Victory & Reseda/InCarNation Vehicle of The Year Award 2015: How Does One Earn It?

What is so different about the Victory & Reseda Vehicle of The Year Award?

A lot, actually. Obviously, the big difference is that the VOTY now goes to a specific vehicle owner rather than a manufacturer. The element of voting by the public remains, but it is no longer an online ballot.

So, how is the VOTY determined through this new format as a show award? Perhaps an official explanation will suffice before Sunday’s awarding of it at InCarNation's Garage Closer Show at Sociable Cider Werks in Minneapolis.

The purpose of this award is to create the ultimate accolade given to any vehicle in the automotive community of the Twin Cities and Upper Midwest. Given the legacy of it being a social media-driven award presented to the automotive industry as the best vehicle as reviewed by me through all of my outlets, the focus is to take this legacy and re-purpose it to celebrate and honor the excellence in our local car community.

By excellence, it means that a vehicle – car, truck, crossover/SUV or motorcycle – must be able to not just be a show vehicle, but one that has been purpose for a purpose. It also must reflect the pride of ownership

To be considered for the VOTY, the judging panel must take in consideration the following:

A history of awards and accolades given to a single vehicle during calendar year 2015. This would range from events, such as those hosted by InCarNation, Hot Import Nights, Dopery and other various car, truck and motorcycle shows in the USA and Canada.

A vehicle must exhibit the highest quality and standards in terms of the following:
1. The body must be in excellent shape and is able to exhibit a flawless finish either through paint, wrap or dip.
2. Objects under the hood must show excellence in both basic engine structure and modifications. There should be a look that exhibits more professional completion of modifications.
3. Though difficult to not look under the vehicle, certain visible parts that may have been modified – exhaust, braking system and so forth – should exhibit excellence in execution and installation.
4. The interior must also show excellence in stock and/or modified execution. The interior must be in excellent condition.
5. Tires and wheels will also get complete consideration, again looking at execution and excellence in the use of tires and wheels for said vehicle.

Vehicles are scored by the judging panel on a 100-point scale. This is accomplished by composite based on the five areas discussed, but put into a whole number score. The score should be considered in terms of standard scoring grades.

The judge must take every aspect of the vehicle as a whole to provide the appropriate score.

Once the scores from the judges and accolades have been tallied, votes from those in attendance will be added to the composite score. An individual vehicle's votes are tallied once and added to the VOTY score.

The procedure towards awarding the VOTY is to ensure that the one vehicle on top is the best of the best. However, a vehicle that has never won any award at any show from this year could possibly win, depending on the combined judging scores and votes.

We hope this helps. Be ready for Sunday! Bring your best to Minneapolis. Oh, and don't forget to register to get in the show. Only 200 slots are available. Get in and get ready to claim the highest award given to the car community in the Twin Cities!

One last thing: HASHTAGS! The official VOTY hashtag for this year is #VOTY15 and #VOTE4VOTY15 for use on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, etc.). You can tag V&R with Facebook and Instagram (@victoryandreseda).