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Hyundai Genesis wins North American Car of the Year -PHOTO

Hyundai Genesis wins North American Car of the Year -<font color=red>PHOTO</font>

02 February 2009 12:47 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev â€“ APA-Economics. The Hyundai Genesis has taken the award for the 2009 North American Car of the year, in the first successful push by Hyundai to create a vehicle which can be marketed as a high-end car for American consumers.
The award was presented at the North American International Auto Show, by a panel of 50 journalists from all over the US and Canada.
This is the 16th year of the awards, which were inspired by the prestigious European "Car of the Year." They are administered by an organizing committee and are funded exclusively with dues paid by the jurors. Jurors judge the cars on a number of factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar.
To be eligible, vehicles must be â€œall-newâ€ or â€œsubstantially changedâ€ from the previous model. This year the jury considered more than fifty 2009 vehicles and settled on 14 cars and 11 trucks that deserved to be on the ballot.
The awards are unique in the United States because they are given by automotive journalists who represent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and web sites instead of a single publication.
The car finalists were the Ford Flex and Hyundai Genesis the Volkswagen Jetta TDI. The Genesis received 189 points, the Flex received 180 and the Jetta TDI received 131. The Genesis was announced the winner, leaving behind Nissan GT-R, Audi A4, Dodge Challenger and BMW 1 Series.
The winners were announced today at a news conference at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
"Genesis represents everything we’ve learned, so far, about engineering great automobiles -- and we’re delighted that the judges have recognized the good work of our R&D teams," said John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America acting president and chief executive officer. "And we’re not stopping here ... Genesis will share company in Hyundai showrooms this spring with its rear-wheel drive platform-mate, the Genesis Coupe."
Hyundai Auto Azerbaijan, the official distributor of Hyundai in Azerbaijan, said both Genesis and Genesis Coupe will go on sale in February-March, 2009.
The Hyundai Genesis is powered by a 3.8 liter V6 engine developing 290 hp.
Hyundai Auto Azerbaijan has been in operation since 1996. The company operates 4 sales and 4 service centers in Baku.