What makes a winner?

Choosing the best cars & bikes of the year gone by is always tricky. Siddharth feels that the best way is to put together a bunch of experts with varying opinions in order to make a fair and balanced decision.

These days, Facebook is in the business of constantly reminding you of things you said or did in the past with posts from a few years ago. I mostly find that annoying, though every once in a while it does throw up some very interesting memories and nostalgic moments. Something similar happened to me the day before I sat down to write this piece – and since it struck a cord I simply had to write about it. The post was from December 2011, and said, “No matter how hard you try to be meticulous, sincere, and credible, people will still doubt you, your integrity, and your intentions. How upsetting! Washes away all the months of hard work and sleepless nights I put in for the NDTV Car and Bike Awards.”

That was a long time ago, but unfortunately it still applies today. And that’s despite the fact that I’m very secure in the knowledge that the awards process today is even more credible and comprehensive than it was then. I’m taking the liberty of using this forum to air my opinion – as the Editor of this publication is also a juror for the NDTV CNB Awards, and I’m sure he backs my views.

So, what does it really take to select the year’s best automobiles? Do they have to be bestsellers? Very good looking? Excellent in all performance parameters? Or simply a good mix of it all, which enables it to stay ahead of the rest in some measure? Well, it’s a bit of all that – and yes it also involves a bit of luck. When you have a varied jury, made up of people with differing profiles and experience, the idea is in fact to ensure that they bring their views and perspectives to the process. Otherwise, I would simply decide what I thought was best, maybe get the views of my colleagues, and then hand out the awards. The fact that we go through a credible jury process, and then also make that jury vote across 7 parameters for every nominee, says something.

Does it always throw up a popular choice as the winner? Nope, we’ve had our fair share of surprises in the past. The sure-shot has also sometimes fallen short (Ford Figo in 2010, Ford EcoSport and Royal Enfield Continental GT in 2014, and Hyundai i20 in 2015 to name a few), like the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Yamaha R3, and Hyundai Creta did this year. But that’s how it goes. I remain very proud of the process, and will fiercely stand by the jury’s decision across all categories. That the Creta also lost the popularity vote in the Viewers’ Choice Car of the Year category will remain somewhat of a mystery to me though. But, here too, I have to respect the people’s vote.

So, is this a rant or an underhanded way to convey a message to the automotive community we belong to? I would like to emphatically say no, but that wouldn’t be totally honest. I do feel strongly about this, and trust me I also feel just as bad when my own favourites don’t win. I hope at least some, if not all, within the automobile industry, and even you – our readers and viewers – believe me when I say that.

I now look forward to the year ahead. It will, no doubt, give us even more competitive and exciting products – and behind that will be a lot of hard work, as always. It’s also an Auto Expo year – and so here’s looking to 2016 with hope, optimism, and a lot of anticipation. It promises to be a very Happy New Year!

Read all about the second part of our American adventure later in this issue. And don’t miss the show on NDTV Prime, every Tuesday at 8:30pm.