TORONTO—The 2009 Canadian International Autoshow opened to media on Wednesday by handing out the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada awards for best car to the Hyundai Genesis.
“It really does, for me, validate that Hyundai has arrived in Canada at the top tier of manufacturing,” said Hyundai Canada’s president and CEO Steve Kelleher.
When asked how the car company, once synonymous for cars both cheap in price and quality, managed to transform itself into a company that could take the country’s most prestigious automotive award for a luxury sedan, Kelleher said:
“It started with our chairman who really, above everything else, enforced quality at the factory level. At the at the risk of everything for many years, quality came first and it’s paying dividends now.”
Also honoured was the Ford Flex, which took the award for best utility vehicle, the Honda Fit for best new design, and the Mitsubishi Super All-Wheel Control system for best new technology.
“It really does, for me, validate that Hyundai has arrived in Canada at the top tier of manufacturing,” said Hyundai Canada’s president and CEO Steve Kelleher.
When asked how the car company, once synonymous for cars both cheap in price and quality, managed to transform itself into a company that could take the country’s most prestigious automotive award for a luxury sedan, Kelleher said:
“It started with our chairman who really, above everything else, enforced quality at the factory level. At the at the risk of everything for many years, quality came first and it’s paying dividends now.”
Also honoured was the Ford Flex, which took the award for best utility vehicle, the Honda Fit for best new design, and the Mitsubishi Super All-Wheel Control system for best new technology.
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