Well, first off, the award's the "World Car of The Year."
To be a contender, a vehicle has to be in production and sold in at least five countries on two continents during 2006. Vehicles are selected and then voted on by an international jury consisting of 44 top level automotive journalists from 22 countries. Each juror has been selected by the World Car Steering Committee.
The top three finalists have been named in an announcement by KPMG, an international accounting firm. They are: the Audi TT, the Lexus LS460 (pictured), and the Mini Cooper.
Other categories include the 2007 World Performance Car Award, the 2007 World Green Car Award and the 2007 World Car Design of the Year Award. Finalists for each category can be found at the link.