We’ll only count days before the ultimate night of the 2008 World Car awards takes place next month. The New York International Auto Show will host this year’s awarding ceremonies on March 20, 2008 and according to the Auto Channel, the top ten finalists for the most prominent honor, the World Car of the Year, has been announced yesterday. Prepare yourselves as the 2008 NYIAS takes off and unwraps the car covers off the competing vehicles!

Via secret balloting, the top ten finalists were selected by 47 panelists who are certified and renowned international automotive journalists. The judges based their selections on their experience with each contender as a measurement of their professional work. Members of the jury are composed of a balance representation from Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Other judges came from other parts of the world as well.

"Announcing the annual World Car of the Year awards at the New York show is a fitting finale to the auto show season that begins each fall with either the Paris or Frankfurt motor shows," said Gerry Malloy, the co-chair of WCOTY. "Next, it’s on to Tokyo in alternating years. The Detroit and Geneva shows take center stage early in the year. Finally, in March, the season reaches its exciting climax at the New York International Auto Show."

Here are the Top Ten World Car finalists in alphabetical order:

•     Audi A5 Coupe / Audi S5 Coupe
•     Audi R8
•     Cadillac CTS
•     Ford Mondeo
•     Ford S-Max
•     Mazda2 / Mazda Demio
•     Mercedes-Benz C-Class
•     Nissan Qashqai/Dualis
•     Nissan Skyline Coupe/Infiniti G37 Coupe
•     Volvo C30

The 2008 World Performance Car nominees are:

•     AMG Mercedes-Benz S 63
•     Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster
•     Audi R8
•     Audi S5 Coupe
•     BMW M3
•     Honda Civic R (Japanese & European spec)
•     Maserati GranTurismo
•     Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series
•     Renault Clio F1 Team R27
•     Mercedes-Benz CL 63

As there are ten candidates for the 2008 World Green Car title:

•     BMW 118d with Efficient Dynamics
•     Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell Electric
•     Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon Hybrids
•     Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid
•     Lexus LS 600h L
•     Nissan Altima Hybrid
•     Saturn Aura Green Line
•     Saturn Vue Green Line
•     SmartForTwo cdi
•     Volkswagen Passat 1.9 TDI BlueMotion

The Geneva International Motor Show is a famous auto show wherein car manufacturers from all over the world try to show off the best of the vehicles in their range. In preparation for the upcoming auto event, Nissan has been prepping up three vehicles which would be set up for display for the very first time in the continent.

Riding on one of the company’s coolest wheels, Nissan has been prepping up the Nissan GT-R which Athlone Advertiser describes as the representation of “Nissan’s passion for cars and driving”. This would one of the three units and it would be coming with a new engine - a V6 twin turbo 3.8 liter that has the capacity to produce 480 bhp. The engine is mated to an advanced all wheel drive system.

Dynamism is one of the features that the Nissan GT-R has and experts who have seen the vehicle have declared that this vehicle is the right supercar that just literraly reflects the real Nissan philosophy in car making.

The number one provider of new- and used-vehicle information, Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com, showered recognitions this year. The latest awards announced recently are the Best New Family Vehicles for 2008. The Auto Channel reported that each qualifying vehicle was assessed in contrasting areas as space, safety and affordability after driving and reviewing several 2008 family cars for KKB.com. The group’s reliable editors stood as panelists and they were obliged to pick the winners for the said honors.   

The factors that were evaluated are following: resale value, fuel efficiency, competence and, most significantly, family-friendliness. Aside from the vehicle’s water pumps these aspects were highly considered by the panel of judges before coming up with the set of winners for this year.

"Each of the models on the kbb.com 2008 Best New Family Vehicles list represents the best package of what families really look for when choosing a new car; kid-friendly options combined with the value, safety and capabilities that parents require. As Americans spend more and more time in their vehicles each year, auto manufacturers are increasingly providing great family vehicles across multiple segments. In 2008, the three-row crossover vehicle has succeeded the wagon of the seventies, the minivan of the eighties and the SUV of the nineties as the quintessential family vehicle," says Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com.

Kbb.com’s 2008 Best New Family Vehicles (not in order):

• 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
• 2008 Chevrolet Malibu           
• 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe           
• 2008 Mazda CX-9
• 2008 Saturn Outlook
• 2008 Ford Taurus X             
• 2008 Subaru Outback
• 2008 Honda Odyssey
• 2008 Toyota Highlander
• 2008 Hyundai Veracruz

That would be how much Ford would be investing so as to be able to build a new South African plant. According to Edmunds, the new facility would be in charge of manufacturing a new compact pickup as well as a small engine which runs on diesel.

The company did continue to disclose that the new truck would actually be replacing the Ford Ranger in the market however the latter would still be sold in the US. The new truck would be sold in all markets except for North America.

Right now, the facility is still in construction and Ford is estimating that production would be beginning by 2011.

Let’s have some Chinese philosophy lesson here.  Are you familiar with the yin and yang concept?  It is symbolized by a circle divided into two equal parts (I wish I could just draw it for you) - one is white the other, black.  Inside each fraction are two small circles, black on the white area and black on the white portion.  Hmm… Seems like an interesting idea to spice up Acura Legend headlights, isn’t it?  If you get what I mean.

According to wikipedia.org, yin and yang, also known as heaven and earth, represents two “primal opposing but complementary principles said to be found in all non-static objects and processes in the universe.”  Yin (dark) stands for water and earth while yang (light) signifies fire and air.

Reports from AutoChannel said that the yin and yang concept was the same idea that inspired Hyundai’s new i-Blue Fuel cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV)’s exterior design.  This new hydrogen-powered, zero-emission car concept was introduced during the 100^th Chicago Auto Show that started yesterday.  It features Hyundai’s third generation fuel cell technology, the first step towards Hyundai’s vision of mass-producing hydrogen-powered cell vehicles in the next 10 years.  Fuel cell vehicles, as we all know is environment-friendly for its sole emission is water vapor.

The i-Blue, like the yin yang, is an epitome of balance between elegance and safety.  Square and circle were two geometric forms employed in its design giving it a rhombus-like shape.  Its fuel cell stack is placed underfloor instead of putting it at the engine compartment thus, creating an ideal 50-50 weight distribution for smooth driving for more than 370 miles with a maximum speed of more than 100 miles per hour. 

A 100 KW electric engine and fuel stack, fueled with compressed hydrogen stored in a 115-liter tank drives the i-Blue to run. Another appealing feature of this car is its full-surround camera system that enables the driver to see a virtual picture of the vehicle and the surroundings using its latest image processing techniques.   That promotes safe driving, doesn’t it?

Hyundai Motor Company is the sixth largest automaker worldwide.  It has been a member of the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP) for eight years now.