MOTOR TREND and California International Auto Show Announce 2003 Automotive Design Contest

The Challenge: Tuners 2020

ANAHEIM, Calif., May 19 -- MOTOR TREND and the California International Auto Show (CIAS) have announced the details of their fifth-annual international design contest. The 2003 CIAS Motor Trend International Design Contest challenges amateur, student and professional designers from around the world to conceptualize the winning combination of design form, function and creativity to create a tuner car of the future. The winners will be announced on Media Day at the California International Auto Show, on October 29, 2003. The designs will then be displayed throughout the show.

In this "Fast & Furious" age of tuner car popularity, the CIAS Motor Trend International Design Contest challenge is to define the tuner cars of the year 2020. Select a marque (past or present, in production or discontinued) then define and design the modern performance themes that will roam streets and performance car shows in 2020. Will aggressive body-kits, wild wings and large exhaust endure? What will be the next generation's neon lights and carbon fiber trim? Will alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles become performance canvases on which to build in the future?

"Modifying vehicles is an international passion, so we're expecting some pretty creative submissions, both from around the world, and here in the United States," said MOTOR TREND Executive Editor Matt Stone, who serves as the contest's chief judge. "Whether the choice is a '32 Ford, '55 Chevy, early Mustang or Camaro; the cafe racers of the 70s and 80s; or today's popular Civic, Focus and WRX, car owners love to personalize, no matter the era."

Prior to submitting a design, contestants must select from one of four levels of participation -- design professional, design student, amateur 17 years of age and younger, or amateur 18 years of age and older. Each design submission must include a minimum of three perspectives, including a rendering of the passenger compartment identifying instrumentation and driver controls. Entries must also include a brief synopsis to explain how the design was conceptualized, as well as the car's technical and general specifications.

Registration for this year's competition runs June 1 through August 15, 2003. The deadline for entries to be received is September 15, 2003. Interested designers should visit the official contest web site, www.mtdesigncontest.com, or call (717) 566-6100 for free registration and access to the participant booklet.

Beginning in September, two rounds of judging will select the winners. A panel of judges, comprised of automotive designers, MOTOR TREND editors and industry professionals, will select the top three winners in each amateur category, as well as the top five student and professional finalists. The student and professional finalists will receive an expense-paid trip to the 2004-Model California International Auto Show in Anaheim, California to attend the final round of judging.

Awards include a $2,500 cash prize for the overall "Best of Show" winner; $1,000 cash prize for the first-place winner of the design professional category and $1,000 scholarship towards the college or university attended by the first-place design student winner. Amateur prizes will be announced on line. Winners will also receive a trophy, free subscription to MOTOR TREND and have their achievement recognized in a future issue of MOTOR TREND and online at www.motortrend.com and www.mtdesigncontest.com.

The public is invited to view the top contest submissions in person at the 2004-Model California International Auto Show, which runs October 29 through November 2, 2003 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Winning entries will also be featured online at www.mtdesigncontest.com.

The 2003 CIAS Motor Trend International Design Contest is administered in conjunction with the 2004-Model California International Auto Show and managed by Motor Trend Auto Shows, Inc. Motor Trend Auto Shows, Inc. is the nation's leading new-model auto show producer, a division of the Consumer Automotive Group and a subsidiary of PRIMEDIA, the leading targeted media company.