World Car of the Year (WCOTY) is a program initiated by, organized by, and conducted by automotive journalists from all over the world. From the outset, those of us involved in making it a reality have done so in the context of one over-riding priority. We are dedicated to ensuring that it is carried out with the utmost objectivity, credibility, and integrity.

WCOTY has no affiliation with, nor is it is any way influenced by any publication, auto show, automaker, or other commercial enterprise. It is administered by a non-profit corporation, under the guidance of a Steering Committee of distinguished automotive journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America. In that way, it draws on the experience and expertise already developed by various other award programs throughout the world.

It is intended to complement, not compete with those existing national and regional COTY awards, which are inherently different in scope. By its nature, WCOTY includes some vehicles that may be unavailable in individual regions, and excludes others whose availability may be limited to those regions.

Like the cars themselves, the World Car of the Year Awards program will be subjected to a process of 'continuous improvement'. We are very pleased with what has been accomplished so far, but we aim to make the program better and better. To that end, we will fine-tune every aspect of the program - expanding and revising the jury pool, reassessing the eligibility criteria, tweaking the voting process, and improving communication among all parties.

Our ultimate goal is to bring all the finalists and the jurors together in one place at one time for a multi-day, back-to-back TestFest that will ultimately determine the overall winner. That aim might be realized in 2006; it might take longer. The program will develop at its own pace, so that its sustainability is ensured. The one thing that won't change is our dedication to objectivity, credibility, and integrity.