Motor Press Guild Introduces Inaugural Vehicle of the Year Award

LOS ANGELES--Sept. 1, 2011: Motor Press Guild (MPG), the largest automotive media association in North America, today introduces its first-ever Motor Press Guild Vehicle of the Year (MPG VOTY) award program. The award recognizes the most dynamic new vehicle of the calendar year as judged by Motor Press Guild journalist membership. Vehicles will be benchmarked against the competitive segment and evaluated on safety, quality, value, performance/handling, design/style, environmental/green impact and technology/innovation standards. The Southern California-based MPG award is expected to reflect the distinctive style, tastes and needs of this influential region.

"Southern California is known for setting the trends in the automotive industry," said Laura Burstein, MPG President. "The Motor Press Guild Vehicle of the Year award combines expertise from some of the industry's most trusted automotive journalists with a unique perspective that reflects the L.A. lifestyle."

Eligible vehicles for the 2011 MPG VOTY award must be all-new or significantly revised from previous versions and be available at dealerships before January 1, 2012. A jury panel of 20 MPG journalist members will narrow the list to the top five vehicles, and the winner will be selected by the entire MPG journalist membership at the organization's annual Track Day event in October 2011. The final five vehicles will be made available at Track Day for MPG's eligible journalist members to assess in both stand-still and track-driving scenarios to fully evaluate the cars before casting their final votes. MPG plans to announce the winner of the 2011 Motor Press Guild Vehicle of the Year at the Los Angeles Auto Show Press Days Nov. 16-17, 2011.

ABOUT MPG

The Los Angeles-based Motor Press Guild (MPG) is the largest automotive media association in North America with more than 700 members. This non-profit trade guild is dedicated to promoting professionalism in automotive journalism through education and information exchange. Members include journalists from print, broadcast, and online outlets as well as public relations representatives, consumer groups and governmental bodies tied to the automotive industry. The organization hosts regular meetings featuring key figureheads in the auto industry and is widely recognized for its annual Dean Batchelor Award program and annual industry MPG Track Day.