Alfa Romeo, Audi, Opel and Peugeot, Top This Year's AutoWeek Awards

DETROIT, March 12 -- AutoWeek has announced its 2002 Editors' Choice Awards from the Geneva International Motor Show, which each year inaugurates the European auto show season.

For more than a decade, the AutoWeek Editors' Choice Awards have recognized those vehicles the magazine's editorial staff selects as the Best in Show, Most Fun, Most Significant and Best Concept models at each major auto show around the world.

The AutoWeek Editors' Choice Awards from the 2002 Geneva International Motor Show are:

Best in Show - Italdesign-Giugiaro Alfa Romeo Brera concept -- We saw this one and immediately our limbs went all wobbly. We thought it might be tough to outdo the gorgeousness coming out of the Alfa studios in recent years, but Italdesign has done so. The Brera is a 2+2 that Giugiaro calls a dream concept, but it's a dream we'd beg to see made into reality.

Most Significant - 2003 Opel Vectra -- Among GM's little problems has been which badge would be first to appear on the Epsilon platform. Technically, the Saab 9X and 9-3X concepts won out. But Opel wins when the conversation switches to mass production and rental fleets.

Due in June, the 2003 Opel Vectra has been driven by the Euro press corps and received many a thumbs-up. The engine plans call for a choice of six motivators to be available by the end of this year, and many of these changing to newer units in mid-2003.

Most Fun - 2003 Audi RS6 -- This is a hoot. Do you want an executive station wagon to carry the kids and dog from 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds? Cruise the highways at 155 mph? (Truth is that if the bi-turbocharged, 4.2-liter 450-horsepower V8 weren't limited, you and the family could cruise at about 180 mph. If the dog poked its head out the window it'd soon be headless.) When -- not if -- we get these family rockets, it wouldn't be until late this year and you'll be looking at starting prices of about $70,000.

Best Concept - Peugeot RC -- The introduction of the two RC concepts is proof that the French automaker hasn't been spending all its time recently working on minivans, or as the French call them, ``monospace.'' Peugeot showed its hand with two 2+2 sports cars; the RC Spades, powered by a 190-hp gasoline engine, and the RC Diamonds, equipped with Peugeot's 175-hp Hdi PEF diesel engine that also propels the marque's 607 and 406 sedans.

Visit www.autoweek.com for coverage of the Geneva Motor Show, including photos, news and the Editors' Choice Award winners. The Geneva Editors' Choice Awards story will appear in the March 18, 2002 issue of AutoWeek.

AutoWeek is America's largest weekly consumer car magazine and covers all aspects of automotive enthusiasm, including news, road tests and racing. With a circulation of 350,000, AutoWeek is one of more than 30 magazines published by Detroit-based Crain Communications, Inc. Online address: www.autoweek.com .