Fiesta wins Red Dot design award

The new Ford Fiesta has been dubbed as one of the most stylish cars in the world by a panel of independent leading designers. The 28 leading designers and design experts from 19 countries have awarded the Ford model a prestigious 'Red Dot" award for international product design. The design professionals who make up the award jury said the Fiesta"s design was 'innovative and dynamic'. The Red Dot design awards are presented annually by Germany"s Essen-based Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, and it"s one of the world"s largest design recognition programmes. The independent jury assesses each entry against a series of criteria which includes innovation, design, functionality and quality. For the 2009 award, 3,231 submissions were received from 49 countries. The Fiesta was one of the products to be awarded a Red Dot for its outstanding design. The awards, claimed by the organisers to be 'an internationally recognised quality label for design excellence' are presented in three categories: product design, communication design and design concept. Within each category there are 17 product areas covering a broad diversity of goods, from sofas to caravans, watches to computers. Previous automotive winners have included the Maserati Quattroporte, the Mercedes R Class and the Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster. The design award is the latest in a long line of accolades received by the new Fiesta. Among recent awards, the model was named as Car of the Year 2009 by Britain"s What Car? magazine, while in Ireland, it was named Semperit Irish Small Car of the Year for 2009. Earlier this month, the Fiesta was named one of the three finalists in the 2009 World Car Awards - the winner will be announced in New York next month.