Motor Trend Magazine Names GMC Envoy 2002 Sport/Utility of the Year

    ANAHEIM, Calif.--Oct. 10, 2001--Motor Trend magazine announced today the selection of GMC Envoy as Motor Trend's 2002 Sport/Utility of the Year.
    The award winning GMC Envoy was unveiled at the opening day of the 2002-Model California International Auto Show (CIAS) in Anaheim. In addition, the famous Caliper award was presented to Ron Zarella, the President of GM North America, in a ceremony at General Motors' headquarters in Detroit.
    Motor Trend's editorial staff selected this year's winner after conducting ten rigorous tests on 14 vehicles. Contenders included: the Buick Rendezvous, Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Ford Explorer, GMC Envoy, Honda CR-V, Isuzu Axiom, Jeep Liberty, Land Rover Freelander, Mercedes-Benz G500, Mercedes-Benz ML500, Mercury Mountaineer, Nissan Xterra S/C and the Toyota Highlander.
    "No other new or substantially upgraded sport/utility vehicle addresses our criteria and testing as effectively as the new GMC Envoy," said Editor-In-Chief C. Van Tune. "It offers solid powertrain performance, good off-road agility and ability, worthy load and tow capacity, on-highway chassis quietness and smoothness, pleasing handling, high feature content, a livable interior, premium design image, and reasonable value."
    To be eligible for Sport/Utility of the Year, a contestant must be new or substantially redesigned, as well as on sale in North America by January 1, 2002. Now in its fourth year, the annual Motor Trend Sport/Utility of the Year has become the most important and prestigious award in the SUV category.
    "We are truly thrilled to receive the Motor Trend `2002 Sport/Utility of the Year' award," said Pontiac-GMC General Manager Lynn Myers. "The new Envoy is a very important vehicle in our GMC lineup. Many people worked very hard to deliver the Envoy's outstanding design and capabilities. This is a great recognition of the team's efforts."
    The complete report on the 2002 Sport/Utility of the Year will be published in the December issue of Motor Trend (on sale November 6). High-resolution images are available at www.motortrend.com/media. Supporting the printed test report is a behind-the-scenes article and video online. In addition, television coverage of the editors' testing will be aired on the Speedvision Network in November, and on Motor Trend's two 2-hour syndicated weekend radio shows hosted by Alan Taylor in over 150 markets. (consult your local listings).
    Motor Trend, a PRIMEDIA publication, was founded in 1949 and has a circulation of 1.26 million with a readership of 6.8 million. Internationally recognized as the world's no.1 authority, Motor Trend is one of the leading brands in automotive publishing.. The brand is comprised of Motor Trend en Espanol, Motor Trend Television ( a monthly nationwide program on Speedvision), Motor Trend Radio and Motor Trend Weekend (two 2-hour syndicated weekend programs), motortrend.com, the more than 18 world-renowned Motor Trend international auto shows and the much coveted Motor Trend (Car, Sport/Utility and Truck) of the Year awards program. .