Data Driven by Canadian Expertise – That's What Makes a Winner
TORONTO, Feb. 12, 2015 /CNW/ - In an early morning press conference at the opening of the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, the Ford F-150 claimed top honours when the car was declared the 2015 Canadian Truck of the Year by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).
This is the second time that the F-150 has earned the overall Canadian Truck of the Year title having previously won in 2004. It is the fourth time for the Ford Motor Company to claim overall top honours having also won in 2011 (Ford Edge), 2009 (Ford Flex), 2004 (F-150).
"We are honoured that the 2015 F-150 has been named AJAC's 2015 Truck of the Year," said Dianne Craig, president and CEO, Ford of Canada. "Our game-changing use of aluminum alloy is raising the competitive bar for pick-ups and we are humbled to be considered an innovator in the industry, committed to providing our customers the most capable and fuel efficient pick-up ever."
Fifteen "Best New" category winners were eligible for the top honours after being announced on December 2, 2014. Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Subaru were all double winners. Other category winners were BMW, Ford, Honda, Kia, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo. The fifteen "Best New" categories cover the full new-model spectrum, including "Best New Small Car," "Best New Luxury Car," and "Best New SUV/CUV." Most mainstream categories are further divided by price, such as over or under $35,000, to better provide fair and relevant comparison.
The category winners represent the vote results by the largest group of Canada's best-known automotive journalists, who gathered this October in Niagara Falls, Ontario for a five-day test-drive evaluation of brand-new or significantly changed vehicle models. The event, known as "TestFest," was hosted by the Niagara Parks Commission, and Shell Canada is the official fuel supplier. The accounting firm KPMG tabulates all vote results.
"TestFest is the most intensive new vehicle evaluation process on the planet," said CCOTY Co-Chair, Gary Grant. "No other organization employs such stringent testing methods to determine their car of year award winners. Data driven and Canadian expertise: that's what makes an AJAC winner."
The rigorous testing program includes "real world" driving on public roads – exactly where consumers drive - so that the test data and vote results are directly relevant to potential car and truck buyers. The results are not based on the personal opinion of just one or two journalists. Instead, the 73 automotive journalists each drove a vehicle in 15 categories back-to-back on the same day, under the same conditions, to ensure fair and objective comparisons.
"Our program is absolutely testing-based," explains CCOTY Co-Chair Justin Pritchard. "We've got dozens of experienced vehicle testers driving dozens of vehicles, back to back, over the course of several days. This testing process generated 1,640 test drives producing approximately 106,405 data points and 500 category ballots. It's important to note that every aspect of this testing data is shared online via our web site so that shoppers can see how a given vehicle won its category, or how it stacked up to the category winner."
PRESS ROOM FOR MEDIA: AJAC has set-up a virtual press room on-line where you may peruse and download the following:
PHOTOS: the process of evaluating 150 vehicles back-to-back at TestFest is captured in photographs. The 15 "Best New" category winners' press conference also documented with photos.
VIDEO: b-roll of the 5 day TestFest event as well as short 90-second videos: ideal for YouTube. B-roll from the 15 category winners' press conference on Dec. 2nd.
AERIAL VIEW: TestFest drone footage from the sky.
QUOTES & TESTIMONIALS: comments from our journalists on the cars, trucks, and SUVs driven at TestFest.
FACT SHEET: including recent press releases.
Link is: http://ajac.ca/web/ccoty/pressroom.asp
AJAC's 2015 Canadian Car of the Year Awards
Data Driven by Canadian Expertise - That's What Makes a Winner
SOURCE Automobile Journalists Association of Canada
For further information about AJAC, its annual TestFest, and the Canadian Car of the Year Awards, please contact Beth Rhind, AJAC Manager, 1.905.375.5145, e: [email protected]
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