by the Editor of ModernRacer.com

A number of high-profile cars got made over for the 2006 model year, while a couple of new names reared their heads over the year. Which brings us to our second annual Modern Racer Car Crazy Awards. Yet again, in our own little corner of the web, we will choose the most influential cars of the year defined, with a twist, by our various categories.

Unlike the ho-hum awards given out every year by heavily commercial car magazines, we give out our valueless awards without any financial incentives and are based purely on our opinion, biased or otherwise. Note that just because we think a car is good (or bad) does not mean you may not like it. We are just expressing our opinions, just like every other award-giver out there. And be aware that car companies have no input in this whatsoever. They don't know about our virtual awards ceremony, and we don't intend to contact any of these manufacturers to give them a medal. Besides, car companies should not be rewarded for their achievements. Otherwise they get sloppy. Think of those Germans.

Also, keep in mind that these awards only include performance-oriented affordable cars under the US $50,000 price mark. So Kias, Hummers, Lamborghinis and Maybachs are all out. And only 2006 models are included, but no so-called 2007 models show up here.

So without further ado, here are the categories for our second awards ceremony:

• Most Underwhelming New Car of the Year
• Most Hyped New Car Release of the Year
• Most Low-Budget New Thrill of the Year
• Most Practical Performance Car of the Year
• Most Outrageously Cool Design of the Year
• Most Overwhelming New Car of the Year