Jaguar and Its Products Honored at NAIAS
17 January 2000
Jaguar and Its Products Honored at the North American International Auto ShowDETROIT, Jan. 14 -- Jaguar reaps awards at the 2000 North American International Auto Show winning several important honors. Jaguar's F-TYPE CONCEPT was awarded the AutoWeek Editors' Award for Best In Show and the Jaguar S-TYPE was awarded several honors by both African Americans On Wheels and American Woman Motorscene. Mike Dale, president of Jaguar North America, was honored by African Americans On Wheels at their Fourth Annual Urban Wheel Awards for his work on diversity programs within Jaguar. AutoWeek's editors walked the show floor and conferred on which cars best embody and exemplify four categories -- most fun, best concept, most significant, and best in show. The AutoWeek staff unanimously agreed upon the F-TYPE CONCEPT for the Best In Show category. "The F-TYPE CONCEPT is a stunning and spectacular car," said Dutch Mandel, editor and associate publisher of AutoWeek. "It is everything that is right with Jaguar, and everything that is right with sports cars." The F-TYPE CONCEPT, the most compact Jaguar sports car in more than forty years, presents the company's ideas for a roadster that would take Jaguar into a new segment of the global market. "The F-TYPE CONCEPT is the sexiest machine on this show floor," commented Kevin Wilson, executive editor of AutoWeek. The F-TYPE CONCEPT, unveiled at the Detroit show, was created to invoke the public's reaction to the concept of a Jaguar roadster. Mike Dale was honored for his work on diversity within Jaguar and his support of the Jaguar Internship Program at African Americans On Wheels (AAOW), which trains minority youth in automotive careers. "We at Jaguar recognize that diversity is not an option but a necessity for the future of our business as we grow in North America. Diversity is not a program with a beginning and end, but a constant, evolving process," commented Dale. "Supporting programs such as the Jaguar Internship Program at AAOW is just one step in the evolutionary process which supports diversity in the auto industry." African Americans on Wheels gave a second award to Jaguar for the Jaguar S-TYPE, a luxury sports sedan launched in May of 1999. The S-TYPE was named Vehicle of the Year at it's annual Urban Wheel Awards. American Woman Motorscene also honored the Jaguar S-TYPE, by awarding it 1st place in the Most Likely to Succeed category, 2nd place in the Exotic Car category: Most Sex Appeal, 2nd place in the Classic Car category: Most Likely to be Remembered, and 3rd place in the Luxury Car category: Most likely to Inspire Leadership.