The Chevrolet Camaro was declared the 2010 World Car Design of the Year award winner on April 1 at a press conference hosted by the New York International Auto Show, Bridgestone and BASF SE at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, BASF announced today.

The 2010 World Car Design of the Year award was presented by BASF SE, which announced its exclusive title sponsorship earlier this year.

“BASF is extremely honored to present the World Car Design of the Year award to General Motors for its magnificent Chevrolet Camaro design,” said Robin Rotenberg, vice president, corporate communications and chief communications officer, BASF Corporation. “Presenting this award to General Motors is extra special for us because the Camaro gets its color and shine from BASF.”

BASF has a longstanding relationship with General Motors as a supplier of paint and a broad array of automotive materials. Earlier this year, BASF was named a General Motors Supplier of the Year for the sixth time in the last eight years.

The World Car Design of the Year category, and the corresponding award, is meant to highlight new vehicles with innovation and style that push established boundaries. Cars eligible for this award are taken from the list of 30 World Car candidates nominated by 59 World Car jurors from 25 countries across the globe.

A panel consisting of five highly respected world design experts was asked to first review each candidate and then establish a short-list of recommendations for the jurors. The design experts were:

• Masatsugu Arimoto: Chairman of the Japan Auto Colour Award program, juror on Japan's governmental "Good Design Award" committee, and Car Styling's "Car Design Awards";

• Silvia Baruffaldi: Managing Editor of Auto & Design magazine;

• Gernot Bracht: former designer at Renault, now teaches at Pforzheim design school in Germany;

• Sam Livingstone: an Associate Editor of Car Design News and since 2001 has lectured at the Royal College of Art where he is now Senior Tutor in Vehicle Design;

• and Tom Matano: currently the Executive Director, School of Industrial Design, at Academy of Art University, San Francisco.  Previously, Matano managed the Mazda Chief Designers group that created the entire Mazda car line designs.

The experts observed that the new Camaro leans on its heritage but does so in an artful, modern fashion.

“Although it borrows some of its styling cues from the first generation Camaro, they all contribute to a simple, pure and modern appearance. It is the most dynamic Camaro ever,” says Masatugu Arimoto.

Sam Livingstone appreciates the “innately seductive exterior and interior. It’s well resolved, and I’d argue evidence that General Motors strikes a better balance than Ford and Chrysler do in their pony cars.”

The 59 World Car Awards jurors then voted on the expert’s recommendations in February 2010, and their ballots were tabulated by the international accounting firm KPMG.

"In recreating this modern sports car, we have proven that people are just as passionate about Chevy as ever," said Michael Simcoe, Chevrolet design director. “We have been delighted about the strong reaction to the Camaro – even in markets that are new to Chevy, it has been creating an emotional appeal for the brand."

The World Car Design of the Year Award showcases the vision, innovation and ingenuity that are such an inherent part of the automotive industry.

The top three contenders for 2010 World Car Design of the Year were the Chevrolet Camaro, the Citroen C3 Picasso and the Kia Soul.

Previous winners of the World Car Design of the Year award were the Fiat 500 in 2009, the Audi R8 in 2008, the Audi TT in 2007 and the Citroen C4 in 2006.