CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Motor Trend magazine has named the Volkswagen Passat as 2012 Motor Trend Car of the Year.
In a Wednesday statement from VW, Motor Trend editor-in-chief Angus MacKenzie said "chassis, steering, ride and handling all are tastiest within this segment." MacKenzie said "it's in this category the bigger Passat really demonstrates its engineering excellence."
The midsize sedan with a starting price of about $20,000 is built at VW's plant in Chattanooga.
The award was presented to Jonathan Browning, president and CEO of Volkswagen of America, and Frank Fischer, CEO and chairman of Volkswagen Chattanooga, at the 2011 LA Auto Show.
The Chevrolet Volt electric car was named in 2010 as 2011 car of the year.