In the world of automotive awards, there are numerous titles vying for relevancy. The majors include the North American Car and Truck of the Year, the European Car of the Year, and the World Car of the Year. The last on that list to be concluded for 2016 is the World Car of the Year.

The winners for it will be announced later this month at the 2016 New York Auto Show. We say winners as once again the award includes separate categories for the best overall car, the best luxury car, the best performance car, the best green car and the best car design.

After the initial list of nominees was revealed last fall, the organizers have now revealed three finalists for each of the categories.

2016 World Car of the Year: Audi A4, Mazda MX-5 Miata and Mercedes-Benz GLC

2016 World Luxury Car of the Year: Audi Q7, BMW 7-Series and Volvo XC90

2016 World Performance Car of the Year: Audi R8, Honda Civic Type R and Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe

2016 World Green Car of the Year: Chevrolet Volt, Toyota Mirai and Toyota Prius

2016 World Car Design of the Year: Jaguar XE, Mazda CX-3 and Mazda MX-5 Miata

The list of finalists is on the disappointing side considering the cars that were originally nominated. In the performance category, two of the finalists are derivatives of relatively ordinary cars. And in the design category, we’re apparently meant to believe that one of the most impressive designs this year was the Mazda CX-3.

We'll learn the identity of the winners at the upcoming New York Auto Show, which opens to the media March 23. Last year’s winners included the Mercedes-Benz C-Class (World), Mercedes S-Class (Luxury), Mercedes-AMG GT (Performance), BMW i8 (Green) and Citroën C4 Cactus (Design).

For more New York Auto Show coverage, head to our dedicated hub.

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