We can't believe it either, but it's that time of the year again! T'is the season when a large number of Canadian automotive journalists converge on the small town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, in Ontario's famed wine country, to find the best of the best.


The task at hand is large, even with upwards of 80 recognized auto writers attending the annual Test Fest (a term coined by colleague Marc Lachapelle). This year, 53 new cars and trucks will be evaluated by the horde of professional critics including eight (yes eight) from your beloved Team Auto123.com.

The plan is as follows: Tuesday and Wednesday, the lot of us will be busy testing each car and truck in our assigned categories. Thursday is a free-day if you will, but its purpose is for driving extra vehicles, getting more track and street time not to mention, getting our two photographers to snap as many shots as possible of the favorites.

Meanwhile and by the way, we will also have our camera crew out and about chronicling the whole event, so stay tuned for that video.

If you're curious as to the goals of Test Fest, here they are (lifted directly from the AJAC website):

• Unbiased, rigorous, scientifically sophisticated testing procedures
• Not a race-track event, but a combination of "real-word" testing on public roads, track and off-road testing, where applicable, and static evaluation
• Specialized performance testing by teams of 'experts'
• Testing of complete classes by teams and individuals
• Back to back comparisons under the same conditions
• Individual voting by secret ballot
• Results weighted according to class priorities and price
• Hard test data that the consumer can rely on

For your perusal, below is the complete list of all past winners

2009
CANADIAN CAR OF THE YEAR Hyundai Genesis
CANADIAN UTILITY VEHICLE OF THE YEAR Ford Flex
Best New Small Car (under $18,000) Toyota Corolla
Best New Small Car (over $18,000) Pontiac Vibe
Best New Family Car ($22,000-$30,000) Mazda6
Best New Family Car (over $30,000) Volkswagen Passat CC
Best New Luxury Car (under $50,000) Hyundai Genesis
Best New Luxury Car (over $50,000) Audi A4
Best New Prestige Car Mercedes CL 550 and Mercedes SL 63 AMG (tie)
Best New Sports / Performance Car (under $50,000) BMW 135i Coupe
Best New Sports / Performance Car (over $50,000) Lexus IS F
Best New Convertible Audi TTS
Best New SUV / CUV (under $35,000) Subaru Forester
Best New SUV / CUV ($35,000 - $60,000) Ford Flex
Best New SUV / CUV (over $60,000) Mercedes-Benz M-Class BlueTEC
Best New Pick-up Truck Dodge Ram
Best New Technology Mitsubishi Super-All-Wheel Control
Best New Green Technology General Motors 2-Mode Hybrid Powertrain
Best New Design Honda Fit