Topic: Hyundai Sonata edges Volt in Autoblog's informal Car of the Year poll

[Shnak]

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/23/hyundai-sonata-edges-volt-in-autoblogs-informal-car-of-the-year/

The finalists for this year's North American Car and Truck of the Year awards may have been no big surprise, but the vehicle that our readers think will win Car of the Year honors came as something of a shock.

The NACTOY judges have picked the Chevrolet Volt, Hyundai Sonata and Nissan Leaf as finalists for Car of the Year. While the Leaf saw a little bit of love with 2,820 votes in our unofficial poll, as well as being named European Car of the Year, the final tally came down to a bare-knuckled fight between the Volt and Sonata. Surprisingly, the Hyundai eked out a win with 8,058 votes and 42.7-percent of the total votes cast, which just barely bested the 7,985 votes cast for the Volt and its 42.3 percent of the total vote.

That's not a huge margin of victory by any means (a statistical dead heat, as they say), but considering that the Volt has whirred away with honors like the Green Car of the Year, Automobile Magazine's Automobile of the Year and Motor Trend's Car of the Year awards, we fully expected the Bowtiie to handily walk away with our impromptu poll.

A bunch of american readers voting for a Hyundai as their car of the year, and over the perfect Volt?! Who woulda thunk it?! 

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Lots of people like the Hyundai. It's a very good car. But winning by 73 votes out of 16043 cast isn't exactly a drubbing.

Or are you just trying to stir something up?! 

[Schmengie]

The Sonata would've been my choice too, if only because it's a much more mainstream vehicle than the Leaf or Volt. Those cars are great for what they are, basically 'niche' vehicles intended for a very limited market. I would even go so far as to label them experimental, especially the Leaf. IMO they won't affect the big picture for some years yet, if at all.

[TopGun]

Lots of people like the Hyundai. It's a very good car. But winning by 73 votes out of 16043 cast isn't exactly a drubbing.

Or are you just trying to stir something up?! 

Shnak stir things up?  Perish the thought.  Ah yes...everything in the world is right now with that result isn't it.

I'm surprised that there was another car in the contest...other than the perfect Leaf of course.   

With all of the Government Motors talk by "the masses", I actually am surprised the Volt got as many votes as it did.