Jim Kenzie: Difference between revisions
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* [[Meredith Van Viegen|Meredith Louise]] | * [[Meredith Van Viegen|Meredith Louise]] | ||
* [[Laura Kenzie|Laura Virginia]] | * [[Laura Kenzie|Dr. Laura Virginia]] | ||
* [[Patrick Kenzie|Patrick James]] | * [[Patrick Kenzie|Patrick James]] | ||
Revision as of 16:14, 10 August 2019
James Bryan "Jim" Kenzie, born 3 April 1945, is Canada's foremost automotive journalist. He is the Chief Auto Reviewer for The Toronto Star.
Early Life
Jim was born in Toronto, Ontario on 3 April 1945. He had a brother who died of anemia.
He grew up on Deloraine Avenue, in North Toronto, and attended Bathurst Heights Collegiate High School.
He studied at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1966 with a degree in Industrial Engineering.
In 1975, he moved with his wife to Speyside [1], Ontario to a rural house at 43°33'52.3"N 79°59'31.1"W, where he still lives. He and his wife Sandra raised their four children there.
The road the Kenzie house is on is the dividing line between Milton and Halton Hills. Speyside is just the intersection that used to be a little village. When we go home we say we’re going “to Speyside”, as if it’s the name of the house. Rural addresses are fun!
— Megan Kenzie, private Facebook group posting, August 2018 [2]
Career
Jim began his career in automotive journalism at the humble Milton Tribune, the small local weekly paper in his community.
He began writing for the Toronto Star in 1985, where his work now appears in the Wheels section of the Saturday newspaper, and online at https://thestar.ca/wheels.
Jim appears on "Kenzie's Korner" on TSN's Motoring, Canada's most-watched and most-authoritative automotive television program, as of 2018 in its 30th season, which places it among the longest-running television programs in the world, not simply Canada.
Jim's work also appears in a variety of magazines, newspapers and web sites around the world.
Jim was the inaugural winner of the Journalist of the Year Award, presented by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. As of 2018 he serves on juries to select:
- the Canadian Car and Utility Vehicle of the Year
- the North American Car and Truck of the Year
- the International Engines of the Year, and
- the Vehicle Dynamics International Awards.
He has been an active, licensed, professional-grade racing driver since his early-twenties, and is a three-time Targa Newfoundland Rally Open Division driving champion.
Jim has a life-long interest in traffic safety, which actually pre-dates his automotive journalism career. This is why he originally selected SMARTRISK and now its successor Parachute, Canada's leading injury prevention charitable organization, as the beneficiary of his annual automotive photography calendar which he has produced since 1999.
Jim lives in Halton Hills, Ontario, "where he keeps his lovely 1977 American Motors Hornet hatchback in his Barn."
Marriage and family
Jim married Sandra Newman on 2 October 1970. They have four children between 1977 and 1987:
Megan married Jon Vernon (born 23 May 1969) on 21 July 2000. No issue.
Meredith married Jonathan Van Viegen (born 3 January 1976) on 27 June 2009. They have two children:
- Charlotte Sandra Van Viegen (born 10 November 2012)
- Aria Jane Van Viegen (born 6 July 2016)
Patrick has a long-time, live-in girlfriend, Alison Ward (born 28 April 1989). No issue.
Laura has no long-term relation. No issue.