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
Puma (car manufacturer) increasingly import-friendly regulations of the mid 1980s and turmoil in the company are widely considered to be among the main factors that ended the production of the first generation of Puma's Brazilian produced automobiles. During this era, Puma sourced engines from DKW (3 cylinders), Volkswagen (4 cylinders) and General Motors (4 and 6 cylinder) and mounted them on their own chassis and Fiberglass bodies. A select number of cars were exported to US markets during the 1970s to the 1980s, but a more cost effective Kit car option was responsible for the majority of US models. The Kit car variant