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International Car of the Year Awards 2007
Hi everyone!
I’m the one honored to be the first blogger for our trip to Detroit. I think I was nominated because the guys are getting the things ready for tomorrow.
Let me take a quick minute to introduce the crew we have here for the Auto Show. Chris, AOL Autos Sr. Editor: He’s the boss here this week. Khoi, our Associate Editor: As far as I can tell, he’s the one doing most of the work. (Just kidding, Chris!) Rick, our photographer: a strong, silent type and a very talented guy. You’ll hear from those guys later.
And I’m Ellen: AOL Autos marketing goddess (self-proclaimed) and the sole chick in the group.
Once we got to Detroit and got settled, the first thing we did was get dressed up to attend the International Car of the Year (ICOTY) Awards (black tie optional – and it was for us J ). This was a fun event with good food (but no dessert – what’s up with that?) and great music (more on that later, though).
One of the highlights in the food category was something none of us had ever seen before – a Mashed Potato Martini.
We learned from talking to someone at the event that this has become an ICOTY tradition. If you’ve ever had one, feel free to comment if you think these are cool or just plain silly.
Then the awards started. To keep it simple, I’ll just go down the list of all the winners right now. Picture all of these introduced by some creative rhyming from Road and Travel magazine Editor-in-Chief, Courtney Caldwell (who was also our gracious hostess) and ending with their names somehow woven into song – some examples below. This got a little corny after the 3rd one!
Pick Up Truck of the Year: “Most Athletic” – Chevy Silverado
Sports Car: “Most Sex Appeal” – Jaguar XK (Song: Do You Think I’m Sexy? By Rod Stewart)
Sedan: “Most Dependable” – Toyota Camry (small “Yea!” from me as this is the car I drive)
Luxury Car: “Most Respected” – Lexus LS 460
Minivan: “Most Compatible” (This is starting to sound like my high school superlatives) – Hyundai Entourage
Entry Level: “Most Spirited” – Mazda Speed 3
Crossover: “Most Versatile” – Mazda CX-7 (We were sitting with the Mazda team - Jeremy Barnes, Danica Laub and Brian Colianni - and you can see they were very happy J)
SUV: “Most Resourceful” – GMC Yukon
International Truck of the Year: Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab (Song: “You’re the Only One by Melissa Etheridge)
And…one final drum roll and envelope (there were a lot of both this evening)… The International Car of the Year – the Lexus LS 460.
On the ride back, we all agreed the highlight of the night was the Lifetime Achievement Award given to Jim Dunne, officially the Detroit editor of Popular Mechanics and unofficially the best spy photographer ever. This guy was all-at-once hated (hence the Jim Dunne Memorial KEEP OUT fence), respected and admired by all of the OEMs.
The best story told that night surrounded a time that Jim snuck into the design lab of an unmentioned manufacturer during lunch time when he knew no one would be around. And as he was taking pictures of a top-secret car, who should he find in the back seat of the car, but the company’s PR rep?…And one of his female colleagues. In that moment, a silent deal was made, and once again, Jim Dunne got the shot he wanted.
When accepting the award, Jim talked about how honored he’d been to cover all of the innovations in the auto industry over the past 40 years. We thought it was particularly funny when he referred to things like heated seats and cupholders as the crack cocaine of the industry. (See video) Khoi agreed – he loves his heated seats. J
And, for the last hurrah of the evening, Road and Travel celebrated ICOTY judge Denise McCluggage’s 80th birthday with a mouth-watering chocolate cake. Well, at least someone got dessert!
More news to come when the show opens tomorrow!
See our full coverage here:
Detroit Auto Show Coverage - AOL Autos
-EB
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Ellen...great post. I know you are a camry driver but you'll have to check out the Saturn Aura now that it won North American Car of the Year head to head with the camry....I just drove one the other day and it is a stunner. Also, the GM Style event on Saturday night was definitely the hottest ticket at the show with all the hollywood stars and the cool cars....You'll need to be best friends with Beyonce to get one next year now that this cat is out of the bag. I'm hoping you'll get one.
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