Carsguide Car Of The Year Rules

<p>The <a href="http://carsguide.news.com.au/car-of-the-year/">carsguide car of the year 2008 finalists</a> have been announced. Check out the <a href="http://carsguide.news.com.au/car-of-the-year/site/video">videos</a>, <a href="http://carsguide.news.com.au/car-of-the-year/site/photos">photo galleries</a> and <a href="http://carsguide.news.com.au/car-of-the-year/site/finalists">stories</a>.</p>
<p align="center"><a href="http://carsguide.news.com.au/car-of-the-year/"><img height="80" width="150" src="{filedir_1}cotylogo-small.jpg" style="border: 0pt none ;" alt="carsguide car of the year 2008" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>

* Eligibility is for cars launched on the market from November 1, 2005, to November 1, 2006, regardless of the price.

* The contenders must be either new models or be substantial upgrades, including major engineering updates.

* A garage of 20 cars was pruned down to 10 after careful consideration by News Limited's national judging panel.

* There are no second chances - 10 finalists will come down to one winner, which will be announced on December 1.

How we tested the field:

* Eight drivers examined 10 cars through exhaustive testing across three days.

* Each judge painstakingly pored over every car in relevance to interior functionality, fit and finish, build-quality, space and ergonomics.

* The field was driven on a wide mix of environments and road conditions: wet, dry, city, freeway, highway and country towns.

* Each car was also let loose on Goulburn's Wakefield Park race circuit.

* There were no stop watches, hence no lap times as this was no fast and furious exercise.

* The object of the exercise was to see how competent all cars were in critical driving situations - steering, handling, braking, acceleration - within the legal confines and safety of a closed environment.

* From the racetrack activity, testers were able to better assess grip thresholds, tyre balance, chassis performance

and suspension.

How the winner is determined

* From 10 criteria, judges are asked to award marks out of 10.

* Judges come up with an aggregate for each car.

* They then list their choices from 1-10 (1 being the best).

* The winner is determined on a points basis after all judges' scores have been collated.