Women Automotive Writers Present "Best" Award To MINI
Women in Automotive Journalism Choose the MINI Cooper as Top Vehicle and the Honda Civic Hybridas Top Automotive Feature for 2003
Award presentations and survey of women consumer "hot buttons" held at Women's Economic Club breakfast
DEARBORN, MI, Jan. 9, 2003 –Over 450 automotive-savvy professional women packed a sold out business breakfast this morning to voice their opinions on auto industry
trends and hear Women in Automotive Journalism (WAJ) announce its picks for Top Vehicle and Top Automotive Feature of the Year.
Using performance, safety, interior functionality and comfort as key criteria, top honors for the newest industry awards went to the MINI Cooper for Best Vehicle and the
Honda Civic hybrid propulsion system for Best Automotive Feature.
"The fact that this award was judged by a panel of women automotive journalists who test, rate and review vehicles for a living, makes receiving this award a very significant
accomplishment indeed," said Jack Pitney, general manager, MINI USA. "It's been more than 35 years since MINI has been in the U. S.; this is a great welcome back."
Jean Jennings, Chair of the nine-member WAJ Steering Committee and Editor-in-Chief of Automobile Magazine, put the importance of this new award into perspective telling
the audience of business professionals, industry insiders and dealers, "The WAJ Awards, for the first time ever, have given us a strong voice, enabling women to clearly
communicate our expectations to those who want our business."
The 2003 WAJ Awards mark the first time a large group of women automotive journalists have come together to speak with one voice to honor what they see as the
cream of the crop of new automotive offerings. The winning vehicle and feature were chosen by a majority vote of 46 U. S.-based women automotive journalists. Voting was
completed through confidential, online balloting at the awards' Web site (www. wajawards. org). Journalists were not allowed to vote if they had associations with
automotive manufacturers, suppliers or dealers that could be seen as a conflict of interest.
What's Hot, What's Not Among Women Drivers
One of the morning's highlights was a "no holds barred" dialogue with the audience to gather data and insight on auto industry trends and preferences of a savvy and well-heeled
group of women business consumers.
Complete results from the survey are available at the websites for both the Women in Automotive Journalism (www. wajawards. org) and the Women's Economic Club
(www. womenseconomicclub. org); however, below are a few highlights:
· 74 percent of those polled said that safety features had become more important in their vehicle purchase decision.
· Cross-over vehicles, with SUV capability and car-like driving dynamics, were of high interest for next vehicle purchases.
· More than half polled said their spouse or significant other did not influence their vehicle purchase decisions.
· The high cost of vehicle ownership, including vehicle price, fuel and insurance, were the least liked aspects of today's vehicles.
"Few people realize that women control or influence 80 percent of all vehicle purchase decisions," said Terry Barclay, executive director of the WEC. "That translates into
nearly $300 billion in purchasing power. With that much clout, women automotive consumers can determine the success of today's vehicles."
"This is a great opportunity to get real opinions on how women feel about today's vehicles," said Judy Caldwell, WEC member. "The influence we have on what vehicles
are purchased is huge and discussions like these tell the automotive industry our likes, dislikes and what we look for in transportation."
