Kbb.com $10,000 Video Car Review Contest Winner: Three High-School Friends From Illinois Pitch 2000 Toyota 'Coroollaaaa'

Second and Third Prize Kudos Go to Los Angeles Area Locals

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Jul 12, 2010, 05:00 ET

IRVINE, Calif., July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Kelley Blue Book, http://www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new and used car information, today announces the winners of its $10,000 Video Car Review Contest. Launched in May, the contest encouraged all interested gear-heads and nascent vehicle reviewers to step up to the plate and show the Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com editors a video car review of two minutes or less. Three prizes were up for grabs to entrants meeting contest criteria, including a first place prize of $10,000, a second prize of $5,000 and third prize of $1,000. The grand-prize winner also will get the opportunity to be a Kelley Blue Book editor for the day.

Today, the judges announce that the $10,000 winner is David Olson of Clark Olson Media for their 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.

"This is amazing," said Olson. "We hope that winning this contest will allow us to get more gigs. We plan to use the money toward a great Chicago-based film we are making 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 they say "Coroollaaaa."

"The review of the 2000 Toyota Corolla exhibited a high level of humor, satire and irony while also being informative, which are often elements of our kbb.com videos," said Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst, Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com. "The winning video included a significant amount of pertinent, well-chosen vehicle information in the allotted timeframe and did so in a classic style all its own."

The second place $5,000 prize winner is Joel Moss Levinson from Venice, Calif., with a rap review of his personal family car, the 2001 Volkswagen Passat.

"The panel of judges was absolutely taken by the amount of information and incisive comments Joel was able to work into a two-minute musical presentation," said Nerad. "It was genius!"

A third-place prize of $1,000 goes to Patrick Latimer, an admissions counselor from an architecture design and business university north of Los Angeles. Latimer, a car-guy at heart and one of the first to enter the video car review contest, set up a tri-pod with a remote to shoot a two-minute review of his 2004 Subaru Forester XT.

"We really liked the high-degree of knowledge Patrick was able to demonstrate on the Forester and it was presented in a light but informative style that was professional and appealing," said Nerad. "He said a lot without making it seem like a high school chemistry lecture."

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.

"We were extremely pleased with the overall number and quality of the entrants," said Nerad. "People clearly did an amazing amount of work preparing these videos in hopes of taking home one of the prizes. Nearly all of the videos were filled with general awesomeness, but our three winners really stood out. We plan to make many of these videos available for viewing on kbb.com and hope to have another contest again in the future."

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 (http://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, http://www.kbb.com, provides the most up-to-date pricing and values, including the New Car Blue Book® Value, which reveals what people actually 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 Gold Award winner, sanctioned by the International Academy of Visual Arts. Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices, used car Blue Book Values, car reviews, new cars for sale, used cars for sale, and car dealer locations.

SOURCE Kelley Blue Book