Nissan Altima Earns Top Award

    CHICAGO--Feb. 8, 2002--PBS' original automotive magazine, MotorWeek, announces its "Best of the Year" award winner, the Nissan Altima, at the Chicago Auto Show today.
    MotorWeek host John Davis will present an artist-commissioned trophy to William Kirrane, Vice President and General Manager for Nissan Division, Nissan North America, Inc., during the auto show's Opening Ceremony.
    Selected from 12 category winners, the four-door family sedan topped the 2002 MotorWeek Drivers' Choice Awards list to garner this annual mark of distinction.
    "The Nissan Altima demonstrates that when you study the American family, and build a car just for them, it's bound to be a guaranteed hit," said Davis.
    "A family car need not be boring," explained Davis. "Nissan has proven just that, by combining modern sport sedan styling with class-leading performance. Add on the Altima's delivery of more interior room and standard features than any other sedan in its class and you have a clear winner."
    An import brand made in Tennessee, the Nissan Altima follows a trend noted in this year's MotorWeek Drivers' Choice Awards. The vast majority of winners were manufactured in the U.S., pointing to resurgence in innovative, domestically made automobile designs.
    The awards were chosen by a team of 10 judges, comprised of the journalists, staff and crew of MotorWeek. Judges' decisions were based on superior performance, technology, practicality and dollar value.
    This year's Drivers' Choice Award trophy was created by artist Dennis Simon, whose automotive illustrations have been seen on the pages of Road & Track, Sports Car International, Automobile and Vintage Motorsport magazines. Simon's commissioned trophy design evokes the passion of driving, an underlying principle of the Drivers' Choice Awards.
    MotorWeek is produced by Maryland Public Television and is nationally underwritten by eBay Motors. Visit MotorWeek online at www.pbs.org/motorweek.