PaulJun 05, 2003 at 4:40PM

Umm, read the article more closely:

The program cost an average of $600,000 a year to produce, Mr. Creed said, "and could get up over a million," as it did last year with a celebrity-heavy dinner for more than 350 people at the Four Seasons restaurant in New York to celebrate the award's 10th anniversary.

I can't say that I blame them. The car business is pretty hellacious right now, and cost-cutting is what its all about.

Look at it this way: $600k is what maybe 6-7 engineers make a year. If the choice is between dropping an award that doesn't sell many products or laying off engineers who actually make your product, this is a no-brainer.