The awards given to Ford Thunderbird as Car of The Year; Buick Rendezvous as SUV of The Year and Olds Aurora as Car of The Decade garnered these products, and eMOTION! REPORTS, world wide notoriety.

The awards this year are rightly deserved by their recipients.  Cadillac's aggressive, if not bold strategies to reposition itself in an increasingly competitive luxury car market is exemplified by its new product lines.  All may not swoon over their new offerings in the guise of CTS, and for 2004, XLR sports coupe and SRX SUV, but you must applaud them for allowing their design and engineering teams to slip the bonds of conservatism and caution.  CTS is our choice of Car of The Year 2003/04 via a special dual year award extension granted as a result of the powerhouse CTS-V's availability.  We'll expand on this in the main analysis forthcoming.

For SUV of The Year, Lincoln Aviator won over our vehicle awards team effortlessly.  Aviator does so many things so well, especially in the handling area, that we find it hard to believe it actually exists.  You must, yes must, drive this SUV, as it simply shatters all assumptions and perceptions of what can be achieved in vehicle dynamics.  And in yet another example of Ford's strong efforts to maintain its position as the world's second largest industrial corporation and preserve its place in automotive history,  the company is reintroducing its legendary Le Mans winning GT.  The car's performance specifications speak for themselves, which will grant  the 2005 GT an ability to achieve terminal velocities and a level of vehicular athleticism on par or exceeding the world's best exotics.  But we aren't presenting an award for such -- high performance is a given -- we are instead acknowledging the fact the company understands the GT40's unique place in the annals of automobiledom.

Lastly, Toyota demonstrated to us that it is a firm believer in the ancient proverb:  "Why now, there is nothing that mankind can have in mind to do that he cannot accomplish."  In other words, if it can be thought of, it can be done.   The Hybrid Prius clearly has emerged from such thinking, and points the way to a "Future Perfect" in terms of preservation of natural resources.  They accomplish this through a seamless integration of vehicle components to create an experience just this side of the Jetsons.

Aerospace Technological Achievement Awards

We are also pleased to announce our first Aerospace Technological Achievement Awards wherein we name Bombardier's superlative Global Express as "Business Jet of The Decade."  This "clean sheet of paper" LRBJ (Long Range Business Jet) with 14 hour mission capability, a Mach .89 cruise and 51,000 ft operational altitude, was designed to set new standards in passenger comfort, all-around functional efficiency and  most importantly, safety.  As Toyota's acquisition of the first production Global Express in 1999 for its senior executives indicated, it has accomplished these objectives admirably.

On the heavy lifting side of air transport, we've named Boeing's C-17 Globemaster III as "Airlifter of The Decade."  Originally a McDonnell-Douglas design to meet Department of Defense requirements for a new and versatile airlifter to replace an aging fleet of C-5A Galaxies, C-141s and C-130 Hercules', the C-17 is a logistics and ordinance officer's dream come true.  In the words of U.S. Air Force Col. Dennis Hunt, Director of the CAMAA (Commercial Application of Military Airlift Aircraft) program, the "C-17 sets new operational standards for heavy airlift aircraft, as proven by its growing list of successfully completed missions, both military and humanitarian." (see "Super-Globalism" and National Defense Magazine analysis "Commercial C-17 Could Help Military Mobility" by Dr. Sheila Ronis). 

Becoming operational in 1991, its ability to take-off and land within 4,000 ft carrying 87 tons of "normal" or "outsized" cargo like satellites or Abrams tanks, renders it as having met and exceeded requirements.  Moreover, a short and austere runway capability or no runways and infrastructure at all -- just flat earth -- gives the self-unloading C-17 a versatility and flexibility unmatched by any cargo aircraft anywhere.  As a forthcoming analysis notes, "The only way to match the athleticism of the C-17 is a 489 kt Sikorsky Skycrane with a 2500nm range and 87 ton payload."

C-17 Globemaster III

Interestingly, the U.S. Air Force apparently won't be able to keep the C-17's ground and airborne talents to itself: A commercial version, the BC-17X, is on track for roll-out in the 2007-08 timeframe.  The availability of this craft in the private sector may very well trigger a sea change in global air cargo operations.  For the first time, the 2,000 year old dominance of ocean-borne shipping may be seriously challenged.

The eMOTION! REPORTS awards committee congratulates Cadillac, Ford Divsion, Lincoln-Mercury, Toyota, Bombardier Aerospace and Boeing for jobs well done.

Again, we'll expand on the awards process in the main analysis. 

In other areas of interest, we take a look at the recently held "Gold Cup" Hydroplane races in Detroit, and we will continue to monitor -- as originally noted August 25 -- the DaimlerChrysler difficulties. along with the strong potential of executive realignment they represent.