 Contemporary rumors of the rope-shaft's demise due to reliability problems are unfounded; the rope-shaft's durability and performance had been proven in tests in full-sized Pontiacs and Cadillacs in 1959, and only adapted to a smaller car in 1960.The Tempest won the" [Motor Trend" "Car of the Year" award in 1961—for Pontiac, the second time in three years.DeLorean's vision has been further vindicated by the adoption of similar designs in a slew of modern high-performance cars, including the Porsche 928, 924, and 944, the Corvette C5, and the Aston Martin DB9.