In many ways, it’s a golden age of automotive performance. A 2020 Honda Accord 2.0T can hit 60 mph from a standstill faster than a Plymouth Barracuda and outhandle the storied Alfa-Romeos of yore
...Read MoreIn many ways, it’s a golden age of automotive performance. A 2020 Honda Accord 2.0T can hit 60 mph from a standstill faster than a Plymouth Barracuda and outhandle the storied Alfa-Romeos of yore. 2021’s performance cars are similarly better than ever, but there are fewer of them. In 1979 Nissan (er, Datsun) sold more than 86,000 300ZXs. In 2019, they moved just 2,380 370Zs. Performance cars
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Methodology
The nominees and winners were selected by the 2020 Forbes Wheels Car of the Year panel, comprising four staff editors and six contributors. Our criteria included performance, safety, technology, comfort and convenience, fuel economy, design and functionality. Because each category spans the full spectrum of pricing, we selected vehicles that stand out among their peers. Vehicles eligible for nomination include any car or truck for sale or in production during 2020; some debuted prior to 2020. For the purposes of performance cars, we did not look at high-end and exotic sports cars with prices much more than three times the price of the typical new car sold, or about $125,000.
Forbes Wheels Car of the Year Panelists
Sam Abuelsamid (contributor) is principal research analyst at consulting firm Guidehouse Insights (formerly Navigant Research) and is a frequent contributor to Forbes.com, covering innovation in the transportation sector.
Brian Armstead (contributor) is president emeritus of the Washington Automotive Press Association and a North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year (NACTOY) Juror.
Bill Howard (Forbes Wheels Staff) is editor of Forbes Wheels. He is the past president of the International Motor Press Association and was previously executive editor and contributing editor for Ziff-Davis’ PC Magazine and ExtremeTech.
Alex Kalogiannis (contributor) has been an automotive writer for over 10 years and in addition to bylines at outlets such as Gear Patrol, Trucks.com and SlashGear, he was previously Car section editor at Digital Trends.
Alex Kwanten (Forbes Wheels Staff) has worked in automotive, marine and aviation for over a decade and reported on buying, selling and servicing cars for multiple industry publications, including Automotive News.
Carly Schaffner (Forbes Wheels Staff) has worked in the automotive industry for over a decade in both editorial and communication roles. Before joining Forbes Wheels, she was managing editor of Trucks.com.
Chris Teague (contributor) is a freelance automotive writer focused on new vehicle reviews, industry trends and breaking news, and has an MBA with a focus on data analysis that gives him insight into some of the auto industry’s biggest companies.
Lawrence Ulrich (contributor) is an award-winning auto writer, and former chief auto critic for The New York Times, Detroit Free Press and The Drive.
John Voelcker (contributor) was editor of Green Car Reports for nine years. He now is a reporter and analyst covering advanced auto technologies and energy policy, and a North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year (NACTOY) Juror.
Andrew Wendler (Forbes Staff) grew up immersed in automotive, marine and aviation culture and spent a decade at Car and Driver as a writer and editor before joining Forbes Wheels.