AJAC Announces 2017 Canadian Car of the Year Finalists

A recent press release from the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) notes that three finalists in two categories are in a "tight race for top honours" (yes, that's how they spell it).

2017 Canadian Car of the Year Awards

Here at Lot Pro's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, we're only 31 miles from the Detroit riverfront. This means we're also a mere 32 miles from our Canadian neighbors.

Not only are we right across the river, Detroit is one of the few places in the U.S. where we can refer to Canada as "our neighbor to the south." That's right. The lyrics to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" notwithstanding, "south Detroit," geographically speaking, is actually Windsor, Canada.

As such, here in the Motor City we feel a certain kinship to our very close Canadian neighbors. Which is why we feel compelled to pass on to our readers the finalists for the 2017 Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year titles.

Judged by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), the awards program is now in its 32nd year. The three finalists in each category were revealed earlier this month, and the winners will be announced on Thursday, February 16, 2017.

"Our program is absolutely testing-based," said Justin Pritchard, co-chair of the Canadian Car of the Year committee. "We have experienced vehicle testers driving dozens of vehicles, back to back, over the course of several days. This testing process generated 1,384 test drives, producing over 100,000 data points and 1,058 category ballots. It's important to note that every aspect of this testing data is shared online via our website, so shoppers can see how any given vehicle won its category, or how it stacked up to the category winner."

Well then, there's not much we can add, except to announce the three finalists in each category, so here they are: