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Driving in the fast lane with UTVi Autocar Awards 2009
The awards, which are in their first year, recognise automobile excellence in various categories
The UTVi Autocar Awards 2009, held jointly by UTVi and Autocar India, were held at the Taj Land’s End on January 7. The event was attended by prominent people from the automobile industry.
The first award of the evening was for the Best Driver's Car, which went to the Audi A4. The Hyundai i-10 Kappa won the award in the Best Variant category. The Best Innovation award was picked up by the Mahindra team for its Stop Start innovation. The 2009 Green Award was given to the Honda Civic Hybrid for its environment friendly features.
The Tata Indica Vista swooped up the award in the Value for Money Car category, while the new Honda City bagged the award for Best Design.
Hyundai Motor India picked up the Viewers' Choice Award for Best Car, while the Yamaha FZ-16 got the Viewers' Choice Award for Best Bike.
The Maruti A-Star was judged the Best Small Car of the Year, while the Fiat Linea won the award for the Best Mid-Size Car of the Year. The Volkswagen Jetta was awarded as the Best Executive Car of the Year. Team Honda picked up its second award for the evening when the new Honda Accord was selected as the Best Luxury Car of the Year.
The award for the Best Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) was given to the Chevrolet Captiva.
DraftFCB Ulka's work for the Tata Indica Vista was declared the Best Advertisement of the Year.
The final two awards of the evening were for the Best Bike of the Year and Best Car of the Year. The Yamaha FZ-16 won the Bike of the Year award and the Fiat Linea won its second award of the evening for Best Car of the Year.
The jury consisted of personalities such as Dilip Chhabria (India's leading car designer), Manwendra Singh (India's leading automobile historian), Hormazd Sorabjee (editor, Autocar India), Shapur Kotwal (deputy editor, Autocar India), Renuka Kirpalani (editor, Autocar Show on UTVi), Rajeev Khanna (former rally driver) and Naren Kumar (six-time Indian National Rally champion)
afaqs! com was the trade partner for the event. It was hosted by anchors Mini Menon and Renuka Kriplani, with Katrina Kaif as the special guest of the evening. Kaif signed a pledge about road safety awareness. The band, Indian Ocean, performed live at the event.