The winners of the 2005 Automobile Magazine All-Stars awards have been announced. Recipients of the awards, recognizing outstanding performance in 13 categories, are featured in the magazine’s February issue.
“The industry as a whole has really stepped up to the plate with some of the most innovative and exciting vehicles and ideas we’ve seen in a long time,” said Jean Jennings, editor-in-chief of Automobile Magazine.
The 2005 Automobile Magazine All-Stars are listed below.
• Automobile of the Year: Chrysler 300C. At a time when the American auto industry needs heroes, the 300C wins the medal of honor, hands down. Chrysler’s 340-horsepower, Hemi-headed honey has taken the United States by storm.
• All-Star Coupe: BMW M3. The M3’s 333 hp is a lot, and so is nearly $50,000 – but the M3 is worth every penny because it rewards every bit of skill a driver puts into it.
• All-Star Family Car: Subaru Legacy. The Legacy beat out the competition because it can be all things to all people: a refined, high-quality, comfortable freeway cruiser and a sporty back-roads car, with fine steering and brakes and a sweet shifter.
• All-Star Luxury Sedan: Audi A8L. The A8L is impossible to ignore, to resist, or, for the foreseeable future, to surpass. Driving it is a no-fuss experience, and it engagingly does anything and everything asked.
• All-Star Minivan: Honda Odyssey. Toyota, Nissan and Chrysler have threatened the champ’s reign, but the all-new 2005 Odyssey delivers another knockout punch to the segment.
• All-Star Pickup: Toyota Tacoma. The new Tacoma is the best truck in its set, offering more configurations than any competitor, with refinement and impressive engineering.
• All-Star Small Car: Mazda 3. This compact sedan has an attractive price and a spacious cabin, and enthusiastic drivers can enjoy it on roads where poise matters more than trunk volume.
• All-Star Sports Car: Chevrolet Corvette. The sixth-generation Corvette yanks at the heartstrings of enthusiasts and turns heads wherever it goes. The car is so good that anyone can be a hero in it.
• All-Star Sport Utility Vehicle: Cadillac SRX. With edgy styling that distinguishes it from its boxlike brethren, the driver-centric SRX is an uncompromising blend of performance and utility.
• All-Star Sport Sedan: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR. This vehicle offers major grunt, great gobs of grip, four doors, five seats, visceral performance coupled with a remarkably supple ride, and great fun, all at a price your CPA could love.
• All-Star Design: BMW 6-series. This dramatic, functional and exciting automobile stands out like a swan in a gaggle of geese.
• All-Star Technology: Audi DSG. The Audi TT is the first to market with what could be the transmission of the future: the Direct-Shift Gearbox designed by BorgWarner, which combines the best features of manuals and automatics.
Automobile Magazine All-Stars were chosen by the staff, its worldwide bureau chiefs and its contributors, following a three-day test drive of the year’s most innovative and important new cars. Vehicles eligible to be considered for the Automobile of the Year award combine the following traits: redefines an existing category or creates a new market segment; offers excellent value and performance for the money; is an exceptional design; and offers pure driving enjoyment.
– Newstream.com
