Winners Announced for North American Car and Truck of the Year

    DETROIT, Jan. 5, 2003; An international group of automotive
journalists today selected the Mini Cooper and Cooper S as the North American
Car of the Year and the Volvo XC 90 as the North American Truck of the Year.
    The awards honor vehicles that set new standards or will become benchmarks
in their classes. Jurors evaluate them based on criteria including innovation,
design, handling, safety and value for the dollar.
    The awards are unique because instead of being given by a single
publication, radio or television show they are given by 49, full-time
automotive journalists from the United States and Canada representing
magazines, newspapers as well as radio and television programs. Many of those
on the jury have covered the auto industry for decades and evaluate 50 to
100 new vehicles a year.
    The jurors voted in December, sending their ballots directly to Deloitte &
Touche, the accounting firm. The ballots were counted by Richard Gabrys, the
vice chairman of Deloitte, who kept the winners secret until a news conference
yesterday at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) press preview
in Detroit.
    While announced at the world-class auto show, the awards are independent
and the NAIAS is not otherwise involved.
    To be eligible, a vehicle must be "substantially new." Cars must have
sales reasonably expected to exceed 5,000 a year and sales of trucks must
exceed 2,000 a year.
    Candidates for the 2003 North American Car of the Year were the BMW
7-Series, Honda Accord, Honda Civic Hybrid, Infiniti G35, Mazda6,
Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Mini Cooper and Cooper S, Nissan 350Z, Pontiac Vibe,
Saab 9-3, Saturn Ion and Toyota Matrix.
    Candidates for the North American Truck of the Year were the Ford
Expedition, Honda Element, Honda Pilot, Hummer H2, Kia Sorento, Land Rover
Range Rover, Lexus GX 470, Lincoln Aviator, Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan
Murano, Subaru Baja, Toyota 4Runner and Volvo XC90.
    The winners last year were the Nissan Altima and the Chevrolet
Trailblazer.
    The awards were first given in 1994 and were patterned after the Car of
the Year award given in Europe.
    The North American awards are funded by the jurors and managed by a
seven-member organizing committee, the members of which are also jurors. Those
members are Alex Law (free lance), Tony Swan (Car and Driver), Michelle Krebs
(free lance), Matt Nauman (San Jose Mercury News), Christopher Jensen (The
Plain Dealer), John Davis (MotorWeek) and John McElroy (BlueSky Productions).