Consumers, judges select year's top models

The 2013 China Golden Steering Wheel awards were announced on Dec 10 in Beijing with seven models in their respective segments winning one of the most respected honors in the auto industry.

Winners of the Golden Steering Wheel represent the range of vehicle segments in the industry.

Started in 1976 by German magazine Auto Bild, the Golden Steering Wheel is considered the most authoritative award in the industry in Europe due to its comprehensiveness, fairness and impact, said industry insiders.

In 2012, Auto Bild brought the awards to China. The program follows the German version's standards, procedures and rules. The judges are automotive technology experts, racers, professional test drivers and senior editors at Auto Bild as well as renowned people in other fields.

The 2013 China Golden Steering Wheel poll began in September.

The first stage was a public display of 108 candidate vehicles followed by a poll to decide which 31 models could enter the final round. At the last stage, each judge gives a score to each model according to Auto Bild's evaluation system.

The model in every segment that has the highest total score is declared the winner.

"We introduced the Golden Steering Wheel poll to provide valuable references for decisions by Chinese consumers," said Wang Yin, executive publisher and chief editor of Auto Bild's Chinese edition.

"I believe that with our constant efforts, the European poll will attract more attention and have larger impact in China," he said.

xuxiao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/16/2013 page18)