Motor Trend Names Chrysler 300 2005 Car of the Year

Motor Trend magazine, the world's number one automotive authority and part of the PRIMEDIA Consumer Automotive Group, today announced the selection of the Chrysler 300 as the 2005 Motor Trend Car of the Year. Now in its 56th year, the title of Motor Trend Car of the Year is the most coveted and most recognized award in the automotive industry.

"The Chrysler 300 is an extremely compelling combination of power, responsiveness, room and refinement," said Angus MacKenzie, editor-in-chief of Motor Trend. "A home run on significance, a slam dunk on value, and clearly superior to its rivals in every way, the Chrysler 300 is truly deserving of the 2005 Motor Trend Car of the Year award.

After weeks of extensive performance testing, Motor Trend editors found the Chrysler 300 to be a daring re-invention of the great American sedan. The Chrysler 300 not only has world class levels of performance, road-holding and refinement, but is also the first North-American-built mainstream sedan in decades with bold, expressive and confidently American styling.

This year, the editorial staff of Motor Trend conducted testing on 24 new vehicles, from sports cars to minivans, searching for the automobile that best represented exceptional value, superiority in its class, and the most significant development on the new-car scene for 2005. Only truly new or substantially revised cars were considered with the condition that they be available for public sale by January 1, 2005.

The 2005 Motor Trend Car of the Year competition included the following models: Acura RL, Audi A6, BMW 6 Series, Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac STS, Chevrolet Corvette, Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum, Ford Five Hundred, Ford Mustang, Honda Accord Hybrid, Honda Odyssey, Kia Amanti, Kia Spectra, Lotus Elise, Mazda 3, Mercedes-Benz SLK, Mercury Montego, Pontiac G6, Porsche 911, Saab 9-2x, Scion tC, Subaru Legacy and Volvo S40/V50.