International Car of the Year Award's Jury
Names 2009 Nominees

When women sportswriters were rare, McCluggage was on the staff of the NY Herald Tribune covering primarily skiing and motor racing. In addition to authoring a number of books, Denise is also the recipient of the Ken W. Purdy Award for Excellence in Automotive Journalism, the Dean Bachelor Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Media Association, and Lifetime Achievement from ICOTY.

Gross has been an automotive journalist for over 30 years. He's the automotive editor for Playboy and Hemisphere and is a frequent contributor to The Robb Report, automedia.com, Auto-motive Industries, Street Rodder, Hemmings Rods & Performance, and The Rodders' Journal. He is the Chairman of the Meguiar's Award, the Person of the Year for the Collector Car Hobby.

Smith, Editorial Director of Edmunds.com, is a 28-year veteran of motoring publications. His passion for internal-combustion vehicles, both two-wheeled and four, has combined his love of the written word and its creative presentation to lead him through a career of fast driving and slow writing. Smith lives in California with his wife, two dirtbiking sons and a pair of goofy Golden Retrievers.

Rettie is an internationally renowned British writer and photographer, living in California. John has traveled to 73 countries in the past 38 years, covering auto races, product launches and other aspects of the auto industry for numerous magazines and web sites. He spent 10 years at J.D. Power and Associates, before returning to work as a freelancer in 1997. His reviews currently appear in Road & Track Buyers Guide as well as on New Car Test Drive, Autotrader.com and other websites.

Plunkett is a veteran automotive reporter whose articles have appeared in magazines for 25 years. He currently produces syndicated automotive reports published weekly in more than 100 newspapers across America, putting the reader in the driver's seat for a hands-on feel of a vehicle. An adventurer, Plunkett has raced cars, scaled mountains, dived with sharks and ran across entire countries to research his articles.

A generation of English teachers would be shocked to learn that Cotta's automotive editing career now spans nearly a quarter century, having begun in 1985. He is an 18-year veteran and the current managing editor at Consumer Guide, where he has edited numerous car and motorcycle books along with contributing to the company’s renowned new-vehicle evaluations that appear both in print and online.

Wiese is an automotive editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a stint that has lasted some 15 years. Although he loves all things automotive, his passion is four-wheeling, as his battered old Jeep testifies. Wiese's other passion is pounding a piano in "more than one saloon over the years." His philosophy: "If you don't leave blood on the keys, you're not really playing."

One of the world’s most-widely published automotive journalists, Florida-based Walker has been covering the auto industry since 1978. He currently acts as US editor for a number of international auto magazines, but here in the US, he’s auto editor for Palm Beach Illustrated and Naples Illustrated, and for the DuPont Registry group, producing DuPont’s 130-page Exotic Car Guide. He also writes auto reviews for Speed TV Online.

Stern's career began as an advisor at a vehicle consulting firm 15 years ago. On the original staff of CarPoint, Microsoft’s auto information website launched in '95, he managed vehicle data and specs for the entire site. Stern became editor of MSN Autos in '02, which now averages more than 12 million unique visitors each month. Stern also contributes to various MSN properties thru-out Canada, Japan and Europe, as well as MSNBC.

Homan, of Autobytel’s flagship consumer website Myride.com, is a veteran auto journalist with an extensive background that includes Executive Editor of Road & Track and Editor-in-Chief for Edmunds.com. Homan created and implemented Edmund’s Inside Line and won a Maggie Award for journalism and the Moto Award for his work in interactive media and advertising. His work has appeared in the Detroit Free Press, Motor Trend's Truck Trend, Open Road and dozens of other media outlets.

Voth interest in cars ranges from the muscle cars of the 60’s and 70’s, to the flamboyant and overpriced automobiles of the 80's, to the technologically sophisticated vehicles of today. He currently nurtures this passion as the editor-in-chief of CarNews Media. Jeff's automotive and travel reviews are published weekly and enjoyed by over 15 million readers in the U.S. and Canada.

An award-winning journalist, Job was the first female national auto writer for The Associated Press and was among the first women to cover the auto beat in Detroit in the early 1980s. Ann won the Ken W. Purdy Award in 1987 for excellence in automotive journalism for her work about sudden acceleration. She is currently the AP's test driver of new vehicles, and former consumer editor at MSN Autos.

Killeen honed her auto writing skills on a 9-year ride with famed Motor Trend Magazine, the classy, but made-for-man, buff book on cars. Known as one of the most knowledgeable women road test editors in America, readers can count on honest and accurate information about any vehicle she reviews. B.J. is also responsible for all Asian import reviews for RTM.