A few days after its production temporarily stopped because of low sales, the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid has been named the 2012 European Car of the Year at the Geneva Auto Show. It shares the award with Opel Ampera, its European sibling.
The Volt won North American Car of the Year in 2011 among several other accolades. But the Volt has also been a controversial newcomer to the green car market. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigated the vehicle after several odd batteries fires. And although the NHTSA reported the Volt wasn’t defective, sales have not improved.
General Motors says it has received about 7,000 orders for the Ampera in Europe already and expected to sell more than 10,000 of the new vehicles this year. The Ampera has just begun it debut.
The Volkswagen Up! and Ford Focus finished second and third in the balloting among 59 journalists from 23 European countries.
Article Last Updated: February 3, 2024.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
In most states, too, insurers set rates by zip codes. If you live in a major city like Chicago or Los Angeles, you will probably pay more than if you lived in a nearby suburb but still check "Clearance Auto" to find the lowerst rate