Kbb.com $10,000 Video Contest Winner, 'Coroollaaa Guy,' Reviews Nissan GT-R With Experts

Illinois Native Claims Cash Prize, Travels to California to Be Kelley Blue Book Editor for a Day, Review Supercar

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Nov 09, 2010, 05:00 ET

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Kelley Blue Book, www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new car and used car information, today announces that the first-place winner of its $10,000 Video Car Review Contest has claimed the prize. Clark Olson Media's satirical review of a white 2000 Toyota Corolla won not only $10,000 and a trip to California from its home base in Chicago, but also the chance to be a kbb.com editor for the day, joining the experts to participate in the production of a video review of the complete antithesis of the rational Corolla: the 2010 Nissan GT-R supercar.

Launched in May 2010, kbb.com's video car review contest encouraged all interested gear-heads and nascent vehicle reviewers to step up to the plate and show the Kelley Blue Book editors a video car review of two minutes or less. Three prizes were up for grabs to entrants meeting contest criteria: First place received $10,000 and the chance to be a kbb.com editor for a day, second place received $5,000 and third place received $1,000.

In July 2010, the judges announced that the $10,000 grand-prize winner was Clark Olson Media for a comedic review of the 2000 Toyota Corolla. Clark Olson Media includes the two producers of the video, Guy Clark and David Olson, and the talented on-camera humor of their friend and Chicago actor, Neil Arsenty. All three attended high school together in the early 90s, have remained friends over the years and are currently making a film together.

The 2000 Corolla video was a favorite among Kelley Blue Book's panel of judges, as well as visitors to the contest site, Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com Facebook page and journalists from the Detroit News for its satirical/deadpan humor and the creative way Arsenty says "Coroollaaa."

Arsenty recently joined Micah Muzio, video road test editor for kbb.com, and the kbb.com video production squad to review the 2010 Nissan GT-R on a foggy Saturday afternoon in Malibu. While Arsenty admitted he wasn't necessarily a "car guy," he nonetheless enjoyed a fast day behind the wheel of the 485-horsepower, $85,000, all-wheel-drive Nissan GT-R supercar with kbb.com's video review team. Arsenty's on-camera antics and personality combined with Muzio's unique brand of car knowledge resulted in a video review that captures the feel of the contest-winning video, but with a high-horsepower twist.

"Having Neil Arsenty, or 'Coroollaaa guy' as we like to call him, paired up for a day with our video review team made not only for a day full of laughs and ridiculous outtakes, but also provided an inside look into what it takes for our editors to produce a video car review for kbb.com," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com. "As Arsenty says in the video, to go from driving 'no car to the GT-R' was surely an eye-opening experience, and we're thrilled to have been able to provide that to the deserving winner of our first video car review contest."

To view outtakes from the Nissan GT-R video shoot with video car review contest winner Neil Arsenty and the kbb.com road test editorial crew, visit http://kbb.us/kbbvideocontest.

Nearly 100 people from around the country submitted their takes on vehicle reviews in an effort to show Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com a great video car review. Entrants were judged by a panel of kbb.com editors based on content, creativity, production style and the ability to capture the essence of the vehicle being reviewed, while cool and unusual visuals and 'general awesomeness' also were appreciated.

The video car review contest posed both challenges and surprises, but the kbb.com editors were extremely impressed with the high caliber of entrants they received. There are a number of contest entries that stick out in their minds as noteworthy: The guy who reviewed an ultra-rare Lamborghini, the young soldier who assembled his video while deployed in Iraq, and a review of a Mercedes 300SL hosted by a crash test dummy, just to name a few. The video submissions covered the full range of styles and abilities. Some presenters were serious, while some aimed for laughs. Some videos looked like they were shot on a cell phone, while others blew the kbb.com editors away with their professional shooting, editing and voice work.

The sheer variety of interpretations of what a two-minute car review could be was staggering, and to see the effort and creativity aimed at the kbb.com contest proved inspiring for the editors. After sifting through dozens of submissions, prizes were awarded for the best entries. In addition to Clark Olson Media's first-place review of the Toyota Corolla, the second-place prize of $5,000 went to Joel Moss Levinson, who delivered a genuinely insightful review of his 2001 Volkswagen Passat in super-catchy rap form, and the third-place prize of $1,000 went to Patrick Latimer for his informative yet funny review of a 2004 Subaru Forester.

For more information on the winners of the Kelley Blue Book Video Car Review Contest, to see their videos and other judge favorites, please visit http://kbb.us/kbbwinner.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, has provided vehicle buyers and sellers with the new- and used-vehicle information they need to accomplish their goals with confidence. The company's top-rated website, www.kbb.com, provides the most up-to-date pricing and values, including the Fair Purchase Price, which reports what buyers are paying for new cars. The company also reports vehicle pricing and values via products and services, including software products and the famous Blue Book® Official Guide. According to the C.A. Walker Research Solutions, Inc. - 2009 Spring Automotive Website Usefulness Study, kbb.com is the most useful automotive information website among new- and used-vehicle shoppers, and half of online vehicle shoppers visit kbb.com. Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com also is a W3 Silver Award winner, sanctioned by the International Academy of Visual Arts. Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices, used car values, car reviews, new cars for sale, used cars for sale, and car dealer locations.

SOURCE Kelley Blue Book