Lexus LS 430 & Olds Silhouette Premiere Win Interior of the Year Awards
16 May 2001
DETROIT - Auto Interiors Magazine named the Lexus LS 430 and the Oldsmobile
Silhouette Premiere recipients of its second annual Car & Truck Interior of the
Year Awards. The official announcement was made Tuesday at The Detroit Auto
Interiors Show in the Cobo Conference and Exhibition Center.
"Our judges had a very difficult time selecting winners in both the car
and light truck categories," said Richard Lebovitz, Auto Interiors Magazine
editorial director. "The quality of the interiors in all of the finalists was
nothing short of exemplary. Their examples bode well for the future of
automotive interior design."
The finalists in the passenger car category included the Audi allroad
quattro and Chrysler PT Cruiser. Finalists in the light truck category
included the GMC Yukon XL Denali and Toyota RAV4.
Forty-eight production passenger cars and light trucks, including imports,
introduced in North America for the 2001 model year were considered. Eligible
vehicles were either all-new or represented significant redesigns over past
models. The judges based the voting on interior appearance, functionality and
innovation. Appearance included interior styling, color, materials and fit-
and-finish. Functionality included comfort, convenience and safety features.
Innovation included both surprise and delight features and also notable
improvements over previous vehicles.
Vehicles were also test-driven to see how they performed on the road,
whether the ride was quiet or noisy, smooth or bumpy. It was during these
road tests that vehicles containing telematics or any other unconventional
devices were evaluated for both design integration and driver distraction.
Of the Lexus LS 430, winner of the 2001 Car Interior of the Year, editors
remarked that the vehicle was "classy and stylish" as well as luxurious to
both the eye and the touch.
"It offers superb comfort and convenience features, from dual-zone front
and rear position climate controls to heated seats throughout," said Dan
Schechner, managing editor at Auto Interiors Magazine. "The easy-to-use
multimedia/ navigation system adds a nice element of technology to the LS
430's remarkably clean lines and elegant leather and wood trim. A silky
smooth, quiet ride reinforces the notion that Lexus' LS 430 thoroughly
embodies the art of refined styling and engineering."
In the case of the Oldsmobile Silhouette Premiere, named the Truck
Interior of the Year for 2001, editors noted its practicality and
functionality, making the prospect of long road trips with kids seem almost
welcome.
"From its innovative power sliding doors to a built-in video and
entertainment system, the Silhouette Premiere is the do-everything minivan
that provides a surprisingly smooth ride," said Carmen Pang, editor at Auto
Interiors Magazine. "Among other improvements over the 2000 model, rear
parking aid and fold-flat second and third-row captain's chairs with
integrated back-mounted cup-holders make this minivan one we're proud to call
the best of 2001."
Atlanta-based Auto Interiors is a publication of Bill Communications, Inc.,
the country's fastest-growing publisher of influential business magazines, a
producer of major conferences and expositions, and owner of numerous Web in
formation delivery sites on the Internet. Bill Communications is a subsidiary
of VNU Business Media, Inc., which includes BPI Communications, Inc.; VNU eMedia,
Inc.; and VNU Expositions. The company publishes more than 62 business publications
and produces 100 leading business conferences, exhibitions and events from its
headquarters in New York City and its division offices in Atlanta, Dallas,
Minneapolis and Washington, D.C.
Bill Communications is a subsidiary of VNU-USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Netherlands-based VNU, an international publishing and information company
that employs approximately 16,000 people worldwide and has annual revenues of
more than $2.6 billion.