Sony Pumps Out Gran Turismo Awards
Five cars earned top honors from the driving sim experts.
Published: November 6, 2006
It's one thing to have a car and take care of it. For others, though, what rolls off the assembly line is just that start. Aftermarket parts are a huge part of the auto enthusiast's post-purchase options, from street racing to customization, the sheer number of products out there is almost impossible to keep track of. Which is why there's SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association and the world's biggest aftermarket show, which takes place in Las Vegas every year.
This year, at the The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel's little performance nook, Sony Computer Entertainment America and Gran Turismo papa Kazunori Yamauchi doled out the Gran Turismo Awards to five lucky winners. The show has become a SEMA tradition, and in its fourth year, allowed contestants to enter in five different categories, listed with winners below.
“Best in Show and Best Hot Rod” - Craig Morrison for his 1960 Chevrolet Corvette
“Best European Import” – Don Nicholson, for his 2008 Volvo C30.
“Best Domestic Automobile” – Tajai Das for his 2006 Pontiac Solstice.
“Best Japanese Automobile” – Leigh Guarnieri for his 2007 Honda Fit.
“Best Truck / SUV” – Daryl Klassen & Mike DeFord for their 2006 Hummer H3.
“The Gran Turismo Awards has established itself as a perfect forum to honor those automobile enthusiasts that share a passion for video games,” beamed Yamauchi, who is also President of Polyphony Digital Inc. “There is a strong parallel between the automotive and gaming industries, and we’re excited to have an opportunity to celebrate that through the SEMA show.”
To help hammer home that observation, Yamauchi and Sony pimped Gran Turismo HD, Polyphony Digital's stepping stone to next-gen development before they go all out on Gran Turismo 5, a game that will probably look so good it will cause people to have heart attacks from the photo-realism and increase the number of vehicular fatalities because people won't know when they're playing the game and when they're really behind the wheel. It's going to be awesome.
Congrats to the winners, and we'll see who takes home the honors next November.
This year, at the The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel's little performance nook, Sony Computer Entertainment America and Gran Turismo papa Kazunori Yamauchi doled out the Gran Turismo Awards to five lucky winners. The show has become a SEMA tradition, and in its fourth year, allowed contestants to enter in five different categories, listed with winners below.
“Best in Show and Best Hot Rod” - Craig Morrison for his 1960 Chevrolet Corvette
“Best European Import” – Don Nicholson, for his 2008 Volvo C30.
“Best Domestic Automobile” – Tajai Das for his 2006 Pontiac Solstice.
“Best Japanese Automobile” – Leigh Guarnieri for his 2007 Honda Fit.
“Best Truck / SUV” – Daryl Klassen & Mike DeFord for their 2006 Hummer H3.
“The Gran Turismo Awards has established itself as a perfect forum to honor those automobile enthusiasts that share a passion for video games,” beamed Yamauchi, who is also President of Polyphony Digital Inc. “There is a strong parallel between the automotive and gaming industries, and we’re excited to have an opportunity to celebrate that through the SEMA show.”
To help hammer home that observation, Yamauchi and Sony pimped Gran Turismo HD, Polyphony Digital's stepping stone to next-gen development before they go all out on Gran Turismo 5, a game that will probably look so good it will cause people to have heart attacks from the photo-realism and increase the number of vehicular fatalities because people won't know when they're playing the game and when they're really behind the wheel. It's going to be awesome.
Congrats to the winners, and we'll see who takes home the honors next November.