Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Wins 2006 All-Stars Award

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Wins 2006 All-Stars Award

Mitsubishi Motor Hits Prestigious Automobile Magazine List for Second Consecutive Year

CYPRESS, Calif., Dec. 5 -- AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE announced today that the ninth generation Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution received the prestigious AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE 2006 All-Stars Award -- the second consecutive year the Evo nameplate has won this honor. The Evo will be featured as one of only six winning vehicles in the January 2006 issue of AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE, scheduled to hit newsstands on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2005. This year's All-Stars slots were reduced from nine to six, making the competition even more challenging.

"The Lancer Evolution exemplifies a key aspect of the core DNA of the Mitsubishi Motors brand -- performance -- so it is no surprise that it has been awarded AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE'S 2006 All-Stars Award," said Dave Schembri, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Mitsubishi Motors North America. "We are thrilled and honored that the staff of AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE continues to recognize the Evo as a class-leading model, not to mention a benchmark for all performance cars."

Every year, AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE's entire staff, including worldwide contributors, gathers for a week to test drive and identify the year's best vehicles. This year, the staff went to Southeastern Ohio to push the limits of the vehicles along 50-mile stretches, driving competitive-class vehicles back-to-back. The staff selected the six most impressive vehicles as AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE 2006 All-Stars.

"The Lancer Evolution is a quintessential, award-winning vehicle that continues to turn the heads of our staff, not to mention car enthusiasts," said AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE Editor-in-Chief Jean M. Jennings. "The Evo competes with the world's best performance cars by offering top-notch engineering and handling at a reasonable price. It is truly one of the most amazing performance vehicles on the road today."

The Lancer Evo continues its winning streak with this award, in addition to being awarded AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE's All-Stars Award in 2005 and Automobile of the Year in 2004. Additionally, Sport Compact Car magazine named the Evo one of the Eight Great Rides in 2005 and 2004, Car of the Year in 2005 and 2004, and the number one choice among the 100 Best Sport Compact Cars of All Time in 2004.

Built on Mitsubishi's historic rally championship legacy, the 2006 Lancer Evolution represents the ninth generation of this high performance four-door sedan that continues to evolve with significant performance, rally styling and useful driver enhancements -- raising the adrenaline of driving enthusiasts at every turn.

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., (MMNA) is responsible for all manufacturing, finance, sales, marketing, research and development operations of the Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in the United States and Canada. Mitsubishi Motors sells coupes, convertibles, sedans and sport utility vehicles through a network of approximately 570 dealers. For more information, contact the Mitsubishi Motors News Bureau at (888) 560-6672 or visit media.mitsubishicars.com.