Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario – Automotive journalists from across Canada are converging on Ontario this week, testing vehicles back-to-back to name the Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Truck of the Year winners for 2010.

Members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) will test 53 cars, SUVs and crossovers to determine category winners, which will be announced on October 30, 2009. The overall Car and Truck of the Year winners will be named at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto in February 2010.

The event also names the Best New Design, Best New Technology, and Best New Green Technology for 2010. Journalism awards are given as well, recognizing  individual stories, photographs, and the Journalist of the Year competition.

Known as “Testfest,” the week-long evaluation is unusual in that writers must drive and evaluate all vehicles in each category on a single day, with each vehicle driven over the same route, including public roads for all vehicles, track evaluation for cars, and an off-road course for utility vehicles. To be eligible for consideration, a vehicle must be all-new or significantly redesigned for model-year 2010. For more information, visit AJAC.