Oh, Canada! Great White North journos pick their cars of the year
Guess what boys and girls, the auto show season is ramping up and that means the constant flow of Car of the Year awards is upon us. The biggest auto show award in our quaint little hemisphere is likely the North American COTY award, which, we would have thought included Canada, Mexico and our United States. Well, not so much. The Canadians have their own international show and their own COTY, complete with car and utility honors from among 12 categories and 52 award-eligible vehicles of all shapes and sizes.
After pouring over vehicles ranging from the Mazda3 to the Porsche Panamera and everything in between, the Canadians have narrowed their focus to one vehicle in each of the 12 categories. Volkswagen is the best-represented automaker in the final 12, with three VW models, two Audis and the Panamera. The Mazda3 wins in two different categories and the Ford Taurus is the only finalist among Detroit automakers.
Also shut out – somewhat surprisingly we may add – are the Honda and Toyota brands, although the Lexus Lexus RX450h was voted the top crossover/SUV over $60,000. The 2010 Canadian International Auto Show begins February 12. Hit the jump to view the rest of the winners.
[Source: AJAC via Auto North]
SMALL CAR (under $21k)
Mazda3
SMALL CAR (over $21k)l
Mazda3 Sport
FAMILY CAR (under $30k)
Volkswagen Golf Wagon
FAMILY CAR (over $30k)
Ford Taurus
LUXURY CAR (over $50k)
BMW 335d Sedan
PRESTIGE (over $75k)
Porsche Panamera
SPORTS / PERFORMANCE (under $50k)
Volkswagen Golf GTI
SPORTS / PERFORMANCE (over $50k)
Audi S4
CONVERTIBLES
Audi A5 Cabriolet
SUV / CUV (under $35k)
Subaru Outback
SUV / CUV ($35k-$60k)
Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel
SUV / CUV (over $60k)
Lexus RX450h
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bobmarley 8:01AM (11/04/2009)
its a respectable list
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Luis 8:40AM (11/04/2009)
I can't argue with any of these. Those Canadians seem to do a lot of things right: COTYs, banking, healthcare...
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John 8:56AM (11/04/2009)
Right on Luis. I would add to your list a conservative government that is not trying to bury our citizens with massive government and unmanageable debt.
We welcome smart guys like you as immigrants.
Brett MacPherson 9:23AM (11/04/2009)
Here Here, eh!
Luis 10:31AM (11/04/2009)
@John: your conservatives are more liberal than our Democrats! Americans seem to not keep that in mind...
If I got a job in Canada I'd move in a heartbeat...
Justin 9:35AM (11/04/2009)
I suggest you immigrate to Canada
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Marauder_Pilot 9:36AM (11/04/2009)
Yeah, finally a COTY list that actually makes sense and doesn't reek of bought votes. I'd drive anything on that list save the Porsche, but that's only because it looks like an aborted fetus, not because it's necessairly a bad car overall.
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ken_aisin 1:40PM (11/04/2009)
In general, aborted fetuses are much better looking than the Panamera.
mk15 1:42PM (11/04/2009)
If you look at their scoring system, it's quite interesting. They look at performance, styling, subjective, and functionality scores.
For the Small Car over $21,000, the Mazda3 Sport edged out the VW Golf by 1 point. http://www.ajac.ca/web/ccoty/2010/comparison_category.asp?cat=64
0h5ive_EP3 9:43AM (11/04/2009)
gti for best performance under $50k!? seriously....
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DomPrez 10:38AM (11/04/2009)
I Know, Eh! 'Should have been the Forte Koup...
Stealth E34 10:15AM (11/04/2009)
God Bless Canada!
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P.V. 5:54PM (11/04/2009)
It's a solid list, though I may have picked something other than the RX.
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evilspoons 6:09PM (11/04/2009)
Agree 100% with the Mazda 3 (I'm Canadian... and I made my dad buy one. Haha.)
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