Chevrolet Camaro Wins 2016 Motor Trend Car of the Year

Motor Trend was proud to announce the Chevrolet Camaro as 2016 Motor Trend Car of the Year

Motor Trend’s Car of the Year Award has been awarded in one capacity or another ever since Motor Trend was founded back in 1949. For 2016 the all new Chevrolet Camaro won this year’s Motor Trend Car of the year award. Competition was fierce as usual with the 2016 Audi TT, BMW 7-Series, Chevrolet Camaro, Honda Civic, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Mercedes AMG GT-S and Hydrogen powered Toyota Mirai all finalists vying for that coveted spot, but when all testing was said and done the Chevrolet Camaro took top honors.

Click here to read the whole press release with announcement for yourself. 

Like the SUV of the Year and Truck of the Year, the same six criteria are used in judging which allows a level playing field for all cars competing regardless of class. Those six criteria according to Motor Trend include,

"Advancement in Design- Well-executed exterior and interior styling, innovative vehicle packaging, and a good selection and use of materials.Value- Each vehicle’s price and equipment levels compared with those of vehicles in the same market segment.Performance of Intended Function- How well the vehicle does the job its planners, designers, and engineers intended it to do.Efficiency- Fuel efficiency and carbon footprint size relative to the vehicle’s competitive set.Safety- The ability to help avoid a crash, plus secondary safety measures to protect occupants during an accidentEngineering Excellence- Total vehicle concept and execution; clever solutions to packaging, manufacturing, and dynamics; and cost-effective technology that benefits consumers."

Last year, the 2015 Volkswagen Golf was the car that took home the Golden Calipers being what they called a unanimous decision amongst judges. What impressed the judges last year were the Golf’s clean lines, impressive lineup of fuel efficient and powerful engines, impressive chassis, versatility in design amongst various markets, impressive safety and overall value.

When testing and evaluation started to find out 2016 COTY, the Camaro, according to MT staff, was a longshot. Seeing as how the 2014 MT COTY also utilized an Alpha platform, it was only a matter of time before GM introduced an Alpha platform underpinning their own pony car. Pair that sweet chassis to a legendary small block and an eight-speed automatic with all the efficiency needed from today’s strict emission and fuel economy requirements, and you have the ingredients of a real winner on your hands.

In terms of those six criteria we mentioned earlier, the Camaro’s both inside and out presented a sizable jump in design when compared to its predecessor in both quality of materials and overall presentation.

"Here’s another criteria the Camaro utterly nails. A 275-hp turbo for $27K, 335 horsepower for $28.5K, or 455 hp for $37K? This isn’t rocket science, people."

Furthermore, MT was impressed at how well the Camaro shed weight compared to the 5th Generation Camaro ( a whole 200 pounds less.)

Overall the Camaro presented itself as a world class car that can go toe-to-toe with the best of them. GM should be proud of themselves for such an accomplishment and will have Ford reevaluating how best to proceed for 2017.