Alexa for SEAT is ‘SMARTBEST 2017’
The Citroen C3 Aircross, new Ford Fiesta, new Honda Civic, Opel Grandland X, new SEAT Ibiza and Volkswagen T-Roc are the finalists for the European ‘AUTOBEST 2018’. These cars will compete for the prize of ‘Best Buy Car of Europe in 2018’. The jury of 31 members will make their final assessments and cast their votes in the coming weeks, with the winner announced on December 15th.
`This year no less than six outstanding cars convinced the Jury members to make it into the final. So, we have six finalists for the Best Buy Car of Europe in 2018!` said Dan Vardie, Founder and Chairman of AUTOBEST organisation. In accordance with the AUTOBEST rules, the Jury can decide the number of the finalists each year.
AUTOBEST is releasing the logo of ‘European AUTOBEST 2018 Finalist’. The six manufacturers are entitled to use the logo in all of their communication and promotion campaigns in the lead-up to the announcement of the AUTOBEST 2018 winner.
On 29 & 30 November, the European AUTOBEST Jury will go to the Vairano proving ground near Milano, Italy, for the Final 6 test. `At AUTOBEST we perform some of the most relevant, complex driving tests in the motoring media. Last year we inaugurated our comparative on-road and on-track tests, in a great cooperation with ASC Vairano, the proving ground of Quattroruote, the leading Italian car magazine and member of AUTOBEST. We also pioneered the most advanced form of a Q & A session in the automotive industry.` stated Ilia Seliktar, President of the AUTOBEST Jury.
‘ECOBEST 2017’ award, the leading European accolade for the most relevant green products, technologies and projects is going to `real consumption test performed by PSA in cooperation with Bureau Veritas, T & E and France Nature Environment (FNE)`. It is the first time in the industry when a car maker- PSA teaming up with three independent organisations –Bureau Veritas, France Nature Environment and Transport & Environment, the Brussels based organisation- is adopting a scientific approach to measuring real-world consumption. In a period dominated by the suspicion that most of the released consumption figures are not close to the reality, the PSA project is showing the determination of the French car maker to be fair with its consumers.
This year’s ‘DESIGNBEST’ award goes to Marek Reichman, the Chief Designer & Chief Creative Officer at Aston Martin Lagonda. Entering this one of a kind Hall of Fame, reserved only for the best car designers, Reichman receives a European recognition for his outstanding job at the British car manufacturer. The designer of some of the most iconic cars of the last decade, including some for James Bond, is one of the most talented and influential of our time. He has made a remarkable contribution to the evolution of Aston Martin brand from a `pure luxury car` to a luxury brand, offering many products, services and experiences.
`SMARTBEST 2017` goes to SEAT for pioneering the first cooperation with Alexa in the car industry. Even if is not an exclusive one, the choice of Amazon to partner first with SEAT in implementing the world acclaimed Alexa represents a remarkable step in the connected technologies on board today cars. The cooperation has just begun and will go deep into developments beyond simple voice recognition of today. This collaboration has the chance to change the game in the connected future! The AUTOBEST Jury takes great pride in giving the SMARTBEST award – the first in the world dedicated to connected technologies- to the Spanish car maker, SEAT, a brand focused on this megatrend.
This year’s `SAFETYBEST` prestigious award goes to Toyota for making its advanced Safety Sense system standard on almost all of its cars. This move brings a high level of active safety to nearly all of the cars sold throughout Europe and is very much in keeping with the AutoBest credo. The jury is particularly impressed with the pace at which Toyota has implemented a broad safety package into its model line-up. Already more than nine out of ten of the cars – 92 percent to be precise – sold throughout Europe are equipped with Toyota Safety Sense. This number includes 100 percent of the affordable Yaris model, which gets the Pre-Collision System with Autonomous Emergency Braking, Automatic High Beam, Lane Departure Alert and Rear seat belts with force limiters and pretensioners. All but the base model also get Road Sign Assist, warning the driver if they exceed the permitted speed limit.
AUTOBEST Jury members represent 31 European countries, making it the largest Independent Motoring Jury in the world by the number of represented countries.
The AUTOBEST Jury also pays close attention to the efforts the automotive industry is making. Investments, new automotive job opportunities for people, funds for green cars and technologies, the support for different regions of Europe are all carefully checked and appreciated by the Jury. New in-car technologies and connectivity are also under the scrutiny of the Jury. In total, we dedicate eight awards to these achievements in the following categories; MANBEST, COMPANYBEST, ECOBEST, DESIGNBEST, TECHNOBEST, SAFETYBEST, SMARTBEST and SPORTBEST. Today AUTOBEST is releasing the first four. We will issue a communication concerning the remaining award winners at a later date.
The awards ceremony will take place in the first half of February 2018. Every year the AUTOBEST Awards Gala brings together the top executives of various companies. Therefore, it has become one of the only annual European events where competitors gather at the same table with great pleasure. The AUTOBEST Awards Gala has evolved over 17 years from a distinguished dinner at a five-star location to a European Gala with world-class artistic content, gourmet menu and a unique Grand Finale for the AUTOBEST Award. The 2017 Awards Gala, was held in Lisbon, Portugal. Customers from around Europe can get in contact with the lottery organised by AUTOBEST, which allows for their participation at the Gala. The AUTOBEST 2018 Gala is scheduled to take place in Salzburg, Austria.
At the same time, AUTOBEST Jury welcomes Szczepan Mroczek, as the new member representing Poland. He is replacing Szymon Soltysik who chose a PR career in the car industry. Szczepan is a respected motoring journalist voice in Poland. On his acceptance as a jury member, Sczcepan said: ‘It is the honour to take part in AUTOBEST. This contest will be great help to deliver to customers per size information about mainstream cars which are on the market. I look forward to continue Mr. Sołtysik’s work, as the only Polish member of AUTOBEST.” Szczepan’s membership is coming into force from now on. Consequently, he will participate to all the AUTOBEST Jury related activities, effective immediately. More info on www.autobest.org.
About AUTOBEST
The AUTOBEST organisation was created in 2001 with the revolutionary concept of “best buy car” available on the European market. For a car to become an AUTOBEST winner, it must represent the best offer for most European customers. Price, service network, spare parts distribution and versatility are the most important criteria in the voting process. Design and new technologies are also becoming more important criteria for voting. AUTOBEST uses a transparent voting system, with a complex matrix of 13 criteria to decide the winner.
