It's been a fun year. We've hit the track to pilot the latest performance cars, we were coddled by the comfort and convenience of the latest luxury offerings, and we even took a few of the nominees on road trips. We've taken what we've learned into consideration and soon we will announce Motor Authority's Best Car To Buy 2016.
Rules and nominees
To be considered for the Best Car To Buy award, vehicles must be significantly updated or brand-new during the model year. We also require that vehicles be made available to editors for a road test before December 1, 2015, and be available for purchase by April 30, 2016.
Since we are in the luxury and performance business, we put no price cap on the nominees, but we do give consideration to the value a vehicle offers for the money. In addition to value, we take into account objective and subjective factors such as performance, styling, cachet, and luxury. We also evaluate strengths and weaknesses, compare similar models, and ultimately arrive at the Best Car To Buy.
It's not just the outright best car from any one standpoint that wins. It's the car we'd most like in our garages, and the one we'd most recommend buying in its segment. As a team, our editors tested more than 260 new vehicles this year, including every car on the eligibility short list and all of the nominees. It's from this wide-ranging experience that we draw our conclusions.
Award timing
We will reveal the nominees for Motor Authority's Best Car to Buy award next Monday and announce the winner on Monday, January 4, 2016.
On the same day, our mainstream review site, The Car Connection, and our green-car destination, Green Car Reports, will name their own winners, from their own sets of nominated vehicles.
Stay updated by following our Best Car To Buy page--and if you haven't voted yet, tell us which vehicles you'd choose in our Driver's Choice awards, which will also be announced on January 4.
For an idea of the types of car that can win, here is the list of our past winners:
2015: Alfa Romeo 4C
2014: Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG and Porsche Cayman
2013: Porsche Boxster
2012: Porsche 911
2011: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe and Wagon
We'll release the list of this year's finalists in during the coming weeks, and we'll analyze each of those nominees in more detail.
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