Clare Champion MD is Chairman of IMWA

John Galvin, Motoring Editor and MD of the Clare Champion, is the new chairman of the Irish Motoring Writers Association, following the AGM of the Association on Monday 23 March, 2015.

He succeeds Austin Shinnors, of Bruff, Co Limerick, motoring correspondent of the Veterinary Ireland Journal since the 1970s.

The other executive positions of the IMWA are now held by David Walshe (vice chair), motoring correspondent of EM - The Newspaper of ESB, Forum Newspaper (Meath) and owner of www.NetACar.ie; Bernard Potter (secretary), editor of Irish Motor Management and motoring correspondent in Irish Farmer’s Monthly; and Michael Moroney (treasurer), motoring editor of the Irish Farmer's Journal.

Padraic Deane is the chairman of the Van Jury of the IMWA for 2015.

It was the 39th AGM of the IMWA, which is the owner and organiser of the Irish Car of the Year and Irish Van of the Year awards, sponsored for decades by Continental Tyres Ireland and its subsidiary Semperit.

The Irish Car of the Year 2016/Irish Van of the Year 2016 Awards will be presented on Friday 20 November 2015.

Continental Irish Van of the Year 2015 Category Winners

Ciaran McMahon of Ford Ireland accepts award for Transit Courier 

The Ford Transit Courier and Nissan Qashqai Commercial have been named Category Winners of the Continental Irish Van of the Year 2015 title by the Irish Motoring Writers Association (IMWA) Van Jury, writes Trish Whelan.

Key attributes of the vehicles such as load capacity, reliability, overall versatility, cost of ownership and drive comfort are all considered by the IMWA van jury during the judging process.

Presenting the awards to Ciaran McMahon of Ford Ireland, and James McCarthy, Nissan Ireland; Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland (pictured on right) said "In the current resurgent commercial vehicle market which is seeing year on year growth of 50 percent, I am sure that these awards will provide a huge boost for both the Transit Courier and Qashqai Commercial."

Michael Moroney, Chairman of the IMWA van jury (pictured left) said "In assessing candidates for the Continental Irish Van of the Year category awards, our jurors pay close attention to how the vehicles meet the particular requirements of the Irish market - that is why these recommendations are so useful to Irish van / commercial drivers and fleet managers."

The Small Van of the Year and SUV Commercial of the Year titles are category awards under the umbrella of the Continental Irish Van of the Year. The overall Continental Irish Van of the Year award for 2015 was won by the Ford Transit.

The results for the Continental Irish Van of the Year Awards 2015 have been independently reviewed for the Irish Motoring Writers Association (IMWA) by Ernst and Young, Dublin.

James McCarthy of Nissan Ireland (centre) accepts the Qashqai Commercial award

IMWA officers elected for 2014

At the AGM of the Irish Motoring Writers Association held on 7 April 2014, the following were elected as officers of the Association for 2014.

Chairman: Austin Shinnors; Vice-Chair: John Galvin; Secretary: Brian Byrne; Treasurer: Michael Moroney.

Austin Shinnors is a County Limerick based veterinarian, who has been writing on motoring matters for the Veterinary Ireland Journal since the 1970s.

IMWA Forum on distraction

Drivers whose primary attention is diverted by another information imput, are more likely to have accidents, a major road safety forum heard today, writes Trish Whelan.

The conference 'Are we being driven to distraction by developments in Automotive Technologies?' was organised by the Irish Motoring Writers Association (IMWA) and heard expert views from both the producers of in-car information technology and the physiological results of intensive tests on their effects on drivers.

The event in the RDS in Ballsbridge, Dublin, was sponsored by Continental Tyres.

Pictured are Pim van der Jagt, Head of Research and Development at Ford of Europe; Dr Natasha Merat, Associate Professor at the University of Leeds-based Institute for Transport Studies; Gerry Murphy, Chairman IMWA; and Tom Dennigan, Continental Tyres Ireland.

Cars for ICOTY 2013 announced

There are 35 cars in contention for the Continental Irish Car of the Year 2013 awards, organised by the Irish Motoring Writers Association.

They are the Audi A3, Audi Q3, BMW 3 Series, BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé, BMW M5, Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Orlando, Chevrolet Spark, Chrysler 300C, Citroen DS5, Fiat Panda, Ford B-Max, Honda Civic, Honda CR-V, Hyundai i30, Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Veloster, Kia cee'd, Kia Optima, Lexus GS, Mazda CX-5, Mercedes-Benz B-Class, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Mercedes-Benz SL, Opel Zafira Tourer, Peugeot 208, Porsche 911, Porsche Boxster, SEAT Mii, Skoda Citigo, Subaru XV, Toyota GT86, Volkswagen Beetle, Volkswagen up!, and Volvo V40.

A shortlist will be drawn up in coming weeks following the first round vote to be taken by the 28 members of the IMWA.

The Continental Irish Car of the Year and Continental Irish Van of the Year will be revealed at a gala event in the Convention Centre, Dublin, on Thursday 22 November.

Pictured are MWA Chairman Gerry Murphy and General Manager of Continental Tyres Paddy Murphy, with Ireland’s oldest surviving registered car, an 1898 Benz Velo Comfortable with the Irish registration: IK 52.

Irish van category awards presented

The Fiat Punto Van and Volkswagen Amarok have been named Category Winners of the Continental Irish Van of the Year 2012 title by the Irish Motoring Writers Association (IMWA) Van Jury.

All nine voting members of the IMWA Van Jury took part in the vote. In deciding on these category winners, the jury members took into account such attributes as load capacity, reliability, overall versatility, cost of ownership and drive comfort.



Presenting the awards to Adrian Walsh, Fiat Ireland (above); and Paul Burke, Volkswagen Ireland (below), Paddy Murphy of Continental Tyres (on right) said they were 'two great vehicles' which have won the valuable endorsement of the Irish Motoring Writers Association. "I am sure that winning this Continental Irish Van of the Year Category Award will be a huge boost for both the Punto Van and Amarok," he said.



Michael Moroney, Chairman of the IMWA van jury, said the Continental Irish van category awards are of particular interest to Irish van/commercial drivers and fleet managers, as they highlight the niche models best suited to the particular requirements of the Irish market.

The Commercial SUV and Car Derived Van of the Year titles are category awards under the umbrella of the Continental Irish Van of the Year. The overall Continental Irish Van of the Year award for 2012 was won by the Volkswagen Crafter.

IMWA chairman supports call for change in registration system

2011 was a year of two halves in the motor industry with the end of the Government Scrappage in June followed by critically slow sales since then, and the prospect of 2012 looking to be just as difficult.

In his address to the Continental Irish Car of the Year Awards ceremony at The Convention Centre in Dublin attended by leading figures from the motor industry, Irish Motoring Writers Association Chairman Gerry Murphy (pictured) added that a new year brings its blessings and hopefully 'plenty of orders'.

He said to its credit, the motor industry continues to plough on. Some 46 new cars were eligible for this year's Continental Irish Car of the Year award, that is nearly one new product per week brought into Ireland over the last twelve months - not including upgrades and derivatives. Few other industries, he added, can boast such activity levels in stringent times.

The IMWA Chairman supported the SIMI's call for a change in the car registration system, which he felt was the right call and would go some way towards eliminating the seasonal nature of the business and bring some balance to the year as far as sales and cash flow are concerned. It would also add some stability to the dealer network and protect some vulnerable jobs. He also supported the SIMI's call for allowing registrations between counties to be changed for a small fee.

He finished by saying that winning the Continental Car of the Year adds value to the winning car and is good for the winning brand. (The Kia Rio subsequently won the overall title).

Short list announced for ICOTY

A shortlist of ten models for the Continental Irish Car of the Year 2012 has been announced by the Irish Motoring Writers Association (IMWA). The overall winner of the 2012 Continental Irish Car of the Year title will be announced at an awards ceremony in the Convention Centre Dublin, Spencer Dock, Dublin 1, on Thursday November 17, 2011.

The shortlisted models are Ford C-MAX, Ford Focus, Honda CR-Z, Hyundai i40, Kia Picanto, Kia Rio, Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe, Mercedes-Benz SLK, Peugeot 508, and Range Rover Evoque.

From 46 eligible cars, selection of the shortlisted vehicles is based on votes from the 24 voting members of the IMWA, taking into account such factors as value for money, style, engineering and performance.

“This year’s shortlist of ten includes some great models with a mix of exciting new versions of established nameplates and some totally new cracking car concepts,” says Paddy Murphy of Continental Tyres Ireland.

The IMWA members will now re-test each model at both ‘Refresher’ day drive event and over the coming weeks before the final deadline for submission of votes.

Last year’s Continental Irish Car of the Year was the Nissan Juke.