CIAS opens in Toronto


The 2017 Canadian International AutoShow kicked off in Toronto yesterday with the annual media day showcase.
The parade of reveals started early, but not before the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) made a few headlines with its awards for car and utility vehicle of the year.
AJAC voted the 2017 Subaru Forester the Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year and the Volkswagen Golf Alltrack the Canadian Car of the Year.
The VW beat out finalists Hyundai Elantra and BMW M2 while Subaru won over the Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC and Chrysler Pacifica.
Observers noted how AJAC bucked the trend a bit with its winning vehicles given the Chevrolet Bolt EV has already been named both Motortrend Car of the Year and the 2017 North American Car of the Year. Pacifica has racked up the accolades since hitting the market including 2017 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year and Cars.com Best of 2017.
The show featured over 40 vehicle premieres including the world premiere of Aston Martin’s new halo concept the AM-RB 001.
A far more affordable world premiere yesterday came from Hyundai, which presented its 2018 Accent. The 2018 Accent 4-door sedan will arrive in Canada in Q4 of 2017, followed by the All-new Accent 5-door in early 2018.
Canadian AutoWorld was there from start to finish and spoke with a number of auto company executives about what dealers can expect in the coming months. There was news of at least two new facility image programs that will expand in Canada and a plethora of other business stories you will read about in the April edition of Canadian AutoWorld.