CarTest.ca receives Honorable Mention in Best Website Award for 2nd time

CarTest.ca receives Honorable Mention in Best Website Award for 2nd time

Oct. 20, 2003 -- The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) named CarTest.ca First Runner-Up in the 2003 Jacques Rainville Best Web Site Award during its 20th Automotive Journalism Awards in Belleville, Ont. It is the second consecutive year CarTest.ca has won. The site has been online since June 2002.

CanadianDriver.com was named the winner of the 2003 Jacques Rainville Best Web Site Award for the third consecutive year.

The Best Web Site Award selection was made by a panel of three independent judges representing the views of the information technology sector, the consumer and the automotive industry. The judges were Linda Leonard, vice-president, Information Technology Association of Canada; Chris Travell, vice-president, Maritz Research, Automotive Research Group; and Mark Nantais, president, Canadian Vehicle Manufacturer's Association.

The websites were judged based on three main criteria:

- Editorial Content: quality of editorial; clarity; timeliness of information

- Accessibility / Ease of Use: technical universality; downloading speed; access to information, and

- Site Design: overall visual appeal; layout and design; unique site identify.

The Jacques Rainville Best Web Site Award was established in 2000 in memory of a founding AJAC charter member, Jacques Rainville. He was one of the first journalists to establish a web site in the early 1990s.

The website of Michael A. Coates (www.driventodrive.com) also received honorable mention at the awards event.

In other awards, Shaun Keenan of Modified Magazine won first place in the Published Photography category of the Nikon Automotive Photography Awards for his photo entitled Drag Racer.

In the unpublished category, Michael Coates won first place for his enhanced image of a Hummer, while CarTest.ca editor Bill Roebuck won the honorable mention in the same category for his photograph of a Nissan 350Z Roadster situated in front of the Petro-Canada refinery in Oakville, Ont., entitled Petro-Z.

Other awards went to Paul Williams of Ottawa, winner of the Volvo Award for Environmental Journalism, Laurance Yap of Toronto, the winner of the Julie Wilkinson Motorsport Journalism Award, and Vancouver's Jeremy Cato, who was named Journalist of the Year.