Well-known Mercedes-Benz author and publisher Jim Luikens was honored recently with a 1997 Imperial Palace Moto Award. The Imperial Palace Moto Awards are presented each year for excellence in automotive journalism during the preceding twelve months. Walter R. Haessner, Administrator, presented awards in 96 categories during the 7th annual International Automotive Conference and Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The coveted Imperial Palace Moto Award, a distinctive trophy consisting of a winged motometer on a walnut base, was awarded to entries for writing, design, art and photography. Nominated entries included the full spectrum of modern media: magazines, newspapers, books, newsletters, video, television, CD-ROM, world wide web and public relations. Entries were judged on merit against a standard by peer review.

Luikens’ Moto Award was for his twelve page magazine article, Flight of the “Gull Wing”: The 1954-57 Mercedes-Benz 300SL that originally appeared as the cover article in the February 1997 issue of Collectible Automobile. The award was for writing in Category E-3 which covered magazine articles devoted to classic cars of all brands.

“It was quite an honor to be asked to write the article in the first place” said Luikens. “That the article was judged award-worthy by my peers makes the award even more special. Despite being manufactured for only four years, 1954-1957, the 300SL remains one of the greatest cars of all time. Being a former owner of a 300SL provided some special insight into what made the car so remarkable.”