Ford Division president Stephen G. Lyons and Automobile editor-in-chief Jean Jennings.
Dearborn, Michigan—
The Ford Motor Company's Ford Division president Stephen G. Lyons today accepted the Ford Focus's 2003 Automobile Magazine All-Star award for best small car. Automobile's editor-in-chief, Jean Jennings, presented the award--the third All-Star for the Focus in three years, following Automobile of the Year honors in 2000. Jennings said of the Focus: "In the end, it wasn't how fast, or how cute, or how cheap the Focus was that won the day. It was how wonderful the Focus was to drive. It's a rare quality in this category, and it's one we treasure."
Ford's Focus (SVT model with European Appearance package shown), Automobile's Best Small Car for 2003.
Eleven of this year's Automobile Magazine All-Star honorees (in ten categories) were announced in the magazine's February 2003 issue. Of the Focus, we wrote: "In Europe, Ford has a long history of crafting economical cars that resolutely defy economy-car status. Trouble was, we in North America got either watered-down versions of these Continental delights or no versions at all. Then the Focus arrived--over there for 1999 and over here, almost unaltered, for 2000. Flavored for the European small-car palate and proportioned for the American big-car appetite, the Focus was, truly, a car for all countries. Among its many accolades was this publication's Automobile of the Year award. And yet, as superlative as the Focus remains, determining this year's best small car was no small feat. The new Mini Cooper is an undiluted delight, and the Mazda Protege family just keeps getting better. But when the votes were tallied, the endlessly amusing Focus, with its four body styles, incomparable user-friendliness, and sensible pricing, had done it again. The clincher was the new five-door SVT Focus, which augments the practicality of the Special Vehicle Team's three-door model but sacrifices none of its joie de vivre . It, like every Focus, celebrates a driver's enthusiasm while respecting his thriftiness, bringing indulgence to a segment that is all too often defined by sacrifice."
Automobile Magazine's other 2003 All-Stars include:
Best Coupe: Infiniti G35 Sport Coupe
Best Supercar: Porsche 911 Turbo/GT2
Best Sport Sedan: Subaru Impreza WRX/BMW M5 (tie)
Best Sports Car: Porsche Boxster/Boxster S
Best Luxury Car over $40,000: BMW 7-series
Best Minivan: Honda Odyssey
Best GT: BMW M3
Best Family Car: Mazda 6
Best Luxury Car Under $40,000: BMW 3-series