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Renault Scenic EV takes first place as (European) Car of the Year

The automobile awards season may not be over, but two of the more prestigious annual races came closer to a climax this week. One might need a scorecard to keep track. We’re focused here on two events: the World Car of 2024, now reduced to three finalists in six categories. Then thereÂ’s the Car of the Year, known in some quarters as the European Car of the Year. Except that the car doesnÂ’t have to be European to win, only sold there. Got that? Winners out of the way first: At the Geneva Motor Show on Monday, the Renault Scenic E-Tech all-electric has been voted Car of the Year 2024. The Scenic is a fairly compact, somewhat stylish SUV for Europe only, and is the seventh vehicle from the French brand to win the award. It sells in the United Kingdom for about $47,500. The other six finalists that had made the first cut of voting in November were the BMW 5 Series, BYD Seal, Kia EV9, Peugeot E-3008/3008, Toyota C-HR, and Volvo EX30. The trophy winner was chosen by a jury of 59 motoring journalists from 22 countries. Scenic came in first place with 329 points. The Seal was the first Chinese-made car to make this awardÂ’s shortlist; it finished sixth out of seven, just up from the Toyota. One judge explained his decision to grant the Seal zero votes. Writing in Top Gear, Paul Horrell wrote this entertaining critique: “It looks good and is well specified, so makes a strong market entry. The advanced electric system and cobalt-free battery are commendable too, and it's enjoyable enough to drive quickly. That's undermined by an agitated ride over bumps, and the logic of screens and switches is pretty eccentric.” Recapping the World Car of the Year 2024 update, the sponsors shared the stage at Geneva on Monday with the Europeans as well, although they revealed only the top three finalists in six categories. For the ultimate prize, they are the Kia EV9, the Volvo EX30 and the BYD Seal. The winners will be announced March 27 at the New York International Auto Show. Here's more on the World Car finalists. By the Numbers Geneva Motor Show New York Auto Show BMW Kia Toyota Volvo Peugeot Renault Green Automakers Best Cars

Apple announces CarPlay in-car iPhone interface

Apple, maker of tech items like the iPhone, iPad and Mac line of computers, is extending its reach into the automotive market, making a fairly big announcement ahead of the Geneva Motor Show. No, it hasn't bought Tesla (yet). Instead, Apple has announced CarPlay, an all-new means of controlling an iPhone through your car.
Now, this doesn't strike us as some gimmicky thing. It's become increasingly common for automakers to take advantage of the high-speed data streams its customers enjoy on their smartphones in order to integrate navigation, traffic, audio and other infotainment items into a car's touchscreen interface. The Chevrolet Spark and Sonic are two prime examples of this move, using an iPhone's data stream for Siri integration and data for a third-party navigation app.
Owners will be able to plug in their iPhones to their cars via the USB port and gain control of a number of the device's functions, all through a car's touchscreen.

Scratch that new crossover, Volvo teases ad campaign for XC60

If we were to paraphrase the opening lines of Kenneth Graeme's Wind in the Willows for our own purposes, we'd write, "Have you heard about Volvo? They never planned a new crossover at all. It was all a horrid low trick of theirs...." To be fair, though, we can't blame them for our own presumption. When the Swedish car company created a site called LeaveTheWorldBehind.com and teased a couple of videos for some kind of collaboration with Swedish House Mafia, we thought the crossover in one of the teasers pointed to a new vehicle on the way.
Turns out that's not the case. It really is 'just' a collaboration with the band on a music video for Swedish artist Lune's cover of their 2009 song, Leave the World Behind.
But there are Volvos in it, and you can watch it below and hear original song alongside. We've also included the press release with more details on why it all came together, and a behind-the-scenes video on the collabo. To paraphrase Forrest Gump, "That's all we have to say about that."