Road & Travel Magazine Announces
Top 5 Finalists for
2015 International Car of the Year
Los Angeles, CA – November 4, 2014 - Road & Travel Magazine (RTM) is proud to announce its top 5 finalists for the 2015 International Car of the Year (ICOTY). Listed alphabetically, they are the BMW i3; Hyundai Genesis; Kia K900; Kia Soul EV; and the Mazda Mazda6.
The mission of the ICOTY Award is to put emphasis on the emotional connection between car and consumer in addition to how well automakers achieve that goal through the marketing of their vehicles directly to consumers through international and national campaigns.
"The ICOTY Award is not about power, performance, innovation or ingenuity, as are most other auto awards, setting ICOTY apart from the crowd," said Courtney Caldwell, ICOTY founder. "It's about how cars reflect our lifestyles, personalities and self- image; that emotional connection during ownership with which consumers can identify. Consumer reaction to, and feedback on, each vehicle carries a great deal of weight in our final decision. When it comes down to the finish line, ICOTY is as much a ‘people’s choice award’ as it is the RTM award.”
Celebrating its 19th year, the 2015 winning vehicle will be revealed in mid-November and presented as the lead story on RTM’s home page.
About ICOTY - Founded in 1996 by Courtney Caldwell, editor-in-chief of RTM, the ICOTY Awards pioneered the 'emotional connection' (theme) as it related to cars and consumers to help raise awareness that people have a deep connection with their vehicles during the purchasing process and ownership. It's about how cars reflect their personalities and status in life. Today, many automakers produce national commercials that reflect an emotional bond with buyers inspiring brand loyalty.
About Road & Travel – Founded in 1989, RTM transitioned from a print magazine to a digital format in 2000. RTM’s automotive and travel content of more than 6000 pages addresses every day consumers in a language they understand and can relate to. Its conversational lifestyle format was created to reach out to consumers on a more personal level, which ultimately led to the themed International Car of the Year Awards in 1996.
Media contact: 310.322.8000 PT