EVERY VOTE MATTERS
Consumers rely on testers’ choices
I’ve always thought it’s important to make my vote count.
I’m comparing, deciding and evaluating. I’m gathering information, weighing the pros and cons, and looking at the options so that I make my best decision.
Then I’ll secretly mark the ballots.
No, I’m not talking about next week’s Regina civic election; I’ve already voted in an advance poll.
I’m getting ready to vote at the annual Canadian Car of the Year TestFest.
During the next week I’ll be back at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park — earlier known as Mosport — in Clarington, Ont., about 70 kms east of downtown Toronto.
I will be one of 70 or so automotive journalists from across Canada who will be driving, testing and scoring vehicles. There are 24 elements scored on a one-to-10 scale, including such elements as driver position, visibility, entertainment features, comfort, engine smoothness, steering, handling, performance and market significance.
The event is organized by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).
“Our experienced vehicle testers drive participating vehicles, back-to-back, over the course of several days. This testing process generates thousands of data points across multiple voting fields. We share every aspect of this testing data online, so shoppers can see exactly how a given vehicle won its category, or how it stacked up to the category winner” explains Canadian Car of the Year co-chair Justin Pritchard.
“This is not a popularity contest. Each winning vehicle is validated by controlled, back-toback testing, and detailed scoring data,” he adds.
In all, there are 34 vehicles in contention — which is a far smaller pool of candidates than the number running for election next week in Regina.
This year, General Motors has the largest number of entries — nine in all. There are four manufacturers with three entries each — Kia, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota. Five firms have two entries — BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Subaru and Volkswagen. And Maserati, Mazda and Volvo each have one vehicle in contention.
As well as fewer candidates, here’s another difference between the Car of the Year voting and the Regina civic voting: the relatively smaller field for the car and truck honours includes no incumbents. That’s because in order to be considered, vehicles have to be significantly changed or completely new from the previous year’s models.
And unlike Regina, where I tested out the advance polls for the first time in my life, there are no advance polls; voters must be present next week to drive and then mark their ballots.
I’ll drive as many vehicles as possible, taking them out for 30to 45-minute drives on a predetermined route that includes highways, side roads and through towns. The SUVs and trucks have to be driven on an off-road course as part of the testing.
Municipal elections historically have lower voter turnout than provincial and federal elections. Unlike some countries, voting is not compulsory in our elections in Canada.
But there’s an exception at the Car of the Year testing; there is compulsory voting of a sort. We are required to test all vehicles in the same category — and that’s so someone doesn’t test only one or two of their favourites, which would mean the untested vehicle would not earn any votes. And, another compulsory element is that all the testing of a particular category has to be done on the same day, to ensure that conditions are as similar as possible.
This year’s municipal election is not coming within weeks of a federal or provincial election — which has happened in the past, leading to what’s called voter fatigue.
I can assure you there is no such thing as voter fatigue at the Car of the Year voting. I have never once heard anyone ever complain about all the driving they had to do, or all the different vehicles they had to take out for a spin.
Come to think of it, it’s really quite the opposite: even more driving would be welcomed. For example, my 45-minute jaunt in the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT S ($161,300) was the highlight for me last year — but only slightly ahead of the 45-minute drive in the Ford Shelby GT 350 ($72,699). Driving either of these cars for a few hours — or even an extended road trip to Regina — would have been even better. I just cannot understand the concept of fatigue at the Car of the Year testing.
Just like next week’s municipal election, it’s a secret ballot.
But unlike the civic election, the results will take far longer to count and made public.
The votes will be tabulated by an accounting firm and the results will be kept confidential until the eight category winners are announced in December.
The winners in the eight categories will then compete in a second round of voting — not unlike run-off elections in some democracies — for the overall title of Canadian Car of the Year, Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year, Canadian Green Car of the Year and Canadian Green Utility Vehicle of the Year.
The winners will be announced early next year.
The comparative test data and vote results will be posted on the AJAC website and will then be available for people when they go shopping for a new vehicle.
Dealerships use it for marketing; saying that one of your products is “Canadian Car of the Year” or “Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year” helps to get potential buyers into showrooms.
"Our program generates a tremendous amount of data, which is archived and shared with consumers, where it can be used as a resource in the marketplace,” says Pritchard.
While several vehicles can claim to be “award winning” what sets these awards apart is that they are available on the Canadian market — and they’re tested on Canadian roads by Canadian journalists.
That means these awards don’t always mirror the results in the United States.
For example, the Honda Civic was named Car of the Year last year by Motor Trend magazine, the North American International Auto Show — and by AJAC.
In the Truck/Utility Vehicle category, the Volvo XC90 was named the winner by Motor Trend and the North American International Auto Show. However, AJAC members selected the Mazda CX-3 instead of the Volvo XC90.
Although the automotive cultures of Canada and the United States are similar, they are not identical — and that’s why those of us who are members of AJAC may vote differently than our neighbours to the south.