Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 19, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Around 350,000 Internet users cast their votes in the European automotive industry’s largest online audience award. For the first time this year, AutoScout24 had called for votes across Europe. The MINI was able to secure the title “Most popular car in Europe”: In all participating AutoScout24 countries (Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain), the little audience favorite received the most votes. Special awards for Best Innovation and Best IAA New Product went to BMW.
The winners were honored with the CAROLINA on October 18 as part of an exclusive gala event at the Haus der Kunst in Munich. In a total of nine vehicle categories, Internet users were able to choose their respective favorites. The big winner is Audi. After the premium manufacturer were already able to win three categories each in 2005 and 2006, it went one better this year: With the models A3 (compact class), A6 (upper mid-size class), A8 (upper & luxury class), Q7 (off-road vehicles & SUVs), TT Roadster (convertibles) and the R8 sports car (sports cars & coupés), the Bavarian brand cleaned up properly with no fewer than six CAROLINAs. Among small cars, an old acquaintance was able to put itself at the top once again: Since the Internet Auto Award began, the MINI has had its cuddly nose in front here. In the mid-size category, the new Mercedes C-Class drove away from the competition. The top placing among vans and compact vans went to the Volkswagen Touran.
In addition, the best import vehicles of 2007 were chosen. The winners in their respective categories are: Fiat 500, Honda Civic, Alfa Romeo 159, Chrysler 300C, Maserati Quattroporte, Skoda Roomster, Land Rover Freelander, Aston Martin DB9 Volante and Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
BMW wins special awards for Best Innovation and Best IAA New Product Four further CAROLINAs were awarded in special categories. The MINI can celebrate as the “Most popular car in Europe”. The little cult car received the most votes throughout Europe. The “Best networked automotive campaign” was likewise up for election: Internet users chose the campaign for the new Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet as the winner. In this way, the new media agency Bassier, Bergmann & Kindler secures one of the coveted trophies for the first time with a purely online campaign. The “Best IAA New Product” was honored with an award for the first time in 2007. A clear majority of the visitors surveyed by AutoScout24 at the trade fair voted for the BMW Concept X6. The special award for “Best Innovation” was awarded by the AutoScout24 editorial team. The specialist editors of the online magazine select the best development from the automotive industry here in each case. This year, the CAROLINA for the “EfficientDynamics” package of measures goes to BMW.
Since 2002, Internet users have determined which vehicles are the most popular on the net in Europe’s largest Internet audience award. This year, the vote on the most popular models was conducted for the first time in several languages on AutoScout24’s European country pages. In August and September 2007, Internet users cast their votes at http://www.internetautoward.be/.de/.es/.fr/.it/.nl . 170 vehicles from nine vehicle categories were up for election. In addition, one award each was given for the “Most popular car in Europe”, the “Best networked automotive campaign”, the “Best IAA New Product” as well as the special award “Best Innovation”. The winners were honored with the CAROLINA, an unusual trophy that was created especially for the Internet Auto Award.
