Aussie cars ineligible for Wheels award

The looming death of local car manufacturing means an Australian-made vehicle is unlikely to ever again win the nation's top motoring award.

There are no Australian cars among the 21 finalists for this year's Wheels magazine Car of the Year award, with local manufacturers failing to provide any substantially new models for consideration.

A revamped Ford Falcon was deemed ineligible because its changes weren't considered significant enough, while Holden and Toyota didn't stump up new local models.

All three carmakers will cease manufacturing in Australia in coming years, with Ford closing in 2016 and Holden and Toyota in 2017.

Wheels road test editor Nathan Ponchard says it's unlikely there'll be any substantial changes during that time to justify their inclusion in the awards.

"This is the last gasp for the (Falcon)," he told AAP.

"It might have a limited edition model, or some kind of tweak here or there. "But it's just got a new front and a new back, and it's taken nearly seven years to get that on an existing generation of body, which is a very long time in the first place."

Toyota has committed only to "mid-cycle enhancement" for its locally-made Camry in early 2015, while any changes to Holden's VF Commodore, a finalist in last year's awards, are likely to be minor.

The 21 finalists will be cut to five in December before the winner is revealed on January 22.

THE FINALISTS FOR WHEELS MAGAZINE CAR OF THE YEAR 2014

BMW 4 Series

BMW i3

BMW X5

Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

Honda Jazz

Hyundai Genesis

Jeep Cherokee

Kia Proceed GT

Lexus NX

Mazda 2

Mazda 3

Mercedes C-Class

Mercedes GLA-Class

Mercedes S-Class

Mini Hatch

Nissan Qashqai

Peugeot 308

Porsche Macan

Skoda Octavia

Subaru WRX/STi

Tesla Model S