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TORONTO (Ontario) November 21, 2006 – The 2007 “Best New” winners in thirteen different “Canadian Car of the Year” categories were announced today by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) at a press conference held at the Holiday Inn Select, in Toronto, Ontario.
The purpose of the Canadian Car of the Year (CCOTY) awards program, created by journalist members of AJAC, is to provide consumers with sound, comparative information on vehicles that are new to the market.
For that reason, the vote results that determined today’s winners are available on the AJAC web site www.ajac.ca, for use by consumers as a resource buying guide when researching the purchase of a new car, truck, SUV, or CUV for 2007. Also available to consumers are the comparative test data derived from the journalists’ extensive 3-day evaluation of 195 new 2007 vehicles in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario from October 25 – 27, 2007. This annual event is known in the industry as “TestFest”.
2007 CCOTY Chairman Paul Williams commented, “In my opinion, the AJAC Canadian Car of the Year awards are founded on the most objective, informed and thorough evaluation process you'll find. The evaluations are based on back-to-back testing in real-world situations. They're a uniquely Canadian resource for people looking to buy a new vehicle”.
Denis DesRosiers of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants would agree: “As car awards go I personally believe that the Automobile Journalists of Canada (AJAC) serve our industry very well. Their testing process is very thorough and fair involving journalists who evaluate a very wide spectrum of vehicles through the year and thus know how to evaluate a complex product. They come together once a year to evaluate these specific vehicles and their choices are almost always right on the mark.”
AJAC’s three consumer surveys show that winning an AJAC Canadian Car of the Year (CCOTY) award is increasingly important for potential buyers of new cars. For example, a survey of 2004 Canadian Car of the Year buyers confirmed an influence of 58.4%. In 2002 that influence was 47.5%; in 1999 the influence was 44.5%.
The 2007 category winners are:
Best New Small Car (under $18,000): Winner: Honda FIT LX
Best New Small Car (over $18,000): Winner: Volkswagen Rabbit 2.5
Best New Family Car ($22,000 - $30,000): Winner: Toyota Camry LE
Best New Family Car (over $30,000): Winner: Toyota Camry Hybrid
Best New Luxury Car (under $50,000): Winner: Lexus ES 350
Best New Prestige Car: Winner: Audi S8
Best New Sports / Performance Car (under $50,000): Winner: Mazdaspeed3
Best New Sports / Performance Car (over $50,000): Winner: BMW 3-Series Coupé
Best New Convertible: Winner: Volkswagen EOS 2.0T
Best New Pick-up Truck: Winner: Chevrolet Avalanche
Best New SUV / CUV (under $35,000): Winner: Toyota RAV4 - V6 Sport
Best New SUV / CUV ($35,000 - $60,000): Winner: Acura RDX Technology Package
Best New SUV / CUV (over $60,000): Winner: Mercedes-Benz GL Class
The overall Canadian Car of the Year, Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year, as well as the Canadian Truck of the Year will all be announced on February 14th, 2007, at the 2007 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Ontario. The 2007 Best New Design and Best New Technology winners will also be declared at that time.
And there’s more… our AJAC journalists who evaluated the brand-new models at TestFest are available across Canada for interviews to talk about the vote results and comparative data. Media are invited to visit the AJAC web site and log-in under “Ask The Experts”, then choose the “Car of the Year” link for interviews once they’ve been validated.
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