The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada has named the 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTI as this year’s Car of the Year. The Canadian International Auto Show is kicked off every year with a panel of automotive journalists announcing the Car of the Year and Utility Vehicle of the Year winners. The Car of the Year award was determined by 70 elite journalists who judged 20 parameters about each of the ten cars for that category. Eventually, the GTI stole the show when it was awarded the distinction in the “Best New” category.

AJAC maintains that the committee constantly modifies and includes new parameters in their evaluation method so that the award remains the most unbiased and meaningful award than any other. The Volkswagen GTI scored high in the aspects of styling, safety, value and merit. The two other finalists who fell short of GTI are the BMW 335d sedan and the Volkswagen Golf Wagon.

“We are very proud to win this very prestigious award and wish to thank the AJAC members for bestowing this recognition upon our car,” John White, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group Canada Inc., said Thursday. “The Golf GTI is the heart and soul of Volkswagen. To have the Golf GTI named Canadian Car of the Year today by Canada’s automotive media is a very proud moment for us, indeed, and represents the culmination of the hard work on the part of everyone in the Volkswagen brand around the world.”

In another vote, AJAC picked the Subaru Outback as the Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year 2010.