2010 Volkswagen Golf
There is this little group of 10 called the Canadian Automotive Jury and we - yes, I said "we" - released our 2011 Best of the Best finalists.
Best of the Best? Right. This is our list of 11 new 2011 vehicles that our little gang of rabble-rousers feels represents the top new models of the 2011 model year.
The choices "range from entry-level subcompacts to a convertible super sports car," as the press release states. As for the rabble-rousers, the Canadian Automotive Jury is a not-for-profit organization comprised of 10 senior auto journos who have been covering this industry for a long, long, long, looonnnng time.
This little band of brothers and our one sister met last year and decided simplicity should be the order of the day in the automotive awards world. So we decided to choose one winner from a list of finalists. That's it. One winner. That's your best new vehicle of 2011 - or I should say best new line of vehicles. This is not the Cooperative Games where car makers get something simply for participating.
As for the "family" piece of it all, well, consider the Ford Fiesta, one of this year's finalists. The Fiesta comes in two body styles, hatchback and sedan. Within those body styles there are numerous variations on equipment levels and so on. As a Jury, we've decided that this new Fiesta family is one of the best new model lines for 2011. And it surely is.
We also like the Audi R8 family, including the astonishingly good Spyder convertible. The list of 11 finalists is rounded out by the BMW 5-Series, Buick Regal, Cadillac CTS, Hyundai Sonata, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Kia Sportage, Mazda2, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Volkswagen Jetta.
Note the global flavour of our choices: five European models, four North American, two Korean, and one Japanese.
Here's another little twist: all of these model lines will compete not just against each other, but also last year's Best of the Best winner, the Volkswagen Golf. To us it only makes sense to include the reigning champion, the 2010 Best of the Best Winner.
As a group last year we loved the Golf family of two- and four-door hatchbacks, along with the wagon, diesel-powered derivatives and the ultimate expression of Golf, the GTI. Frankly, I think the 2011 entries are in tough against the Golf.
I should also point out that as a group we fund the Jury's activities entirely out of our own pockets. We don't charge manufacturers an entry fee and the winner can use the award and its logo free of charge. We ask only that the winning car company make a charitable donation - this year to the Canadian Cancer Society.
That winner will be announced next month and between now and then I'll dig deeper into each finalist. Should be good fun - and, of course, feedback is always welcome.
The contenders
Ford Fiesta
Audi R8
BMW 5-series
Buick Regal
Cadillac CTS
Hyundai Sonata
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Kia Sportage
Mazda2
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Volkswagen Jetta
2010 Volkswagen Golf