In less than a month, the world will again find out what a global handful of judges consider to be the best of the best from the 2009 crop.

As one of the 59 judges, this writer welcomes the announcement more than most. Though we have chosen our selected few finalists some time ago, it won’t be until April Fool’s day that the winning vote will be announced, and none of us know which it will be.

Of the four awards available, the finalists of World Green Car, World Design, World Performance and World Car have been shortlisted and shown.

Though the finalists were whittled down during the height of the Toyota braking/steering/crashing scandal, the carmaker’s Prius has slipped into two of the four categories. Of course, it’s a green choice along with its nemesis, the Honda Insight hybrid, the Volkswagen BlueMotion diesel.

The design finalists are no surprise to this judge, with the Aussie-assisted Chev Camaro up against Kia’s funky Soul and Citroen’s C3 Picasso.

The performance cars are harder to predict, and even harder to find for a road test. Though we managed… Between the Audi R8 V10, Ferrari California and Porsche 911 GT3 it’s a heady choice to make, and at least two of those three were tied on my list.

But back to that Toyota Prius: it’s up against the Volkswagen Polo and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Other finalists were the Audi Q5, BMW X1, Chevrolet Cruze, Kia Soul, Mazda3, Opel/Vauxhall Insignia - Buick Regal, and the Porsche Panamera. The Mazda3 in particular was a surprise exclusion from that top three.

The Merc was one of the final cars on my list to test, and it is a formidable opponent for this award, particularly with such a strong engine range. But the choice is not up to me: there are 58 others in the mix, and barely any judge knows the others to find out their sway or their opinion.

So we wait until April 1, for the announcement at the New York Auto Show.