COTY 2002/2003 Winners East and West
For the third consecutive year, a Honda has won the ‘Japan Car of the Year’ award, this time for the new 7th Generation Accord model (together with its stationwagon variant). More impressively, this is the third time that the Accord, first introduced in 1976, has been voted ‘Japan Car of the Year’; the previous winners were the 3rd generation (1985) and 5th generation (1993).
Acclaimed as a new global benchmark for midsize sedans and wagons, the latest Accord has recorded more than 6,000 orders so far in Japan. A slightly different version for the US market was launched earlier in the year.
“We are extremely honoured that the new Accord has been singled out for the ‘Japan Car of the Year’ Award 2002-2003. We are especially gratified that the new Accord is the first to win under the new rules, chosen from a field including both domestic and import cars,” said Honda’s President and CEO, Hiroyuki Yoshino.
In 2000, the Civic (and sister models on the same platform including the Stream) won the Japan COTY while in 2001, it was the Fit.
Meanwhile, in Europe, the Renault Megane II which is progressively going on sale in Europe from the end of this month, has been voted ‘European Car of the Year’ 2003.
A jury of 58 motoring journalists from 22 European countries gave it 322 points, 20 more than runner-up Mazda 6 and 18 more than the third-placed Citroen C3. 30 vehicles were selected for the 2003 judging.
This is the fifth time that a Renault model has received the award. The previous models to were the Renault 16 (1966), Renault 9 (1982), Renault Clio (1991) and Renault Mégane Scénic (1997).
Both the new Accord and Megane II should appear in Malaysia during 2003 but the specific launch dates are not available yet.
The Accord should be a certainty since it has been a locally-assembled model from the first generation. It will be assembled at the new Honda plant in Melaka.
As for the Megane II, a source at Quasar Carriage said that they are still planning to bring in the model but are trying to get it priced as attractively as other Renault models presently sold here.
