General Motors’ Front Centre Airbag Wins AJAC’s 2013 Best New Technology Award

For the second year in a row, General Motors of Canada Limited has won the Best New Technology award as announced by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).

The company’s Front Centre Airbag was chosen as the winner from a short-list of 10 entries, judged by a panel of AJAC members with specific technical qualifications, who regularly report on automotive engineering and technical trends.

“We are very proud to receive AJAC’s 2013 Best New Technology award for the Front Centre Airbag,” said Matt Crossley, director, Canadian engineering at GM of Canada. “Being recognized for our advanced technology innovations consecutively for two years is the best acknowledgement of our ongoing efforts to design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles.”

“This technology responds to a significant and until now unaddressed safety issue that has resulted in a large number of injuries and fatalities from side-impact collisions,” explained AJAC’s technology award chairman, Jeremy Sinek. “The fact that the Front Centre Airbag addresses this issue in a comprehensive and thoroughly researched manner makes the technology a worthy winner.”

The AJAC Best New Technology award, presented by Shell Canada, was established to recognize new and innovative technologies that provide real value to the consumer. Past winners have ranged from run-flat tires through various hybrid, suspension and safety technologies.

The significance of the Best New Technology award has been growing steadily over the past few years, as has the degree of rigour to which entries are submitted. It is part of AJAC’s annual Canadian Car of the Year awards program, which was created in 1985 with the purpose of providing consumers with sound, comparative information on vehicles that are new to the market.

The Canadian Car and Utility Vehicle of the Year as well as the Best New Design of 2013 were also announced at the CIAS. Comparative test data derived from the journalists’ extensive four-day “TestFest” evaluation of 180 new vehicles in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario in October, are available to consumers on the AJAC website (www.ajac.ca). Shell Canada is the official fuel supplier of the event.