2012 AJAC Awards - Tight Race For Top Honours Amongst Top Three Finalists

MONTREAL, Jan. 12, 2012 /CNW/ - Today during media day at the Montreal International Auto Show, the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) announced the top three finalists in three overall award categories as follows:

2012 Canadian Car of the Year:
Hyundai Accent
Hyundai Elantra
Kia Optima

2012 Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year:
BMW X3
Dodge Journey
Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel

2012 Best New Design:
Hyundai Veloster
Jaguar XKR-S
Range Rover Evoque

The three winners will be declared at approximately 8:20 am on Thursday, February 16^th at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto.

Eleven category winners were eligible for the top honours after being announced last October during the association's annual "TestFest".   Hyundai Auto Canada won three of the eleven categories while BMW Group Canada, Kia Canada and Mercedes-Benz Canada each garnered double wins.  Other category winners were Chrysler Canada and Volkswagen Canada. 

Seventy of Canada's top automotive journalists spent four intensive days in Niagara-on-the-Lake conducting back-to-back comparative testing of 170 "all new" or "significantly new" 2012 vehicles. This was no easy task.  Their vote results were determined from more than 40,000 individual data points established in the testing program.  That information includes not just specifications and features but actual performance data and subjective ratings on up to 23 different characteristics - from interior roominess and comfort to ride quality and handling ability. Shell Canada is the official fuel supplier of the event.

The seventy journalists are all members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) whose primary purpose is to provide consumers with sound, objective, comparative data for use as a resource buying guide when considering the purchase of a new car, truck of SUV/CUV.

The journalists' vote results were compiled on-site by the international accounting firm KPMG and kept confidential even from AJAC until the winners' press conference.  KPMG will return on February 16^th at the Toronto show with four envelopes that announce the overall winners:  the 2012 Canadian Car of the Year, 2012 Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year, 2012 Best New Design and the 2012 Best New Technology award, presented by Shell Canada.

Consumers want to compare a Fiat 500 to Honda Civic Sedan or a Hyundai Accent?  Or an Acura TL to a Mercedes-Benz C 350?  They need look no further than the AJAC web site:  www.ajac.ca > Canadian Car of the Year Awards > Results

Still looking to buy a 2011, 2010, or even an older vehicle?  AJAC archives the comparative test data and vote results from previous years on its web site.   Check it out:   www.ajac.ca > Vehicle Comparisons

For more information on the 2012 Canadian Car of the Year Awards you can either visit our AJAC web site, call the AJAC office 1.705.924.3444, or send an email to:[e-mail].