AJAC announces finalists for 2013 Car/Utility of the Year
By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos
Last week we mentioned that the Cadillac ATS and Ram 1500 were named the North American Car and Utility Vehicle of the Year at the Detroit auto show. However, neither were named as finalists in the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada's 2013 Canadian Car and Utility of the Year during the recent Montreal International Auto Show.
Why? Well, the Ram is easy enough to explain: there were simply no other new or significantly revised pickups for 2013, and thus no pickup category during last October's AJAC Test Fest.
The ATS is more complicated because it did win its Luxury Car category against the segment-leading BMW 3 Series, something that shocked more than a few people. However, in the final tally, the ATS wasn't able to swing enough votes and was left out of the top-three.
The vehicles that are nominated as finalists are: the Honda Accord sedan, the Hyundai Elantra GT and the Porsche Boxster. The three named for Utility Vehicle are: the Ford Escape 1.6L EcoBoost and the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0T.
Perhaps having the ATS selected as a finalist for Design of the Year along with the Porsche 911 Carrera S and Boxster will help sooth Cadillac's tempers a tad.
The overall winners are set to be announced during the media preview of the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto on February 14.
What do you think? Agree or disagree with the selections? Let us know...
Justin Couture
Mark Atkinson
John LeBlanc
Posted by: Jim Martyn | 2013-02-13 7:06:55 PM
The top 3 finalists for "Canadian Car of the Year" are all very good cars, but none are nearly the "complete package" like the Cadillac ATS.
None are quieter, safer (All Wheel Drive, lane departure warning, forward and rear collision alert with brake assist), the CUE touchless info screen, the programmable suspension, incredible Bose stereo, head up display, a 7000 rpm red line V-6 with amazing sounding dual exhaust especially with the paddle shift 6 speed.
The other three should be finalists, but the Car of the Year should be the Cadillac.