Review of the year - August 09
Super Ford takes the plaudits at glittering new cars ceremony, and we pull out the stops for special issue
August saw us tackle the huge task of our annual New Car Awards (Issue 1,075). As well as putting together a special issue, we announced our winners to the industry’s big names at a VIP dinner.
Star of the show was the Ford Fiesta, which was crowned Car of the Year – a worthy champ, as it had dominated every test we put it through. In addition, the inaugural Auto Express Person of the Year award went to Jaguar design chief Ian Callum, who was honoured for his work in transforming the big cat brand with the XK, XF and new XJ.
Art director Darren Wilson came up with something really special for our awards issue.
He commissioned a series of stunning photos as backdrops to the studio shots of this year’s winners. Sorry for spoiling the surprise, but how else did you expect us to place a Jaguar XF beside London’s Tower Bridge, or squeeze a Ford S-MAX on a narrow footbridge?
Click any of the links below to catch up with all the rest of the year's most exciting stories.
December
Verdict
Tester's notes
The Auto Express New Car Awards ceremony is one of the best-loved events in the motoring industry because of its informal atmosphere and the interesting venues we’ve had over the years.
And 2009 was no different, as we took over the estate of the magazine’s owner, Felix Dennis. All of the car companies were invited to send a vehicle to line the red carpet up to our marquee, and we had everything from an Audi R8 to a battered Maestro delivered by Hyundai – it had been traded in on the Scrappage Scheme!
A classic Ford Capri and a Renault F1 car were also on show, and the Aston Martin One-77 took pride of place in the marquee.
We even beat the weather, which was wet, wet, wet! I needed my wellies to park the cars on the sodden grass before changing into my gladrags – still wearing my fetching footwear. Well, if Kate Moss can do it...
Lesley Harris
Road tester
