`Motor Trend' Magazine Names Lexus GS Series as 1998 Import Car of the Year
17 December 1997
`Motor Trend' Magazine Names Lexus GS Series as 1998 Import Car of the Year
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 17 -- "MOTOR TREND" magazine today
announced the selection of the Lexus GS Series -- consisting of the GS 300 and
GS 400 -- as the publication's 1998 Import Car of the Year. In naming the
winner, "MOTOR TREND" applauded the GS' outstanding driving dynamics,
sophisticated powerplants, leading-edge engineering, exemplary luxury, and
impressive value.
"MOTOR TREND's" Import Car of the Year, Car of the Year, and Truck of the
Year programs are widely regarded as the most coveted awards in the automotive
industry. This is the 23rd time the publication's Golden Calipers trophy has
been awarded to the Import Car of the Year. In choosing the winner, "MOTOR
TREND" editors considered all new or significantly changed '98 EPA-designated
import cars and minivans, weighing such factors as technological advancement,
value, performance, livability, and overall impact on the automotive market to
identify the most significant vehicle line of the '98 model year.
The Lexus GS 300 and GS 400 have both been completely redesigned for '98,
emerging as world-class performance sedans that retain the signature luxury
attributes for which Lexus is noted. Both models feature new body styling,
revised chassis, improved powerplants, innovative technology, and a bold
assertiveness that's a welcome new addition to the Lexus line. The top-of-
the-line GS 400, equipped with a potent 4.0-liter DOHC 32-valve V-8, musters a
heady 300 horsepower and accelerates 0-60 mph in a blistering 5.7 seconds.
Yet, more impressive than its sheer performance potential is the way it's been
instilled into sedans that also offer a luxurious, well-appointed, ultra-quiet
driving environment -- at a suggested retail price that starts about 25
percent lower than the previous generation.
In naming the GS Series as Import Car of the Year, "MOTOR TREND's" editors
call it "the Lexus with an attitude," and assert that "the new GS 400 emerges
as the best high-end performance sedan value in the world." "The '98 Lexus GS
Series will surely surprise a lot of buyers," they continue, "not only with
its `pur sang' performance but with the seamless manner in which its musclecar
acceleration and sports car handling meld into a soothing travel cocoon." In
conclusion, they note, "That so much performance, refinement, safety, and
luxury can be had starting at just under $37,000 is possibly the GS Series'
greatest overall achievement."
The complete report on the 1998 Import Car of the Year can be found in the
February 1998 issue of "MOTOR TREND," on sale January 6, 1998, or on "MOTOR
TREND's" Web site at http://www.motortrend.com. The '98 Import Car of the Year will
also be reviewed on TNN's "MOTOR TREND" Television series on January 3-4,
1998. "MOTOR TREND" magazine is published monthly in Los Angeles by The
Petersen Companies, Inc. .
The Petersen Companies, Inc. is a leading multi-media marketing solutions
and brand development company, with a diverse portfolio of more than 80
special-interest magazines, television programs, trade shows, consumer events,
databases, custom publishing, and retail promotions. Petersen publications
deliver an estimated 52 million readers, including some 45 million adult
males. Petersen's internationally-recognized magazines include "MOTOR TREND,"
"HOT ROD," "TEEN," "SPORT," "SKIN DIVER," "MOTORCYCLIST" and "4-WHEEL & OFF-
ROAD." The Petersen Companies, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol PTN.
SOURCE The Petersen Companies, Inc.
