DRIVEN TO DRIVE

Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON – Over seventy of Canada’s top automotive journalists spent this week in the picturesque tourist town of Niagara-on-the-Lake; but not for the scenery or the wine tasting. Journalist members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) were here for the express purpose of determining the ‘Best New’ cars and SUV/CUVs in 11 different vehicle categories, as part of AJAC’s annual Canadian Car of the Year Awards program.

The four days of intensive, back-to-back testing and evaluation are known in the automotive industry as “TestFest”. The results of the journalists’ test-drive evaluations were made known today during a press conference wherein the category winners were announced. The press conference was held at the Niagara Drive Centre, located at the Niagara District Airport where “TestFest” is staged each year.

The winners are:

1. BEST NEW SMALL CAR (under $21k) Hyundai Accent
2. BEST NEW SMALL CAR (over $21k) Hyundai Elantra
3. BEST NEW FAMILY CAR (under $30k) Kia Optima
4. BEST NEW FAMILY CAR (over $30k) Kia Optima Hybrid
5. BEST NEW LUXURY CAR Mercedes-Benz C-Class C350 4MATIC Sedan
6. BEST NEW PRESTIGE CAR (over $75k) Mercedes-Benz S-Class S350 BlueTEC 4MATIC
7. BEST NEW SPORTS/PERFORMANCE CAR (under $50k): Hyundai Veloster
8. BEST NEW SPORTS/PERFORMANCE CAR (over $50k): BMW 1 Series M Coupé
9. BEST NEW SUV/CUV (under $35k) Dodge Journey
10. BEST NEW SUV/CUV ($35k-$60k) Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel
11. BEST NEW SUV/CUV (over $60k) BMW X3

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The Canadian International Auto Show is once again coming to Toronto. Register before December 31st, and get a 25% discount off your admission fee.
The show is open to the public from February 17 to 26, 2012.
Here’s a direct link to the Auto Show’s website – AUTOSHOW

On Saturday (November 19 2011) evening at the Porsche Club banquet celebrating the Club’s 35 anniversary, I had the privilege of listening to Lorraine Sommerfeld, columnist for the Toronto Star, tell how she met Aaron Prevost, a blind auto mechanic who loved cars. Lorraine arranged for Aaron to meet Rick Bye, Porsche’s fleet manager and an accomplished race car driver, the idea being that Rick would drive Aaron around Mosport so he could experience the thrill of being on a race track. It seems things escalated and Aaron got drive a Porsche around Mosport for five laps. Here is an in-car video.

Aaron at Mosport from Rick Bye on Vimeo.

Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

New customer sport top model for 2012 race season

Stuttgart. The new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is ready to race. The top model of Porsche Motorsport’s customer racing vehicles will head into the 2012 season with extensive modifications. Particularly striking at first glance are the changes to the body: the width of the new GT3 RSR has grown by 48 millimetres. Built to conform to the A.C.O. “LM” GTE regulations, the 911 represents the crowning pinnacle of a range of successful customer sport race cars that are based on the 997 type 911 GT3 RS street sports car.

Powering the new 911 GT3 RSR is a particularly efficient six-cylinder boxer engine with a four-litre capacity. With a mandatory air-restrictor, it generates 460 hp (338 kW) and drives the 310 millimetre wide rear wheels. The diameter of the front wheels has increased by 30 mm to now measure 680 millimetres. The Porsche sequential six-speed gearbox is operated via paddle shifts on the steering wheel.

The nose and rear panels are adapted to the flared front and rear wheel arches, as are the door sill and the wheel arch coverings. The aerodynamic concept is complemented by a new ducting of the intake air. Openings in the rear side sections, as known from the turbo variants of the Porsche 911, replace the air scoop on the engine hood, which is very similar to the 911 GT2 RS street sports car.

The new 911 GT3 RSR can be raced at the Le Mans 24 Hours, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Le Mans Series, the American Le Mans Series as well as the International GT Open and in other series and races.

“Our customer teams can expect a technically mature, high performance race car with which they will be highly competitive at international long distance races,” assures Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “Our test programme on various international race tracks is currently running at full speed. We are very pleased with the car’s performance and driveability.”

The new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR will be delivered to customer squads around the world from January 2012. The selling price is 498,000 Euro plus value added tax of the respective countries.

2012 Honda Civic

ALLISTON, ON, Oct. 19, 2011 /CNW/ – Honda of Canada Mfg. (HCM) in Alliston, Ontario, announced today it has returned to regular production levels. As a result, the supply of vehicles, including the all-new 2012 Honda Civic, is returning to normal at Honda dealerships across Canada. After the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan this spring, HCM production was reduced to approximately 50 per cent during the summer months due to the shortage of critical parts from that region. Read the rest of this entry »