Canadians choose Volkswagen GTI as their Car of the Year

2010 2010 Volkswagen GTI - Click above for high-res image gallery

Congratulations 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTI: Canada loves you. VW's lovable little pocket rocket has been named the car of the year by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. AJAC chose the GTI over nine other vehicles in the "best new" category, giving VW's compact corner-cutter another feather in its cap. The AJAC car of the year award is determined by 70 journalists who judge 20 parameters and a reported total of "46,000 pieces of data in all."

AJAC Car of the Year Chair Richard Russell seems fairly smitten with how the association chooses the winners of its awards. The AJAC press release quotes Russell as saying "by constantly adjusting the program and testing procedures to reflect what is important to Canadian consumers, we feel we have a more thorough, unbiased and meaningful award than any other." Big words, those.

John White, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group Canada calls the GTI the "heart and soul of Volkswagen," and added that the honor "represents the culmination of the hard work on the part of everyone in the Volkswagen Brand around the world." The GTI won Automobile Car of the Year back in November; the same award the magazine awarded the car back in 2007 with the same powertrain and hard points. Hit the jump to look over the AJAC press release and head over to the association's website for more winners.

PRESS RELEASE

TORONTO (Ontario) Thursday, February 11, 2010 – In an early morning press conference at the opening of the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, the Volkswagen Golf GTI was declared the 2010 Canadian Car of the Year (CCOTY) by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).

The Volkswagen Golf GTI beat nine other "best new" category winners, announced October 30, 2009 to win top honours. John White, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group Canada Inc. commented, "We are very proud to win this very prestigious award and wish to thank the AJAC members for bestowing this recognition upon our car. The Golf GTI is the heart and soul of Volkswagen. To have the Golf GTI named Canadian Car of the Year today by Canada's automotive media is a very proud moment for us, indeed, and represents the culmination of the hard work on the part of everyone in the Volkswagen Brand around the world."

AJAC's Canadian Car of the Year Awards chair, Richard Russell, said: "AJAC has been conducting and perfecting the
Canadian Car and Utility Vehicle of the year program for more than two decades. By constantly adjusting the program and
testing procedures to reflect what is important to Canadian consumers, we feel we have a more thorough, unbiased and
meaningful award than any other. It is heartening to learn from independent research that Canadians recognize the
significance of the award. We will continue to strive to live up to that trust."

AJAC's annual Canadian Car of the Year awards program was created in 1985 with the purpose of providing consumers with sound, comparative information on vehicles that are new to the market. Unlike other awards, this is not a popularity contest based on the opinions of a few people. Our winners are determined on a combination of measured facts and subjective evaluations of more than 20 parameters by approximately 70 journalists – more than 46,000 pieces of data in all. And most importantly, they are based on actual testing of the vehicles– back-to-back; on the same roads and in the same conditions on the same day.

The vote results that determined today's winners are available to consumers as a resource buying guide on the AJAC web site. Also available are the comparative test data derived from the journalists' extensive four day evaluation of more than 150 new vehicles in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario in October. This annual event is known in the industry as "TestFest". Shell Canada is the official fuel supplier of the event.

The rigorous TestFest evaluation program includes real world driving on public roads – exactly where consumers drive so that the test and vote results posted to the AJAC web site are directly relevant to potential car and truck buyers. Still looking to buy a 2009, 2008, or even a 2007 vehicle? AJAC archives the comparative test data from previous years on its web site.

Photos from today's award announcements, the October 30th category winners, and the TestFest evaluation event, are available for print and broadcast media under <Canadian Car of the Year< Photo Gallery< on the AJAC web site. In addition, 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 An Expert", then choose the "Media" link to access interview information once validation has occurred.