Motor Trend Car of the Year Motor Trend Car of the Year The "Motor Trend" Car of the Year (COTY) is an annual award given by "Motor Trend" magazine to recognize the best new or significantly refreshed car in a given model year. "Motor Trend", which debuted in 1949, was the first publication to name a Car of the Year. The inaugural "Motor Trend" Car of the Year award recognized Cadillac's V8 engine in 1949. The earliest awards were given to the manufacturer or division, not for a specific vehicle. The 1958 Ford Thunderbird became the first single model to be selected. In 1970, the Ford
Model car the first-generation Toyota Celica, which has become somewhat of a classic. Nevertheless, Hasegawa also produced 1/25 scale models of 1965-66 American cars, including the 1965 Chevrolet Impala, and 1966 Buick Wildcat, Cadillac Coupe DeVille, and Thunderbird Landau. These were actually Johan and AMT kits that were simplified and modified for the Japanese market. Since the mid-90's several companies including: Tameo, Studio 27, Model Factory Hiro, and Renaissance have issued hundreds of Sports Car and Formula 1 subjects in limited-run, multimedia kit sets. These so-called "multimedia" offerings consist of a combination of resin, white metal, photo-etch, and machined aluminum instead of