Car of Year field whittled down to three in each group
In last Saturday’s Toronto Star Wheels, our team reviewed the vehicles entered in nine categories to determine the Canadian Car of the Year.
The first step toward finding out which is the best, the winner of the Car and Utility Vehicle (Truck) will be announced at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto in February, came this week on Tuesday, when accounting firm KPMG, which tabulates the scoring results, released the names of the category finalists to the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Best New Small Car Honda Civic sedan; Toyota Yaris sedan; Volkswagen Jetta 1.4TSI Best New Family Car Chevrolet Volt; Hyundai Sonata hybrid; Volkswagen Golf Sportwagon 1.8TSI Best New Sports/Performance (under $50k) Mazda MX-5; MINI John Cooper Works 3 door; Volkswagen Golf R Best New Sports/Performance (over $50k) Cadillac ATS-V; Ford Shelby GT350; Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Best New Prestige/Performance Cadillac CTS-V; Mercedes-AMG GT S; Porsche Cayman GT4 Best New SUV/CUV (under $35k) Honda HR-V; Jeep Renegade; Mazda CX-3 Best New SUV/CUV ($35k-$60k) Honda Pilot; Hyundai Tucson; Kia Sorento Best New SUV/CUV (over $60k) Lincoln MKX; Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe (GLE 350d 4MATIC Coupe); XC90 Volvo Best New Pickup Chevrolet Silverado; GMC Canyon diesel; Toyota Tacoma 4x4 Double Cab
The next step in the process will be the announcement of the category winners, a title that is almost as important to consumers as the overall winners.
The Wheels team will be on hand at the press conference on Nov. 24 to report. Porsche Canada breaks ground on new facility in North York Some days it can be astonishing to see just how many Porsches travel into downtown Toronto on the Don Valley Parkway. It seems like every dozen cars on the DVP and 401 includes a 911. It is fitting, then, that Porsche Canada has chosen to locate their new head office directly overlooking the two busiest highways in the city. The sports/luxury manufacturer has broken ground on the new facility, on the northeast corner of the 401-DVP interchange.
But rather than just a head office, the 60,000-square-foot building will incorporate a full-service Porsche dealership and the company’s first Canadian training centre. EV charging stations popping up all over Centennial College and its partners, Grasshopper Solar and Siemens Canada, cut the ribbon on the college’s new off-grid electric vehicle charging station on Nov. 5 at the Progress Campus.
The station allows electric vehicles to recharge using energy harnessed from the wind and sun, rather than conventional electrical sources.
The installation started as a demonstration site for the college’s wind turbine and tracking solar panel technology, set up to familiarize students with the equipment and to monitor performance.
The turbine and the solar panel generate electrical energy that is stored in a battery bank that originally powered an artificial load.
Centennial faculty and students felt the equipment could be put to good use by powering the electric cars that go onto the campus each day. Siemens Canada donated its Level 2 (240-volt) Versi Charge electric-vehicle charging unit and Grasshopper Solar provided the interface that connected the storage batteries to the charging system.
Meanwhile, at Heartland Town Centre in Mississauga, Orlando Corp. recently installed 24 electric vehicle chargers for use by EV drivers. This is the single largest installation of EV charging stations in Canada, according to the website Plug n’ Drive.
The installation of EV charging stations is a way of encouraging green travel in Mississauga, an Orlando spokesperson said. Freelance writer Gary Grant is a regular contributor to Toronto Star Wheels. To reach him, email wheels@thestar.ca and put his name in the subject line.