WTF !!! VE Wheels Car Of The Year !!!!

[csv8]

HOLDEN'S billion-dollar baby, the VE Commodore, has been named the Wheels Car of the Year for 2006.

The Australian-made car was judged top in a field of 21 vehicles, drawing special praise for its body strength, aerodynamics, handling and its electronic driver aids.

"Every model in the VE range shares the same excellent key core attributes. These provided the foundation for Holden's victory," Wheels editor Ged Bulmer said as he announced the winner in Melbourne tonight.

"There is no such thing as the perfect car – but the Holden VE Commodore's strengths significantly outweigh any weaknesses, putting it ahead of its rivals."

This year, Wheels' team of nine judges tested 50 variants of the 21 new vehicles short-listed for the award which was established in 1962.

Each car was put through six days of rigorous testing and trails.

"Eight models from the Holden VE Commodore range were tested and it's not easy for such an extended line-up to win the coveted trophy," Mr Bulmer said.

The 21 nominees for the award also included the Holden Captiva and the WM Statesman / Caprice.

The other nominees were the Alfa Romeo 159, BMW 3 Series Coupe, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra and Santa Fe, Mazda CX-7, Mitsubishi Colt and Outlander, Toyota Camry, Rav4 and Aurion, Audi Q7 and TT, Mercedes Benz S-Class, Porsche Cayman, Volkswagen Passat and the Volvo C70.

The VE Commodore was designed in Australia at a cost of $1.2 billion, and unveiled in July last year.