What makes a "Best New" winner?

Answer: data driven by Canadian expertise.  
That's what makes a winner for Canadian consumers.

AJAC's 2016 Canadian Car of the Year Awards

AJAX, ON, Oct. 30, 2015 /CNW/ - Over 80 Canadian automotive journalist experts have just completed their back-to-back test-drives of 122 vehicles for the purpose of voting on the "Best New" cars, trucks and SUVs for 2016.   The event is organized by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) and is known within the industry as "TestFest."  The Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario was the host of the event and Shell Canada continued as the official fuel supplier for the 10^th year.

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park was pleased to welcome AJAC to our world-class facility for their 28th annual TestFest event," said Myles Brandt, president and general manager. "Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, with its multiple race tracks, skid pads, off-road course as well as state-of-the-art Event Centres, provided AJAC with everything they require to run the vehicles through the various tests that ultimately determine the Canadian Car of the Year, Canadian Truck or Utility Vehicle of the Year, Canadian Green Car of the Year and Canadian Green Truck or Utility Vehicle of the Year.  Many consumers base their next vehicle purchase on the results that will be complied here, so we couldn't be more proud to play a part in that."

"Clarington is excited to host TestFest at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. We are home to Canada's famous race track that will lend itself well to vehicle performance testing. We look forward to finding out which new vehicles stand out above all others," said Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster.

The journalists' votes result in nine winners in "Best New" vehicle categories (e.g. Best New Small Car, or Best New SUV over $60,000), which will be announced on November 24, 2015 in Toronto, Ontario. These category winners then go on to compete for the honour of becoming the 2016 Canadian Car of the Year, Canadian Truck or Utility Vehicle of the Year, Canadian Green Car of the Year, or the Canadian Green Truck or Utility Vehicle of the year winners.

But what, exactly, makes a vehicle a winner? Officials with the AJAC Canadian Car of the Year (CCOTY) program encourage the public to ask that exact question when considering the results of their awards program, or any other.

Where some automotive awards programs simply declare the a winner based on the preferences of a few individuals, the CCOTY program capitalizes on the experience of some 80 respected member journalists, who drive all entries back-to-back on a series of drive routes including public roads, a performance course, a handling course, and an off-road course—precisely mimicking a range of conditions that a consumer would likely experience in daily life.

Dozens of factors relating to each vehicle are scored, with everything from noise levels and cargo space to fuel economy and acceleration figures considered, weighted, and applied to that vehicle's points' score. Vehicles are categorized based on price and type, and all entries in a given category are driven back to back, on the same day, in the same conditions.

"The benefits are twofold," says CCOTY Co-Chair Justin Pritchard. "First, back-to-back testing brings out even subtle differences between competitors, which are reflected in the scoring results. And second, all of our results are quantified. When a vehicle wins or loses in the program, the public can see precisely why, since all of our testing and voting data is published online at www.ajac.ca. This isn't a popularity contest. When we declare a winner, we've got hundreds of thousands of data points, collected during thousands of man-hours of controlled test-drives, to back it up."

Both subjective and objective scores are combined and weighted for importance in determining which vehicle in each category has the greatest overall scores in relation to the vehicles it competes against. This data driven, unbiased program ensures an accurate representation of a winner.

"TestFest draws a passionate crowd of auto experts who are focused on providing consumers with information they need to help make decisions on one of their biggest investments – their vehicle, says Michael Howe, Shell Fuels Scientist. We work closely with the auto industry to develop fuels based on evolving engine technologies. Shell V-Power is proud to be the official fuel of Testfest; providing the best total engine protection you can get."

PRESS ROOM FOR MEDIA: You didn't have to be at TestFest in order to produce media coverage of the event. AJAC has set-up a virtual press room on-line where you may peruse and download the following:

VIDEO:   b-roll of the 4 day event as well as short 90 second videos that are ideal for YouTube

AERIAL VIEW:    drone footage of the event from the sky.

QUOTES & TESTIMONIALS:  comments from our journalists on the cars, trucks, and SUVs they have driven this week.

FACT SHEET:  including recent press releases.

Link is:  http://ajac.ca/web/ccoty/pressroom.asp

The Canadian Car of the Year is a vehicle that truly stands out, in its market segment, in the industry, and in the collective evaluation of Canada's most trusted automotive experts.

SOURCE Automobile Journalists Association of Canada

Image with caption: "Aerial View AJAC CCOTY TestFest (CNW Group/Automobile Journalists Association of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151030_C8857_PHOTO_EN_533094.jpg

Image with caption: "Cars lined up back-to-back testing track (CNW Group/Automobile Journalists Association of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151030_C8857_PHOTO_EN_533096.jpg

Image with caption: "Handling Course (CNW Group/Automobile Journalists Association of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151030_C8857_PHOTO_EN_533098.jpg

Image with caption: "Handling Course Testing Day 3 (CNW Group/Automobile Journalists Association of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151030_C8857_PHOTO_EN_533100.jpg

Image with caption: "Journalists TestFest Taking a Break (CNW Group/Automobile Journalists Association of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151030_C8857_PHOTO_EN_533102.jpg

Image with caption: "Off-road course back to back testing (CNW Group/Automobile Journalists Association of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151030_C8857_PHOTO_EN_533104.jpg

Image with caption: "SUV under $35 waiting for test drives (CNW Group/Automobile Journalists Association of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151030_C8857_PHOTO_EN_533178.jpg

For further information: For further information about the AJAC CCOTY Awards, please visit the AJAC web site: ajac.ca or contact : Justin Pritchard Co-Chair ([email protected]), Gary Grant Co-Chair ([email protected]), Brian Early Director ([email protected]), Haney Louka Director ([email protected]), David Taylor Director ([email protected]) or Charles Jolicoeur Director ([email protected]).