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Niagara-on-the-Lake - For most Canadians, a year clearly starts every January 1 and ends decisively on December 31. If you're an accountant, your calendar is probably dictated by April's income tax deadline. And if you're a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), your annual schedule contains a week in October dedicated to that organization's annual orgy of new cars, "Testfest."
This year, more than 80 auto writers from across the country gathered at the Niagara airport near Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, where Testfest has been held for the past three years, to evaluate 56 new cars and trucks in 14 categories. All of this was done with the eventual aim of choosing two that stand above the rest: Canadian Car of the Year, and Canadian Truck of the Year.
This year's twist was that the winners in each category would be announced the morning of Friday, October 24, the idea being that this would give every journalist the chance to drive all the winners before trekking back home.
As in past years, the overall winners - Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Truck of the Year - won't be known until February 2009, when they're announced at Toronto's Canadian International Auto Show. But, for now, here's a rundown of this year's category winners, which vehicles they competed against, and the ones we think are candidates for the two top prizes.
Small car under $18,000 - Winner: Toyota Corolla
Small car over $18,000 - Winner: 2009 Pontiac Vibe
Family car, $22,000-$30,000 - Winner: 2009 Mazda6
Family car, over $30,000 - Winner: 2009 Volkswagen Passat CC
Luxury Car, under $50,000 - Winner: Hyundai Genesis
Luxury Car, over $50,000 - Winner: Audi A4 2.0T quattro
Pick-up - Winner: Dodge Ram
Prestige, over $75,000 - Winner (tie): Mercedes-Benz CL550 and Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG
Sports/Performance, under $50,000 - Winner: BMW 135i
Sports/Performance, over $50,000 - Winner: Lexus IS F
Convertible - Winner: Audi TTS
SUV/CUV, under $35,000 - Winner: Subaru Forester
SUV/CUV, $35,000-$60,000 - Winner: Ford Flex
SUV/CUV, over $60,000 - Winner: Mercedes-Benz M-Class
Full Article: CanadianDriver: Feature - 2009 AJAC Testfest: Category Winners
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