Sensible car for you, cool car for them
By Michael Schlee
Tell me if any of these scenarios relate to you?
· Your teenager just got their license and wants wheels of their own.
· Next year your darling little one will be off to University/College. They plan to:
A) Live at home, but need a vehicle to commute to the campus.
B) Live on campus, but need a vehicle to travel home with on the weekends.
· Your Daughter/Son needs a vehicle to get to their part-time/full-time job.
Saturn Astra
By Isaac Adams-Hands
Porsche Museum
The new Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen has finally opened, packed full of astounding achievements such as the world’s first hybrid automobile, the legendary wheel hub motor of the Lohner-Porsche, and the latest generation of the Porsche 911’s. My only question is, do they serve cold beer?
Vehicles Our American Neighbours Cannot Buy (But We Can!)
By Michael Schlee
It’s not a well known fact to the general public. But we in Canada have access to vehicles not sold in the USA. What’s more, it may come as a surprise to even a gear head that there are currently 14 vehicles on sale in Canada that our American neighbours cannot purchase (unless they make a trip up north, eh!).
Acura CSX
Some of the vehicles in this article are available in South America, Europe or Asia, but for the context of this story I am sticking with the difference between the USA and Canada; two seemingly identical automotive markets.
Dog’s Best Friend
By Michael Schlee
It’s a fact, people love their pets. No pet is more popular, or loved around the world then dogs. There is a reason they are called man’s best friend.
Lucky for us, most dogs share our love affair with the automobile. So this leads to the question, what is the best way to drive around our furry four legged companions?
By Michael Goetz
Well, there will be one more squared off vehicle in the market — the Nissan Cube. It made its Canadian debut at Toronto, and should be in Canadian delaerships this spring. And you didn’t have to search far to see more square. Here’s our favorite right-angled rides on evidence at this year’s Toronto show…
Land Rover
• Nissan Cube — square, for fashion sake. Also the purist cube out out there.
• Ford Transit — squarish, for light-delivery sake.
• Mercedes-Benz G-Class — square, because, well someone forgot to unsquare it a while back and now it’s uber cool in a retro and distinctive way, which partially justifies its outlandish price ($110,000-plus).
• Zenn NEV — squarish and space effecient, for electricty sake.
• Nissan NV2500 Concept — square, for commerical sake. A travelling Home Depot.
• Land Rover LR3 — square, because it’s the Land Rover way.
• Ford Flex — square, to differentiate itself from the crossover pack.
• Mitsubishi iMiEV — not really square, but really close to a “one-box” design.
• Jeep Wrangler Unlimited — square and all four doors come off.
• Nissan Forum Concept — square out back, more organic up front, and strangley elegant overall for a minivan.
By Mike Gotez
Like any auto industry, Canada’s is struggling to adapt to the massive structural changes going on worldwide in the business and manufacture of the automobile. Let’s hope we come out of the other end of this restructuring as winners and innovators. And why shouldn’t we?
Honda Civic is built in Alliston, Ontario (photo: Honda)
In the meantime, we still build lots of vehicles, and Canadian plants continue to rank high in quality indexes.
So let’s quickly review which vehicles on the show floor of the Toronto auto show were built by our Canadian brothers and sisters.
We’ll start with the two new names on the list, and what’s great about both of them, is that they’re not typical cars.
Can Am Spyder
Can Am Spyder is built by Bombardier Recreational Products, in Valcourt, Quebec (photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)
Okay, this one is not even close to being any kind of car. But it is a road going vehicle, and a very cool one. This three-wheeler is built by Bombardier Recreational Products, in Valcourt, Quebec, on a line right beside the line where the Ski-Doo is built. This is Can Am’s first auto show appearance. Scott MacWilliam, the division’s district sales manager, is confident car show visitors will be drawn to the trike. “The Spyder is blend between a sports car and motorcycle, so it fits well with this audience.”
Zenn
This all-electric car is part of the GTA in Motion display, and is also made in the province of Quebec (St. Jerome), which makes sense, because Quebec is one of the few provinces to legalize these low-speed neighborhood vehicles (NEV), which are governed to go no faster than 40 k/hr.
Alliston, Ontario
- Acura CSX
- Acura MDX
- Honda Civic
- Honda Ridgeline
Bramalea, Ontario
- Chrysler 300C
- Dodge Challenger
- Dodge Charger
Cambridge, Ontario
- Toyota Corolla
- Toyota Matrix
*Cambridge is home to Toyota’s manufacturing base in Canada
Ingersoll, Ontario
- Chevrolet Equinox
- Pontiac Torrent
- Suzuki XL7
*These crossovers are all built in Ingersoll, Ont., at CAMI, the assembly plant owned jointly by GM and Suzuki.
Oakville, Ontario
- Lincoln MKT
- Lincoln MKX
- Ford Edge
- Ford Flex
* MKT is making its Canadian premiere in Toronto.
Oshawa, Ontario
Cars:
- Buick Allure
- Chevrolet Camaro
- Chevrolet Impala
* GM Canada’s R&D facility at Oshawa was also responsible for Impala’s last round of engineering updates. Camaro and Allure are all-new, or in the case of the re-born Camaro, all-new again.
Trucks:
- Chevrolet Silverado
- GMC Sierra
* These pickups are also made at Oshawa, but not for long. The plant is scheduled to be shut down sometime in 2009.
St. Thomas, Ontario
- Ford Crown Victoria
- Lincoln Town Car
- Mercury Grand Marquis
* Ranked at the very top for North American content — 90 percent of every Crown Vic is made from Canadian or American built parts. The Mercury comes in at 85 percent, and the Lincoln comes in at 80 percent. (Source: National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration).
Windsor, Ontario
- Chrysler Town & Country
- Dodge Grand Caravan
- VW Routan
* Let’s hope that the electric Town & Country EV concept on display at Toronto gets the go-ahead and finds a home at Windsor also.
Woodstock, Ontario
- Lexus RX350
- Toyota RAV4
By Nauman Farooq
One of the main attractions for many to go to an auto show, is to see concept cars.
Quite often, concept cars give an insight into what we might be driving in a few years time.
However, just like cars you can buy, not all of them are good. So here is a look at the ‘Good’, the ‘Bad’ and the ‘Crazy’ concepts from this years Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS)
In the ‘Good’ category, there is the Nissan NV2500 which made its ‘World Premiere’ at the CIAS. This concept commercial vehicle is fitted with a host of gadgets to show what a commercial vehicle is capable of being. However, with its Cummins diesel engine and ZF-automatic gearbox, it shows just how production ready this vehicle also is. In fact, Nissan did announce that this vehicle will enter production next year, so you will be seeing plumbers and delivery companies driving around in this in the near future.
Honda FC-Sport (Photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)
The Nissan Forum minivan concept might take a little longer, as Nissan has not formally announced its production plans. I personally hope they do replace the quirky Quest with the Forum, as this futuristic minivan is quite attractive. With swiveling seats and zoned entertainment systems, this could be the family hauler we all would want on a long road trip.
My personal favorite concept was the Kia Koup. This stylish coupe looks great, and given Kia’s pricing strategy, I am sure it would be affordable too. It has a potent power-plant too, a 2.0 liter, turbo-charged, four-cylinder unit that produces 290hp. A Kia rep did confirm that a coupe will be offered by the automaker in the very near future. If it looks like the Koup concept, I am sure it’ll do very well.
However, not all concepts were good, and I have to say, that the BMW 7-series ActiveHybrid has to be placed under the ‘Bad’ category.
This concept is based on the 2009, 7-series, which is in showrooms now, only that the concept has a hybrid drive-train, and not a very good one in my view. You see it only has a mild-hybrid system, not a full-hybrid, so the electric motors just work as generators to run the cars electrical systems. So you can’t move the vehicle on electric power alone. This is disappointing, especially since Lexus offers full-hybrid sedans to the public already.
Also in the ‘Bad’ category, I have to place the Subaru G4e, mainly because it is revoltingly ugly. Sure its all-electric powertrain is very impressive, and its lithium-ion batteries would give this car a 200km range on a full charge. This is very good, but I ask, did it need to look this ugly, and why was it painted toxic green?
So the Subaru had a crazy color, but the ‘Craziest’ concept car award has to go to the Honda FC-Sport. This thing looks like a magnified HotWheels model, and which car enthusiast wouldn’t want that. It’s wild styling is complimented by its wild interior layout, a three-seater, with the driver sitting in the middle (like in the McLaren F1). Plus with its hydrogen fuel-cell technology (borrowed from the Honda FC Clarity, which has been put in limited production for certain markets), this is one concept car that shows that going green can also be cool as ice.
Chances are slim to none for the FC-Sport to go into production (make that none), but its technology is a reality, and that means one day we will be driving around in hydrogen powered sports cars. Can’t wait.
By Marc Lachapelle
It was the Sixties. Muscle cars and American V8 power ruled over North America and Japanese manufacturers were still bit players. Nissan was called Datsun on this continent at the time and in 1969, it launched an all-new sports car as a 1970 model. With classic long-hood, short-tail sports car proportions and sharp styling, it was called the Fairlady Z in Japan but Nissan’s visionary US president Yutaka Katayama correctly believed that the name would not fly well here. He decided to call it the 240Z to evoke the 2.4-litre displacement of its engine. With the 151 horsepower of this inline, single overhead cam six-cylinder powerplant, the original ‘Z’ offered the performance of European sports cars of the time with much better comfort and reliability, at a very competitive price. It was a smash hit and pretty well rang the death knell of British sports cars in North America. Nissan proudly points out that it sold a half-million ‘Z’ cars in ten years while Corvette sales needed 25 years to reach this milestone.
1970 Nissan Fairlady z
The car’s model name changed to Datsun 260Z in 1974 when engine displacement was bumped up to 2.6 litres. The Z also became available as a 2+2 on a wheelbase stretched 11.9 inches (302 mm). Its svelte silhouette was further compromised the following year with the addition of clumsy bumpers dictated by new safety regulations in the US. Engine displacement was bumped up again, this time to 2.8 litres, in an effort to counter the horsepower and torque-robbing effects of the first emissions-reducing measures. The model designation thus changed again, to 280Z.
The launch of a new version prompted yet another name change to Nissan 300ZX in 1985 as the carmaker dropped the name Datsun to make Nissan the only brand for its vehicles worldwide. This new car also became the first Z to be powered by a V6 engine and the first to be available with turbo power. The naturally-aspirated version of this 3.0-litre single overhead cam engine was rated at 160 horsepower and the turbocharged variant at 200 horsepower. The Z had long been a successful racer too. In 1985, legendary actor/racer Paul Newman won the SCCA National championship in GT1 at the wheel of 300ZX. It was the 50th national title for the Z.
An entirely new Z car was launched as a 1989 model, with sleek styling and an all-new platform with leading-edge features such as a kinematic, multi-link independent rear suspension. It was offered as both a two-seater and as a 2+2, on a 120-millimetre longer wheelbase. A 300ZX Turbo version was introduced for the 1990 model year, powered by a twin-turbocharged, 300-horsepower, 3.0-litre V6. The 300ZX was retired in 1996 after a twenty-six year run and a new Z sports car announced in 1999. The Concept Z was a hit at the Detroit auto show. Production of an all-new 350Z started in 2002 and it was introduced as a 2003 model, in coupe form. It was powered by a 3.5-litre, 287-horsepower V6 engine. A new 350Z Roadster was launched as a 2004 model. Horsepower was upped to 306 horsepower along with a slight restyling for the 2007 model year.
Nissan has revamped the Z car again for the 2010 model year. The 370Z gets a naturally-aspirated 3.7-litre V6 that develops 36 horsepower more than the twin-turbocharged V6 in the former 300ZX Turbo. The 370Z is lighter and wider than its immediate predecessor, under a fresh interpretation of the modern Z’s distinctive profile, penned by Canadian designer Randy Rodriguez. With an extremely competitive base price of $39,998, the newest Z renews with the clear focus and exceptional value of the original 240Z. It has everything to become, once again, a sports car for the times.
By Michael Goetz
Does this cube design thing have legs? Should we be scared? Will box-like devices multiply, and then rise up, and in a show of force, destroy all aerodynamic vehicles? For answers to these questions we asked automotive design expert, Michael Pistol. He calmed our fears.
Pistol notes that box-like structures, like the new Nissan Cube, can be successful, but only as a quirky, niche vehicle: “Cars like the Cube and the Smart are designed for a very urbanized environment. In North American, we’ve never embraced that design idiom — because we didn’t have to — we have all this space.”
Photo: Isaac Adams-Hands
Pistol adds that the North American automotive experience is more about hitting the open road, and for that, you want sleek, wind cheating shapes. People can picture themselves running around the city core in a box, but if they’re picturing themselves cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in California, it’s probably in something more aerodynamic than a steel garden shed.
He also notes that people are not emotionally drawn to boxes, so the decision to select a vehicle with box-like elements, will be based more on specific needs — like the family man who needs a Town & Country, or the contractor who needs a Dodge Sprinter. So he expects the new boxy “commercial” stuff at the show, like the Ford Transit and Nissan NV2500 to be also well accepted and certain to fill a need in the marketplace (if and when they get there).
The squarish Ford Flex is a bit of an anomaly, in that it is neither urban vehicle or commercial vehicle. So it looks like a gusty call by Ford, to differentiate itself in the crossover market with such a design.
By Nauman Farooq
Minivanʼs are often considered ʽuncoolʼ, hence the reason many manufacturers have dumped the minivan from their line-up and replaced them with large cross-overs.
Nissan however still believes in the minivan segment, and hopes to make it ʽcoolʼ with vehicles like the Forum concept.
Nissan Forum (photo: Isaac Adams-Hands)
One look at this vehicle and you can see that this isnʼt your ordinary minivan. Its spaceship like styling and huge rims are certainly pleasing to the eye, but the main attraction is inside where you get a ʽzone for parents upfront and a kids zone in the back.ʼ
With every kind of modern gadgetry on board, you are not likely to be bored in this minivan, it even has swiveling seats so you turn it into a conference room while on the move.
Nissan hasnʼt announced any production plans for the Forum for now, and hence no powertrain has been mentioned, but you can bet that the familiar 3.7-liter, V6 would be on the cards if this vehicle gets the green light, which I hope this vehicle gets.
