Ford Motor Company Wins Top Auto Show Honors
9 January 1998
Ford Motor Company Wins Top Auto Show HonorsDETROIT, Jan. 9 -- From "Car of the Year" to "Company of the Year," Ford Motor Company took home 15 top awards at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit and Greater Los Angeles Auto Show. Honors included: * Ford SVT Contour was named the 1998 Los Angeles Car of the Year by a jury of 13 Los Angeles auto writers, broadcasters, designers and race car drivers as the car which "best reflects the L.A. lifestyle." * Ward's Auto World awarded Ford with two of its coveted "Ten Best Engines" awards for the SVT Contour's 2.5-liter high-output DOHC V-6 and the Ford F-150's 5.4-liter Triton SOHC V-8. * African Americans On Wheels named Ford Motor Company "Company of the Year." On behalf of Ford, Automotive Operations President Jac Nasser accepted the "C.R. Patterson Golden Wheel Award," which the magazine hands out annually to an auto company for achievement in diversity, employment, marketing, community service, supplier and dealer relations. * For the second consecutive year, Ford Motor Company won six of nine categories in the annual Polk Automotive Household Loyalty Awards. The award signifies Ford's focus on maintaining customer loyalty and its wide variety of car and truck models in many different segments. The Awards are based on Polk's proprietary household loyalty methodology which determines loyalty among households to a model, make or manufacturer. Ford Motor Company Vice Presidents, Ross Roberts, general manager of Ford Division, and Jim O'Connor, general manager of Lincoln-Mercury Division, accepted awards in the following categories on behalf the company's dealers: Award Category Winner Loyalty % Avg. Segment Loyalty Make Loyalty Ford Division 59.46 % 44.26 % Large Car Mercury Grand Marquis 40.54 % 27.74 % Small Car Ford Escort 27.97 % 17.67 % Luxury Car Lincoln Town Car 44.85 % 23.01 % Pickup Truck Ford F-Series 34.51 % 24.87 % Minivan Mercury Villager 35.03 % 20.63 % * Borg-Warner Automotive Powertrain Systems Corp. bestowed Ford Motor Company Group Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service Bob Rewey with the prestigious $100,000 Borg-Warner Automotive Cup. He accepted the award on behalf of off-road racer Scott Douglas, who earned the award earlier this year by winning the Short-Course Off-Road Drivers Association (SODA) World Championship Manufacturer's Challenge off-road race while driving an F-150 pickup in Crandon, Wis. * The Texas Auto Writers Association gave O'Connor and Roberts awards naming two Ford Motor Company vehicles as standouts of its annual Texas Truck Rodeo. They named the Lincoln Navigator "Best Full-size SUV" and the Ford Ranger "Best Small Pickup." * The 1998 Ford Club Wagon 6.8-liter V-10 was named "1998 Tow Vehicle of the Year" by Trailer Boats Magazine, with Rewey accepting the award. * American Woman Motorscene magazine named Ford Ranger as a winner of one of its "Most Likely to Succeed Awards," naming Ranger "Most Athletic." Ross Roberts accepted the award at AWM's banquet Wednesday evening. SOURCE Ford Motor Company