Website's Viewers Pick BMW 5 Series as the Most Anticipated Car of 2004

IRVINE, Calif., Jan 28, 2004 -- Automotive.com, a leading Internet automotive marketing company, announced the results of their New Car Awards for 2003 and the most anticipated new car of 2004, as voted on by consumers. After weeks of voting and tallying over 100,000 votes submitted by consumers the most anticipated car of 2004 is the new BMW 5 Series.

"Consumer voting is what differentiates the Automotive.com Award process from other industry awards," said Jason Phillips, vice-president of Automotive.com. "Our visitors trust the Automotive.com brand to provide the most complete, up-to-date, and unbiased vehicle information online. That's why we don't pick who's best -- our customers do."

Voted as the most anticipated car of 2004, the new BMW 545i is a picture of grace, with a fiery edge. Powered by a commanding 4.4-liter, 325-hp V-8 engine with Valvetronic, the new 545i delivers no-holds-barred performance and agility. With innovative Xenon Adaptive Headlights, Intelligent Safety and Information System (ISIS), and a roomier, richly detailed cabin, the new 545i is the most noteworthy automobile to receive this award.

"What makes these awards meaningful is the wide range of car buyers who voted," said Phillips. "We're very proud of the trust placed in our site by our visitors and the automobile industry."

In addition to the most anticipated new car in 2004, consumers visiting Automotive.com voted for the 2003 consumer "best" in 12 vehicle categories, from sports cars to minivans, picking the automobile that they felt best represented exceptional value, superiority in its class, and overall customer satisfaction.

The following models were voted as 2003 consumer "best": Infiniti G35 (Best Coupe), Nissan Maxima (Best Sedan), Nissan 350Z (Best Sports Car under $40K), Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (Best Sports Car over $40K), Lexus GS300 (Best Luxury Car Under $40K), BMW 7 Series (Best Luxury Car Over $40K), Lexus RX330 (Best SUV Under $40K), Cadillac Escalade (Best SUV Over $40K), Ford F-150 (Best Truck), MINI Cooper (Best Compact Car), Porsche Boxster (Best Convertible) and Toyota Sienna (Best Minivan).

Additional information on Automotive.com Award winners can be found at http://awards.automotive.com/ .

The Automotive.com Voting Process

The Automotive.com Awards are based solely on votes from consumers placed online at http://awards.automotive.com/ . Voting information is used to compile the rankings and standard industry vehicle categories are used to group vehicles for voting purposes. The number of automotive award categories is aligned with the number of model-level segments within the automotive industry. The top 5 vehicles in each category are influenced by the millions consumers across the U.S. who utilized Automotive.com for their new car buying services during 2003. Rankings are in no way influenced by the opinion of Automotive.com or its staff. Additional details on vehicles can be found in the buyer guides section of the website.