LOS ANGELES - The Volvo XC60 was named 2010 International Truck of the Year today by the International Car of the Year (ICOTY) jury. The award was given to Doug Speck, President and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America, LLC at the Volvo display at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show. The XC60 was selected from over 10 new crossovers, SUVs and trucks by a distinguished panel of top automotive journalists.
"This ties a very pretty bow around what's been a truly amazing year for Volvo," commented Speck. "The XC60 has not only been recognized by the media but it's been extremely well received by our customers."
The 2010 XC60 has been the best-selling Volvo vehicle in Canada for six consecutive months.
The XC60 was chosen as the winner from a panel of 19 automotive media from around the U.S. and Canada representing top newspapers, magazines and websites. The jurors must consider the ICOTY mission of "honouring vehicles that reflect an emotional connection between car and consumer lifestyles" when making their nominations.
"The ICOTY awards are not centered on power and performance," said Courtney Caldwell, ICOTY's creator and executive producer. "It's about how cars reflect our personalities, lifestyles and self image, an attitude most consumers identify with."
"This is one of the most prestigious car awards in the world and we feel very proud to receive it for our best-selling XC60", said Stephen Odell, President and CEO Volvo Car Corporation.
Once approved by the ICOTY nominating committee, the awards jury then bases their decision on a number of important criteria: The vehicle must be new or substantially revised, it must be offered for sale to the general public by the judging deadline of November 16, 2009, and may not have been previously considered for the ICOTY Awards.
The International Truck of the Year award marks the 20th accolade the Volvo XC60 has received since sales began in Europe in late 2008. The XC60 is the first vehicle to offer City Safety as standard equipment. City Safety is a low-speed collision avoidance and mitigation system that automatically applies the brakes should the driver fail to react to an imminent collision with a vehicle in front.
About ICOTY: The ICOTY Awards were founded and launched in 1997 by Courtney Caldwell, editor-in-chief of Road & Travel Magazine.The mission of the ICOTY Awards is to shed light on the emotional connection between cars and consumers. Awards are presented to automakers that most successfully achieve that goal through the design and marketing of their vehicles, and how well those vehicles reflect consumer lifestyles.
Volvo Cars of Canada Corp. is part of the Volvo Car Corporation of Göteborg, Sweden. The company provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to the 41 Volvo automobile retailers across the country. The company's product range includes the stylish and sporty C30, the elegant C70 hardtop convertible, the compact S40 sedan, the S60 sport sedan, the S80 flagship sedan and the versatile V50 and V70 wagon. For customers looking for a Volvo vehicle with all-road capability, the company offers the versatile XC70 and XC90. Volvo Canada is also expanding its line-up with the introduction of the new XC60, a crossover with the award-winning City Safety system on the standard equipment list.
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ICOTY Contact:
Courtney Caldwell, Executive Producer
International Car of the year Awards
Phone: 248-561-5660
