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MOTOR TREND NAMES CADILLAC CTS 2008
CAR OF THE YEAR™
- “Best Cadillac in 50 Years” May
Prove to be Detroit’s “Halo” Vehicle
-
LOS ANGELES, CA (November 20, 2007) -- Motor
Trend (www.motortrend.com),
the world’s automotive authority and part of Source
Interlink Media, today announced the selection of the new 2008
Cadillac CTS as the 2008 Motor Trend Car of
the Year™. The complete report on Motor
Trend’s 2008 Car of the Year will be published
in the magazine’s January issue, available on newsstands
December 4, 2007.
“The Cadillac CTS marks the first time in decades
an American automobile has been designed and engineered with
an eye on the global marketplace,” said Angus MacKenzie,
editor-in-chief of Motor Trend. “Among
its many excellent qualities, perhaps the most valuable one
is that it shows Detroit can build a world class car to compete
with the best Munich, Stuttgart and Toyota City have to offer.
With the CTS, Detroit is officially back in the car business,
not just the truck or SUV business.”
“The CTS’s winning attributes go far beyond
a well-designed façade,” said MacKenzie. “It’s
the star of a new GM revival, and with a base car price of
just $32,990, the car is truly accessible to a wide spectrum
of car buyers.”
The base model CTS includes an impressive 263-horsepower,
VVT V-6 (a 304-horsepower direct-injection version is optional),
eight-speaker Bose audio, 17-inch wheels and a dual zone
climate control. In addition to offering a classy,
distinctive interior, superb fit and finish, and starched-crease
tailored design, the six-speed automatic version of the CTS
goes from 0-to-60 mph in 6.3 seconds. Motor Trend editors
particularly enjoyed the car’s road-hugging dexterity,
responsive feel, and sporty acceleration.
The 2008 Field of Contenders
Motor Trend editors faced the daunting challenge
of choosing one winner from one of the toughest Car
of the Year fields in the history of the award.
“This year’s 18-car field was laden with truly
significant vehicles,” said MacKenzie. “We
had all-new interpretations of high-volume benchmark cars
that virtually define their respective categories, such as
the Honda Accord and Chrysler-Dodge minivan. We had
reworked icons such as the Mini Cooper, Subaru Impreza WRX
and Scion xB. We had new
cars with old nameplates that carried the collective
hopes of an entire company, along with all-new vehicles from
Mercedes-Benz and Audi.”
To be eligible for Car of the Year, a vehicle must be totally
new or redesigned, and released in the 12 months prior to
January 1, 2008. Besides the Cadillac CTS, this year’s
field of contenders for Car of the Year included:
Return to Prominence
With the CTS, Cadillac—and GM—captures the golden
calipers nearly six decades after winning the first Motor
Trend Car of the Year™ award in 1949.
“The CTS obliterates the ‘old man’ image
of Cadillac,” said MacKenzie. “This car
will turn heads in the same way that the elite European models
do, but it is unmistakably American and uniquely Cadillac. This
is a bold and uncompromising showpiece of a sedan.”
MacKenzie added, “Tested and developed in the U.S.,
Germany and China, the CTS exhibits a global poise far beyond
its predecessors. The chassis has the race track in
its DNA. And it has an interior that manages to be
avant-garde and innovative without being difficult to operate. The
navigation/information touchscreen sets a new industry standard
for stylishness and ease of use.”
About the Testing and Evaluation Process
Each year since 1949, the editorial staff of Motor Trend has
evaluated eligible vehicles for its “Car of the Year” based
on three key categories: Significance, Superiority, and Value. Superiority
refers to engineering excellence, advancement in design,
utilization of resources and safety. Vehicle concept and
execution are important, as are use of materials, packaging,
dynamics, styling and fuel consumption. Significance considers
how well the vehicle does the job its maker intended it to
do, and how it impacts or changes its particular market segment,
influences consumer perceptions, and transforms product development
trends. The value question asks, “What does this vehicle
deliver in relation to what the consumer has to pay to purchase
and own it?”
See More on Motortrend.com
Motortrend.com features more than 20 car
videos detailing each of the contenders, the testing,
and behind-the-scene discussions and debates among the judges.
High-resolution images of the winner are available upon
request and at www.motortrend.com/media. Multimedia
coverage of the testing and selection process will be broadcast
on Motor Trend Radio, hosted by Bob Long.
About MOTOR TREND
MOTOR TREND, part of Source Interlink Media, was founded
in 1949 and has a circulation of 1.1 million and a total
readership of 7.1 million. Internationally recognized
as one of the leading brands in automotive publishing,
MOTOR TREND comprises Motor Trend Magazine; motortrend.com;
Motor Trend Radio; Truck Trend; Motor Trend International
Auto Shows; Motor Trend en Espanol; and the renowned Motor
Trend Car, Sport/Utility and Truck of the Year Awards program. Source
Interlink Media is a division of Source Interlink Companies,
Inc., (NASDAQ: SORC), a media and marketing services company. Source
Interlink (www.sourceinterlink.com) is one of the largest
publishers of magazines and online content for enthusiast
audiences and a leading distributor of home entertainment
products, including DVDs, music CDs, magazines, games,
books and related items.
For more information, contact:
Gravitas Communications
Jocelyn Johnson, 646-619-1146, jjohnson@gravitas-pr.com
Brian Posnanski, 314-968-7712, bposnanski@gravitas-pr.com
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