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AUTOMOBILE
JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION OF CANADA ANNOUNCES 2001
CANADIAN CAR OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS |
TORONTO, Dec. 5 CNW - Fifteen 2001 Car of the Year Award category
winners were announced today by the Automobile Journalists Association of
Canada (AJAC) at an awards ceremony held at the Holiday Inn Select Airport in
Toronto, Ontario. Chrysler, Honda and Volvo were the big winners with three
class victories each. Volkswagen/Audi won two. General Motors, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and Subaru each claimed one award. AJAC's Gerry Malloy, president of the Canadian Car of the Year Awards,
explained that, "the winners represent the best among an excellent group of
new cars and trucks for 2001, as selected by a sophisticated voting process
based on back-to-back, real-world testing."
WHAT ARE THE AJAC "CANADIAN CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDS"?
AJAC is an association of professional automotive experts who test-drive,and report on, new vehicles in various media.
The Canadian Car of the Year Awards are an annual AJAC event respected world-wide.
Every year AJAC's top automotive journalists from all across Canada gather at Shannonville Motorsport Park near Belleville, Ontario, for a
four-day automotive TestFest based on "real-world" back-to-back testing.
Their purpose? To select the best new vehicles in several categories as well as the overall Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Truck of the Year.
Winners of the "Best New Technology" award and the "Best New Design" award are
also chosen.
The AJAC Canadian Car of the Year Awards are unique! Unlike some other awards, they are not a popularity contest. They are unbiased and
scientifically sophisticated.
We stand by our results, because we have the data to back them up. That data derives from a rigorous testing program that includes: acceleration,
braking, vehicle dynamics, manoeuvrability even off-road capability, where
applicable.
Most importantly, the testing program includes "real world" driving on public roads -- where consumers drive.
Every member of a test team compares every vehicle in its class, back-to-back, on the same roads, under the same conditions.
And every detail, from safety features to cargo capacity, is thoroughly scrutinised, discussed, and individually rated by secret ballot.
Those ballots are then tabulated by the international accounting firm KPMG. The results are kept confidential -- even from AJAC -- until the awards
ceremony in early December when the vote results for the category winners are
announced in print and electronic media across Canada. The results are also
posted to the AJAC web site (www.AJAC.org) along with the comparative test
data from our October TestFest.
The overall 2001 Canadian Car of the Year winner, the 2001 Canadian Truck of the Year, as well as the winners of the Best New Design Award and the Best
New Technology Award will be announced on press day of the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto on Wednesday, February 14, 2001.
Our journalist experts are up to date on current automotive issues. They are available for general media interviews on a variety of topics.
12/05/2000
For further information: Please contact the AJAC office for more information at 1-800-361-1516
or autojourna@aol.com
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 CATO
HONOURED WITH AUTOMOTIVE JOURNALISM AWARDS
10 November 2000
Jeremy Cato received top honours as the winner of the Castrol Chinthe Award for Automotive Journalism created to honour "everyday" auto journalism
and to reward clarity, style and the clear delivery of the topic discussed. This is the second time Cato has won this award in three years. Cato was also runner-up on another occasion.
Judges Denis DesRosiers (DesRosiers Automotive Consultants), Jacques Anderson, (marketing instructor, Canadian
Automotive Institute, Georgian College, Barrie), and Nancy Burt, (assistant director of media studies,
Humber College), said of Cato: "The attention of the judges was caught by an
interesting title: "Clicking for Cars" The style was engaging, crisp, clear
and demonstrated a good understanding of the subject matter. The reader is
helped to understand the place of technology in the automobile buying
processâ€| a very timely piece of journalism".
Cato was also runner-up in awards for Automotive Journalist of the Year, presented by Jaguar Canada, and for The Volvo Award for Environmental Journalism. Cato won both awards in 1999.
The judges for Journalist of the year said that Cato "writes about issues that are of interest to the general reader as well as to the aficionado. His article on buying cars through the internet was particularly well researched and written." The judges for the Environmental Journalism Award stated his articles on the
alternative-fuel front were "thorough, well written and extensively researched."
The awards were presented at a banquet honouring the automobile journalism profession on Friday, October 27, 2000 in Belleville, Ontario. Gerry Malloy was named Automotive Journalist of the Year and was
runner-up for the Chinthe award. Rob Beintema was named winner of the Volvo Award for Environmental Journalism. Dan Proudfoot was the second-time winner of the Julie Wilkinson Motorsport Journalism Award presented by Bridgestone/Firestone. Mark (Colin) Hacking was the winner of the Maritz Canada Photography Award for his creative interpretation of "a spoked wheel and part of an auto wrapped in plastic."
This marked the 17th year for the annual Automotive Journalism Awards competition.
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Press
Release |
AJAC
ANNOUNCES
FIVE AUTOMOTIVE JOURNALISM AWARD WINNERS
Toronto, Ontario - November 3, 1999 |
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Jeremy Cato
was named the 1999 Automotive Journalist of the Year, presented by
Jaguar Canada, as well as the winner of the Volvo Award for
Environmental Journalism at a banquet honouring the automobile
journalism profession on Friday, October 29, 1999 in Belleville,
Ontario.
Cato was chosen automotive Journalist of the Year because he
impressed the jury with his well-written variety of submissions.
"Jeremy Cato goes beyond the routine news about the auto
industry and descriptions of vehicles in his submissions
which look at some offbeat aspects about the auto industry,
including changes in the way cars will be sold in the future, tips on
avoiding car jacking and Ford-Jaguar's $6 million investment in a new
luxury sport car. He combines some fresh insight with a lively,
direct and accessible writing style that was a pleasure to
read.", said Brian Cantley of the Canadian Newspaper Association who headed a panel of three
independent judges with much experience between them judging both
journalism and newspaper awards.
Cato writes weekly about cars for the Globe and Mail (Cars and
Toys column, Report on Business) and is published throughout Canada
through the Southam newspaper chain.
Runners-up were auto journalists Michel Crepault (editor and publisher
of Auto Journal) and Jeremy Sinek (World of Wheels and Canadian
Auto World magazines).
The first winner of the Volvo Award for Environmental Journalism was
also Jeremy Cato for two stories published in May and August in
The Globe & Mail. The judges said that Cato's style
".combined in-depth, understandable reportage with detailed
driving valuations of hybrid and alternative fuel cars from three
different manufacturers. He took his readers a step further by
framing his reports on the vehicles themselves within the context of
society's concerns for more action by the automobile industry to
improve our environment". The judges also gave an honorable mention to
Laurence Yap, who writes for the Wheels section of the Toronto Star.
Tony Fredo, former journalist and recently retired vice-president of
public affairs of Ford of Canada as well as Dr. Joseph MacInnes, a
medical scientist noted for his international activism in
environmental causes acted as judges. The Volvo Award for
Environmental Journalism was established this year to encourage the coverage of environmental issues as they pertain to
personal transportation - automobile and light trucks, including their design,
manufacturer, use, maintenance and recycling. "Volvo is
guided by three core values: quality,
safety and respect for the environment", said Volvo Canada
president Ken Brusca when the awards were announced earlier this year.
Dan Proudfoot of the Toronto Sun also won two awards: both the Castrol
Chinthe Award for Automotive Writing and the Julie Wilkinson
Motorsport Journalism Award presented by Bridgestone / Firestone.
This marks the third year of the Castrol Chinthe Awards for Automotive
Journalism created to recognize articles written by AJAC members
intended to communicate information and opinion about vehicles,
accessories, automotive technology and similar topics to readers.
The objective is to reward language, clarity, style and especially the
clear delivery of the topic discussed.
Dan Proudfoot won the Chinthe Awards for a very personal piece,
Reflections on My Porsche, published in the Toronto Sun. It was certainly an
emotional favourite of the three bilingual judges: Denise Faguy of AIA
Canada, Dennis DesRosiers of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, and Jacques Anderson,
marketing instructor at the Canadian Automotive Institute at Georgian
College in Barrie. The judges said, "The respect for a fine
vehicle came shining through. The piece was fresh and
insightful. He touched on two facets of
automobile emotions: a love affair with a car and the
pride of ownership." Runners-up were Jeremy Cato and
Bob English (National Post, Financial Post and Carguide magazine).
The Julie Wilkinson Motorsport Journalism Award presented by
Bridgestone/Firestone was established this year to acknowledge the
late Julie Wilkinson's dual contributions to both motorsports and
automotive journalism while at the same time recognizing the
professional achievements of her colleagues. Articles were
judged on their ability to educate and entertain the reader and to
create a broader appreciation for motorsports, as well as for style.
Judges Richard Spenard, of Players Racing and Richard Prieur, vice
president, communications of Le Grand Prix du Canada chose Dan
Proudfoot's Toronto Sun article "Racing is a team game" as
the winning entry because this is "an excellent story on racing
and friendship.. The dynamic style tells a lot on the complexity of
motor racing. and reads with a great deal of ease. This is what
reporting on professional motor sport should be." Dan received an
original work of art by automotive artist Steve Reeson entitled
"Greg Moore" as the prize. The watercolour is
autographed by Greg.
Marc Lachapelle, editor of Le Monde de l'Auto in Quebec, and a
contributor to the Wheels section of the Toronto Star won the
inaugural AJAC Photography Award for his action shot of a Land rover
Discovery, published in Le Monde de l'Auto. He received a state
of the art digital camera. Judges Dennis Miles and Wayne
Pittendreigh, both photography professors at the School of Image Arts
at Ryerson Polytechnic University, felt that Lachapelle's photo was
shot in an environment suited to the vehicle, there is action, there
is a good feeling about the product and the photo tells us what the
vehicle is all about." Honorable mention went to Tim
Lindsay, editor of Carguide Magazine.
This is the 16th year for the annual Automotive Journalism Awards
competition. Our thanks to sponsors Jaguar Canada, Castrol
Canada Inc., Bridgestone/Firestone Canada Inc. and Volvo Cars of
Canada Ltd., to the various award category judges and to those
automotive journalists who entered the competition.
For more information on all of the awards and their winners, please
call the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) at
416-762-5388 or 1-800-361-1516 or E-mail at autojourna@aol.com. |
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VANCOUVER WRITER FIRST WINNER OF VOLVO
AWARD FOR ENVIROMENTAL JOURNALISM
BELLEVILLE, Ont. -- Vancouver writer Jeremy Cato is the first
recipient of the Volvo Award for Environmental Journalism, Volvo Cars of Canada
Ltd. and the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada announced
here.
Cato won the inaugural Volvo Award for his stories in The Globe
& Mail on May 3 and August 30, 1999. The articles examined hybrid and
alternate fuel vehicles. The Volvo Award, a memento plus a cash
award, were presented in conjunction with the annual AJAC journalism
awards.
Toronto's Laurance Yap was awarded an honourable mention for his story
in The Toronto Star on May 8, 1999.
"Cato's articles combined in-depth, understandable
reportage with detailed driving evaluations of hybrid and alternate fuel cars from three
different manufacturers. He took his readers a step further by
framing his reports on the vehicles themselves within the context of
society's concerns for more action by the automobile industry to
improve our environment," the judges said.
Of Yap's entry, the judges added, "(His) well-written test drive
of two fuel-cell-powered cars
caught the reader's immediate attention with a lead that read: 'I've
driven the future, and
I can drink its exhaust'."
The Volvo Award for Environmental Journalism was established to
encourage the coverage of environmental issues as they pertain to personal
transportation -automobiles and light trucks, including their design,
manufacture, use, maintenance and recycling. "Volvo is
guided by three core values: quality, safety and respect for the
environment," said Volvo Canada president Ken Brusca when
the awards were announced earlier this year. "Because automobiles
have an impact on the environment, the company believes that consumers
should be aware of that impact and consider it as part of their
purchase deliberation. Improved awareness, knowledge and
understanding of these environmental issues -- through automotive
journalism -- can only benefit consumers,
the industry and, ultimately, all Canadians."
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