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"   Porsche 911  The top three finalists for the World Car of the Year, World Performance Car, World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year awards were announced today at a press conference, hosted by Bridgestone Corporation and the New York International Auto Show, at the 2012 Geneva International Motor Show. The top three contenders for the overall 2012 World Car of the Year title are, in alphabetical order:  BMW 3 Series Porsche 911 Volkswagen Up!  These three vehicles were selected from an initial list of 34 new vehicles from all over the world by an international jury panel comprised of 66 automotive journalists from 25 countries. To be eligible for the overall World Car award, the candidate vehicles must become available for sale on at least two continents during the period beginning January 1, 2011 and ending May 30, 2012. The top three finalists for the 2012 World Performance Car award are, in alphabetical order:  Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 McLaren MP4-12C Porsche 911   Volkswagen Up! There are also two other awards voted on by the jury \u2014 the World Car Design of the Year and the World Green Car. A design panel consisting of five highly respected world design experts was asked to first review each candidate, and then establish a short-list of recommendations for the jurors. The design experts were: Masatsugu Arimoto (Japan), Silvia Baruffaldi (Italy), Gernot Bracht (Germany), Sam Livingstone (UK) and Tom Matano (USA). Jurors then voted on the experts&amp;#039; recommendations. The top three design finalists as chosen by the jurors are, in alphabetical order:  Citroen DS5 Land Rover Evoque Volkswagen Up!  And finally, the jury chose the following top three finalists for the 2012 World Green Car award:  Ford Focus Electric Mercedes-Benz 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Peugeot 3008 Hybrid  It&amp;#039;s also interesting to note that all 12 finalists are European cars this year. I&amp;#039;m surprised the Chevrolet Volt, or Opel Ampera as it&amp;#039;s called in Europe, did not make the final cut since it won the 2012 European Car of the Year award yesterday. We&amp;#039;ll have to wait another month before the overall winners in all categories will be declared at the 2012 New York International Auto Show on Thursday, April 5, 2012. Will the 911 walk away with both awards or will it be upped by the Up!? More:          Full Coverage: 2012 New York Auto Show &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Photos: 2012 New York Auto Show &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; Related posts:   2011 New York Auto Show Preview \u2013 WCOTY Top 3 Finalists Announced World Car of the Year Finalists \u2013 New York Auto Show Preview World Car of The Year Awards Announced at New York Auto Show  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-shows/news/a21605/world-car-top-three-finalists-announced-2012-new-york-auto-show-32737/>