda3: “It’s just the right size and has great performance. It comes standard with all the available bells and whistles and it’s really edgy looking. I just wanted to take it to the track because it handled tightly, has great throttle response, and it’s a blast to drive.”
Another juror, Dan Roth from Autoblog.com, said he voted for the Chevrolet Equinox because
“”…it’s a clear signal of General Motors newfound realization that it not only needs great products, it needs the *right* great products. Cars like the Camaro, Cadillac CTS-V, and of course the Corvette – we all expect those to be great, and they are. Greatness in a niche is fine, but what’s really going to breathe new life into the stumbling behemoth are the bread-and-butter cars.”
So while the Internet Pros and Average Joes agree on the Truck of the Year they have very differing opinions when it comes to their favorite car. The Pros opted for practicality while the Joes chose power. However, both demonstrated their respect for American Sheet metal with the Equinox.
Between the semi-finals and finals rounds, more than 50,000 votes were cast for the Consumer Internet Car and Truck of the Year. Percent of males vs. females was 79 to 21 percent. Forty-seven percent of the voters were between the ages of 40-55.
College graduates made up 39 percent of the voters, with 30 percent having a graduate degree. Thirty percent of voters reported household income between $100-$149,000. The next largest group at 20 percent was $80,000 to $99,999.
Also announced was the selection of John Neff as Internet Automotive Journalist of the Year. Neff, editor-in-chief of Autoblog.com, was selected for his talented stewardship of the Internet’s largest automotive news site and his advocacy for Internet automotive journalists.
The Internet Car and Truck of the Year awards were created by Keith Griffin, the Guide to Used Cars for About.com, and the Hartford (CT) Auto Examiner for Examiner.com, as well as a print automotive journalist and vice president of the New England Motor Press Association.
For more information on Internet Car and Truck of the Year, email Keith Griffin at
[email protected] or call (860) 292-0618.