2011 Chevrolet Cruze: 2011 Canadian Car of the Year

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The 2011 Canadian International Auto Show got off to an auspicious start in Toronto in mid-February. A big part of that great beginning was the Chevrolet Cruze being declared the 2011 Canadian Car of the Year (CCOTY) by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).

2011 Chevrolet Cruze wins the Canadian Car of the Year Award

“We are very proud to receive AJAC’s 2011 Canadian Car of the Year honours… The Cruze represents our line in the sand: We’re playing to win – and delivering the goods – in the small car business.”
–Kevin Williams, GM of Canada’s President and Managing Director–

It was a banner day for General Motors, winner’s of three out of the eleven “Best New” categories when announced in October  2010.  All “Best New” category winners are eligible to compete for the overall crown of either the “Canadian Car of the Year” or the “Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year”. The Chevrolet Cruze was also the winner in the “Best New Small Car over $21,000” class.

“We are extremely proud of the Canadian Car of the Year program. We have gained a great deal of experience and made continual adjustments to the program through the last twenty-six years as the market and vehicles have evolved.”

–AJAC’s Canadian Car of the Year Awards chair, Richard Russell–
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 the journalists – more than 40,000 pieces of data in all.  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 144 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.