Ignorant Car Owner + Lack of Common Sense = FAIL

There was a study that came out a while back which said that 80% of BMW 1-series owners believed that their car was front wheel drive. Being a 128i owner myself, studies like that embarrass the crap out of me. In fact, I didn’t even believe the study. I didn’t think that many people could be so clueless and ignorant about their car…until I saw this video.

Judging by the accent of the guy recording and the fact that this is a 1-series hatchback, this video was likely taken somewhere in the U.K. Watch as the woman tries to clear the snow away from the front wheels of her rear wheel drive car. SMH. I guess that study has some merit.

I don’t understand how so many people spend so much money on something they no nothing about or don’t even bother to familiarize themselves with.

But that’s not even the worse part. Keep watching as she then leaves the car in gear then GETS OUT OF THE CAR. Obviously the 1-series then drove into the house of the guy that’s been recording her the whole time.

Darwin award winner for sure.

[Automotive Addicts]

Volkswagen Confirms Golf R For Canada

Just before Christmas, Volkswagen quietly revealed some exciting news about one of its most exciting products: The Golf R will finally be heading to Canada!

The Golf R32 has been on sale in Europe and America for a while now, snatching up awards left and right. If you think the GTI is a delicious piece of automotive engineering (which you really should) then start saving for a Golf R right now.

It’s expected to get 256 horses, 4motion all-wheel drive, upgraded brakes and suspension and performance wheels/tires. Volkswagen is taking aim squarely at the Subaru Impreza WRX with this one.

Expect to see the Golf R at your local Volkswagen dealership sometime in 2012. As impressive as all that sounds, it will really be the price that determines whether or not the Golf R will be a winner in Canada or not. If it’s priced right, the masses will come. And isn’t that what the people’s car is all about anyway?

[The Montreal Gazette]

Test Drive: 2011 BMW X6

By Kevin Harrison

I heard on the news today that there is a guy in the States who is looking to clone a mouse. A bit odd, but cloning has become a somewhat frequent practice these days. His goal, however, was to create a mouse that can sing. The hope is, according to him, to create an actual living breathing Mickey Mouse. You know, because having your house infested with mice that run about and make annoying noises in the wall isn’t quite annoying enough. We definitely need them to be signing the Mickey Mouse Club opening theme song while they’re at it. I can only imagine that eventually the mice would have to do a rendition of thriller on the kitchen floor before we head off to bed. And to show our gratitude the method of payment would be only the finest of cheeses.

Don’t you ever wonder about people like that? What makes them so completely mad that they decide to dedicate their lives to creating signing mice or creating a knife that can cut through a shoe or re-electing Stephen Harper? What goes through their head? Are they just insane, or do they possess some sort of underlying brilliance that is not immediately apparent to us normal folk?

I’ve sort of thought the same thing when BMW first introduced the X6. Clearly someone at BMW had decided that the X5 was too much like an SUV and that the 5-series was too much like a car. And the 5-series wagon was too much like a wagon. And that the 3-series coupe was too much like a coupe. So they must have thought, maybe if I breed those models together, I can create the best of every single world and everyone will be happy. But that’s kind of like saying, “I love pizza, ice cream, reading, and Tom Jones so I’m going to make a book made of pizza that’s ice cold with only Tom Jones lyrics inside”. Try pitching that idea to a publisher and see how it works out for you.

Or maybe this is indeed a piece of brilliance that you wouldn’t expect like putting Kanye West and Bon Iver on the same song or eating melted blue cheese with pear on a baguette (try it, it’s amazing).

I tried one to find out.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bucking the Trend: Canadians Prefer Mustang to Camaro

For the first time in 25 years, the Chevrolet Camaro will outsell the Ford Mustang in the States this year. Ford has even conceded that its stallion will end up in the number 2 spot. In a bit of an odd trend, however, us Canadians apparently prefer the Mustang to the Camaro.

According to the New York Times, the Mustang’s sales is currently sitting at 4,935 units compared to the Camaro’s 3,974 sales.

This is especially odd since the Camaro is home grown, it’s built in Oshawa while the Mustang is built in Michigan.

Ford says it’s because the Mustang is “an icon” and many Canadians consider it to be their “dream car” (I must be in the minority if that’s the case). But really, the Camaro is fairly iconic as well.

GM says it’s because there is a lack of incentives on the Camaro and the convertible model is very limited at the moment.

Whatever the reason, it’s good to hear that Canadians aren’t so wrapped up in buying a product simply because it was made in our own backyard. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for supporting our workers and stimulating our economy, but the fact of the matter is, a car is the second biggest purchase someone will ever make. The decision on what to buy better go to the best car, and not simply because of where it was made.

I’m not suggesting that the Mustang is the better vehicle, however. I’m just saying that I’m glad Canadians are buying with their hearts and not what political figures tell them to do with their hard earned cash.

In any event, congrats to the Mustang. I think a test of both these vehicles are in order, wouldn’t you agree? I’ll get on it. I promise.

[New York Times photo credit: Autoblog]

Car Driven’s 2011 Car of the Year Nominees Are…

For the first time ever, Car Driven will be announcing its Car of the Year (COTY). Mostly because this is the first year for this blog, but also because unfortunately I don’t have the means to test every new vehicle myself this year. But that never stopped me from making my own pics for AJAC’s COTY awards last year, so why not?

So with much thought and deliberation I’ve narrowed down the nominees to five cars overall. Every new 2011 vehicle, no matter what the segment, is considered. However to keep things simple, I’ve opted to not separate them by categories this year. That means the new Honda Odyssey was technically considered alongside the Ferrari 458 Italia. Since both are obviously very different vehicles made for very different purposes, I decided to choose all nominees based on how well each vehicle is suited for Canadians. That means everything from performance, price, quality, safety, fit & finish were considered. However to keep it fair, each of those criterion are relative to the vehicle segment. So for example the Ferrari 458 Italia is compared against other supercars. And the Honda Odyssey against other minivans. The vehicle that presents a clear, absolute best case for itself wins.

I’ll probably do categories next year, but for now we’ll go with this. And I’m working a lot harder to try to test all the new vehicles for next year to make a more informed decision, press vehicles are pretty hard to get your hands on (in the meantime, check out all the vehicles I’ve tested so far). And to keep it simple, I’ve narrowed it down to 5 vehicles.

Find out what they are after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

From CarDriven.ca!

(And Lewis Hamilton)

Subaru WIN! Sti Pulls Truck From Snow

Whoa! Check out this video of a Subaru Impreza WRX STI pulling out a massive truck that somehow got stuck in Holland.

Makes quite the argument for AWD and huge amounts of power for winter. Oh and proper winter tires or course.

[Youtube]

Audi Strikes Again: Targets BMW and Mercedes-Benz Owners

Not too long ago, Audi and BMW had a little advertising game going where Audi made a video called “Meet the Beckers“. It basically played up stereotypes of people who buy BMW’s, Mercedes-Benz’s and Lexuses (Lexi?).

Audi then took a shot at BMW in a TV commercial.

BMW responded with its own commercial taking shots at Audi’s lack of efficiency development. They even went as far as paying to have a huge billboard promoting  a BMW 335d directly on top of an Audi dealership in Hong Kong.

Mercedes-Benz on the other hand, has chosen to stay quiet in the feud, but that hasn’t stopped Audi from prodding the big German company as well.

Audi has apparently developed a car cover for unhappy BMW and Mercedes-Benz owners that mimics the look of an Audi R8. Seemingly so people can cover up the “shame” of owning one of the R8′s rivals.

The description for the car cover reads:

“Don’t have an Audi R8 Spyder? Now you can pretend to have one. Trick your neighbors, and best of all, trick yourself into thinking you have the car of your dreams. Perfect for the BMW or Mercedes owner in your life filled with regret.”

Hmm, chalk another one up for Audi. BMW will respond to this one for sure, but what’s it gonna take for Mercedes-Benz to play the game?

Who do you think is winning the ad wars so far?

[All World Cars]

New Details Emerge on 2011 Chrysler 300

If for some reason you care, the new 300 has been designed to be more user friendly. The old 300 was notorious for lack of outward visibility, it felt like you were looking through the portal of a cruise ship. Chrysler as addressed this issue by raking the windshield back by three inches and also thinning out the all the pillars. This results in 15% increased outward visibility.

Great. So now you can see all the people laughing and pointing at you because you bought a wannabe mafia mobile.

Also, interior improvements can be found in the form of chrome everywhere. If you’re gonna go stupidly tacky, then you might as well go all out, right? One thing that’s actually kinda cool is the addition of an 8 inch LCD touchscreen.

The base model will get the Pentastar 3.6 litre V6, while a 5.7 litre V8 will be available on higher trim levels.

Douchebags everywhere rejoice!

[Chrysler]

Drool: 10 Minutes of BMW 1-Series M & E30 M3 Goodness

This is pretty much automotive porn. Enjoy.

[BMW via Youtube]

Audi RS4 To Bite The Dust?

According to Audi insiders, the performance injected RS4 will not continue on with the rest of the A4 line up.

Audi says the reasoning behind the disheartening decision is due to there being enough RS cars in the Audi line up to begin with. They see the RS5 filling the shoes of the RS4 quite nicely. However, Audi’s rivals, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, both offer performance sedans in the M3 sedan and the C63 AMG.

How does Audi explain that discrepancy? Well they say the RS6 will fill those shoes. Um, okay. But doesn’t that car compete against the M5 and the E63 AMG?

Well there’s always the S4, according to Audi, if you must have a smaller performance sedan. I’m not going to deny the brilliance that is the S4, however when compared to the M3 and C63 AMG – both making well over 400 horsepower, the S4 can’t quite keep up.

What do you think? Should Audi make another RS4? Or is this just smart product planning?

Lexus CT 200h Will Start At $30,950

Lexus actually names the Audi A3, the Mercedes-Benz B-Series, the Volvo C30 and the BMW 1-series as the CT 200h’s main competitors. In my opinion, the only one on that list is actually comparable is the Audi A3 and even then only with the TDI engine. They’re both 5 door premium hatchbacks built for efficiency.

And now it has even less in common with those players as the price is significantly cheaper than all of them and on par with the C30. It will start at $30,950.

So since the A3 TDI is the most comparable vehicle, let’s see how they stack up.

The A3 TDI starts at around $35,000 so it’s about 4 grand more. But it gets better efficiency on the highway than the CT 200h, 4.6 L/100 kms and 4.8 L/100 kms respectively. But the CT 200h beats the A3 TDI with its city rating at 4.5 L/100 kms. The A3 gets a still respectable 6.7 in the city.

How the CT 200h drives remains to be seen, but the A3 sets the bar quite high as it is, even though it suffers from under steer as I found out in a test drive.

Which would you take?

[Lexus Canada]

Oh Hi: 2012 BMW 1-Series

For the 2012 model year, BMW has decided to give its amazingly awesome 1-series a minor facelift. A very minor facelift that only a 1-series fan would even notice.

Since I am a said 1-series fan (so much that I went and bought one…excuse the pun) I noticed all the little minor details such as the new horizontal LED eyebrows over the now standard signature halo rings. On top of that, clear turn signals are the order of the day. Out back, redesegned LED tail lights can be found.

Under the hood, the 128i keeps the same inline six that generates 230 horsepower and 200 pound feet of torque. The 135i, however, gets the new N55 single twin-scroll turbo charger that makes the same 300 horsepower and the same 300 pound feet of torque that the N54 engine made, only it’s a bit easier on gas than the old engine. The 135i can now be had with BMW’s 7-speed DCT automatic, but do yourself a favour and stick with the manual. With the new N55 engine, the 135i gets from 0 to 100 in only 5.1 seconds. For comparison, the 135i with the N54 engine did 0-100 in 5.4 seconds.

The M-package will give you an even sportier suspension, an aero kit, sport seats, staggered wheels, an M steering wheel and and increased top speed limiter. Oh, and a host of M badges everywhere.

The cabriolet’s get all the updates as the coupes. The 2012 1-series will be available this coming spring.

For more pics click here.

[BMW]

RWD Mercedes-Benz GLK Exclusively For Canadians

Mercedes-Benz has been doing quite well in Canada with its 4Matic all-wheel drive system. In November, 80% of all its models were sold with 4Matic AWD.

So it’s a bit puzzling that Mercedes has announced the addition of a rear wheel drive trim level for the GLK. And it’s exclusively for us Canadians.

The hope, according to Mercedes, is that it will actually help introduce more buyers into the Mercedes-Benz brand. By having a model available with no AWD, Mercedes is able to have a cheaper starting price for the GLK.

The RWD version will start at $41,300. That’s two grand less than a GLK with 4Matic. It’s also the cheapest starting price for a compact SUV among Mercedes’ competitors which include BMW, Audi, Lexus and Infiniti.

So, would you opt for a RWD GLK to save a few bucks?

[AutoNorth]

Honda Civic Safe For Females, Death Trap For Males

This is interesting. According to USA today, the 2011 Honda Civic gets different crash test ratings for both males and females.

The National Highway Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) recently created new crash test standards, which means all cars were re-tested. The new standards include a “pole test” which simulates a side crash into a 10 foot pole at around 30 km/h.

The NHTSA is famous for its 5 star ranking system.

During the pole test the NHTSA used a female crash test dummy and a male crash test dummy. The female dummy did well as it resulted in a 4 star rating. But then they strapped the male dummy in for the test and it only got a 2 star rating!

What?

The NHTSA didn’t offer up any explanation. Is it because males are bigger than females? I don’t get it.

In addition, this is in stark contrast to the 2010 Civic’s overall rating of 5 stars. But thanks to this latest test, under the new standards, the Civic gets a mere 3 star rating overall.

In any event, if you are female and you are reading this you may want to reconsider buying your boyfriend that Civic Si for Christmas. It might just kill him.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself to one since apparently it will protect you more than your boyfriend. Just don’t drive him anywhere in it.

[USA Today]