Vancouver Using 3D Images to Encourage Safe Driving

This week is back to school for many students across the country which means drivers need to pay extra attention, apparently. I say ‘apparently’ because I never understood the concept of ‘extra attention’ while driving. Shouldn’t your attention be at its highest point no matter what the circumstances? You should be being attention behind the wheel at all times, not just when there are children about.

Anyway, to ensure people actually do pay attention, the BCAA has invested over $14,000 for a 3D projection image meant to test drivers’ reflexes. The image is of a little girl chasing a ball across the street. BCAA isn’t saying how exactly the projection works, but apparently it does somehow work and it’s pretty life-like.

Once a vehicle gets close enough, the image will be visible and the driver will likely adjust his/her speed. Once the driver gets close enough the image of the little girl will then disappear into thin air. Trippy. It will be especially trippy for most people in Vancouver because let’s face it – Vancouver is the chronic capitol of Canada. If you are walking down the street after a Bob Marley session and you see a girl, then she just disappears in front of your eyes, that would like cause some freak outs. Actually even if you were completely sober and you saw that happen, you’d likely freak out. Which may actually cause more accidents, ironically enough.

Anyway, this new campaign is only going to last for a week. Do you think it’s a good idea?

[Globe & Mail]

Oops! Next Gen BMW M5 Gets By With a Little Help From Its Friend

Being the successor to any generation BMW M5 is a tall order. Each variation has been been bigger and better and the next generation M5 is no exception.

There are few details coming out about the next gen M5 other than it is expected to retain the big German V8 found in the X5 M and X6 M with little or no tweaking to the engine. As a result 555 horsepower will be the order of the day. Nothing to sneeze at. That’s 55 horses more than the outgoing model.

As you’d expect, the next generation M5 is going to be faster than the outgoing model as well. Most manufacturers tend to use the infamous Nurburgring as their base for a vehicle’s performance and the next gen M5 was caught doing a few laps. Unfortunately, the next gen M5 isn’t quite ready for any photo ops yet as maxing it out on the ‘Ring recently proved to be too much to ask. It actually broke down on the ‘Ring and had to be towed by a family member back to base to nurse it back to health. The previous generation X5 was happy to help, but embarrassingly enough, the whole mishap was caught by sneaky photographers.

Clearly the next generation M5 isn’t ready for production, but when it is, you can be sure that it will set yet another benchmark in the sport sedan world.

Sidebar, those rims on the M5 are absolutely sick!

[Autoblog]

O Rly? Mazda Toying With Diesel For Next Generation Mazdaspeed3

The Mazdaspeed3 is one of the few pocket rockets that actually deliver on the performance end. The Honda Civic Si and Chevrolet Cobalt SS might try their damndest, but they really don’t measure up to the Mazdaspeed3 or the GTI.

As good as the Mazdaspeed3 is, it’s not without its faults. For instance, the turbo lag is almost as bad as the turbo lag in the Saab Viggen. And on top of that, it’s trying a little too hard to seem boy racer-ish, doesn’t it?

Well it seems that Mazda is going to give the new Speed3 quite a big change that will probably address neither of those problems. Well done, Mazda.

Anyway, according the VP of product development of Mazda USA Robert Davis, the next generation Speed3 could get a diesel in its engine bay. Say whaaaaaat?

Actually it’s not a bad idea. Since diesels are inherently torque-y there will likely be minimal or no loss of performance and the Speed3 would get excellent mileage to boot. In fact, I wonder why it’s taken other manufacturers (besides the Europeans) so long to figure this out. Mazda is undoubtedly concerned about the new CAFE standard and needs to do something about its sporty lineup. That’s why the RX8 is getting the axe next year. Don’t worry, the RX8 will return in 2013 with a new efficient engine.

[Car and Driver photo credit: edmunds.com]

Honda Canada to Discontinue Hybrids

According to various reports, Honda Canada has decided to pull the plug on the Insight and Civic Hybrid. This has yet to be confirmed by Honda Canada, but I also have it on good authority that this is the case.

The two mild hybrids haven’t exactly been a hit around the world (except for in Japan), but sales are particularly bad here in Canada. Canadians love the regular Civic however as it has been the best selling car for years with over 31,000 units sold. Honda Canada claims they don’t keep track of which specific trim levels were sold so they can’t say for sure how many of those units were Civic hyrbids. That’s bullshit. If they don’t track it, how do they know Civic Hybrids aren’t selling? They just don’t want the public to know just how bad the Civic Hybrid is selling. Luckily since the Civic Hybrid is build only in Japan, and the rest of the gas models are built in Canada, we can easily find out for ourselves. Over 600 Civics sold here were built in Japan. Therefore, since the only Civic built in Japan is the hybrid, likely that those 600 Civics were hybrid models. That means the hybrid Civic represents only 2% of Civic sales!

Likewise, and admittedly I’ve known this for a while thanks to some inside info I got from a local Honda dealership, the Insight is going to get the axe as well. The Prius wannabe never caught on here despite strong sales in Japan. Although I’ve never driven the Insight, most reviews are not favourable. In fact, Jeremy Clarkson called it “biblically terrible” adding “It’s the first car I’ve ever considered crashing into a tree, on purpose, so I didn’t have to drive it any more.” God, I love Clarkson.

Anyway, good try Honda. Maybe you’ll have better luck selling the CR-Z here. Probably not though.

[Monvolant]

Smart Move: Owners Would Not Buy Fortwo Again

The Smart Fortwo is truly a love it or hate it car.

While the micro two seater has enjoyed moderate success here in Canada (we love our small cars) the same can’t be said for our Amurrican neighbours.

Only 14,600 Fortwo’s were sold in the United States last year. Compare that to the 24,000 Smarts sold in 2008 – the first year it was available for sale in the States. For the few people that bought a Fortwo, it seems as though it was a decision that they regret.

A recent survey from CNW Marketing Research found that in New York only 8.1% of Smart owners would ever buy again. 8.1! Even Dodge would have a better customer return rate! And on top of that, the highest number of return buyers was only 19% and that was people from San Fransisco, unsurprisingly.

Could it be the Smart’s horrendous transmission? It’s shaky build quality? Or maybe its unusually bad poor consumption? I could go on. And I will in a future test drive! Stay tuned for that.

But in the meantime, Smart has some major work to do. much more than the slight revision expected for the 2011 year.

[MSNBC]

Toronto Street Graced With Fiat Goodness

The good folks over at Auto North apparently got a quite a treat in the neighbourhood of Kings West, Toronto as they spotted a Fiat 500 parked on the street! Fiat is apparently hyping up the upcoming release of the lovable lil’ hatch in our market. If you live in Montreal you may see a similar sight as well as ciaofiat.ca is claiming some promotion there too. How about some promotion down in Halifax, Fiat!

Also spotted was a Nissan Micra which was filming scenes for a commercial for its UK market. It’s still up in the air whether the Micra will be offered in our market, but Autoblog Green is reporting that the next generation Micra will indeed come to the USA next year. And there’s no way Nissan would ever sell a small hatch in the U.S and not here in Canada where it’s likely to sell better anyway.

[Auto North]

We’re Making Headway!

If you didn’t already know, Car Driven has joined Car & Driver’s campaign to save the manuals! Well, the campaign has been getting some buzz with over 7,400 people joining the facebook page, but it’s also generating some media coverage right here in Canada. Check it out above.

As Car & Driver pointed out, someone go to that Honda dealership and buy a manual! The Fit, Civic, Accord, Element and CR-Z can all be had with a manual transmission, fools!

Click here to join the Save the Manuals campaign!

[Car & Driver via Facebook]

Saab and BMW Team Up for Upcoming Audi A1 Fighter

Auto Express apparently has it on good word that Saab has officially inked a deal with BMW to build its upcoming sub-compact 9-2.  Rumour also has it that BMW will lend a helping hand with the next generation 9-3.

The 9-2, however, will use the Mini chasis along with other technologies from the lovable little Cooper.

According a Spyker exec: “We could build the 9-2 on our own, but that wouldn’t make sense. Thanks to the crisis in the industry, everyone is willing to share everything. So Spyker couldn’t have bought Saab at a better time.”

Another Reason To Hate it: Escalade Top Pick For Thieves

Isn’t it just the best when people get what they have coming to them?

Well the likeliness of that ringing true has just increased for Cadillac Escalade owners because the Highway Data Loss Institute has just released its list of vehicles with the highest and lowest insurance claims or thefts. You guessed it, the Cadillac Escalade took top honours for most stolen. Another reason to hate it!

But wait, you must be asking yourself “how can the Escalade be such a hot item for thieves? What about GM’s infamous Onstar?” Well, car thieves are quite crafty these days. All they do is take a flat bed truck, and load it on. By the time the douchebag owner realizes that their sweet ride has been stolen, the thieves have already deactivated the Onstar system which means the Escalade is now untrackable.

Which car is least likely to be stolen? Somewhat unsurprisingly, the Volvo S80. While that may be good news for S80 owners, wouldn’t that make them wonder why no one even wants to steal their car? Just sayin’.

Hit the jump to see the rest of the top 10 highest stolen and least stolen vehicles. Is your car on the list?

[Highway Data Loss Institute]

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Rush Limbaugh Knows Nothing About Cars, Has Opinion Anyway

If there’s one thing that drives me mad it’s when people who know nothing about a topic try to form an opinion on it anyway and then try to convince others that their opinion is right. This accurately describes Rush Limbaugh’s entire life.

If you don’t know who Limbaugh is, consider yourself lucky. If you are curious, well, let’s just say that he is an extreme right winged so-called political pundit who, for some reason, has his own radio show. As you can see by his picture, it’s obvious why no one wants to give him a  TV show.

Oh, and he’s also severely addicted to various pills. Nice.

On his radio show Limbaugh likes to talk about current events, of which he clearly does not follow or understand. Racist Rush, as I like to call him, decided to have a go at another topic that he is clearly ignorant about: Cars.

Specifically, Limbaugh decided to lay into the upcoming Chevrolet Volt. Limbaugh claimed that the Volt is stupid because it costs too much. I will admit, the $41,000 US starting price is about five grand more than anticipated, but since Rush’s hates the environment and will find any excuse in the book to slam efficient technology, he almost purposely failed to mention that the Volt can also be leased for a very reasonable $350/month.

He then declares that since there are government incentives on cars like the Volt of up to $7,500 off ($10,000 off in Ontario), there clearly must be no demand for cars like these.  Because it’s not like America was hit hard by the recession thanks to fools like your beloved George W. Bush and people need stimulus in order to buy new cars again, right Rush? Besides, as Autoblog pointed out, there were tax write -offs for Hummers and other huge gas guzzling SUV’s just a few years ago. How come you didn’t speak up against that then, eh Rush?

And to top it all off, and to showcase just how ignorant he is, Rush then decided to misinform all his listeners by proclaiming that the Volt is only capable of 40 miles (65 kms) then it runs out of juice. A little research goes a long way and if Limbaugh had the inclination or the wit to do so, he would’ve found out that the Volt can go an additional 300 miles on a regular gas engine when the electric motor runs out of power.

Now, I’ve been a bit critical of the Volt myself in the past, but I know cars. They are one of my few topics of expertise. And with that said, despite my minor criticisms, I still like the Volt. And I want it to succeed. I’m very eager to try one out for myself, mostly because I understand how it works and it’s intriguing. I would never claim to hate something without first understanding it. But that’s how Rush rolls and he is exactly what is wrong with society today.

You don’t like the Volt, Rush? Just pop a few more of those pills and the Volt won’t seem so bad, will it?

[Detroit Free Press]

Official: Porsche Will Build 918 Spyder!

YES!

Thanks to all those luck enough to afford a 918 Spyder writing in to Porsche. It’s because of that that Porsche was able to build a business case to build the 918 Spyder and now it has officially been confirmed. It will indeed enter production, albeit in limited numbers.

I think this is going to be the most significant car for the next five years, despite what GM may tell you about its Volt (see my post below for why I have doubts). While I appreciate the Volt and am very intrigued by it, I think Porsche is going to truely upstage it with the 918 Spyder. Being able to make a car that can get from 0-100 in 3.9 seconds, emit just 70 g/km of carbon dioxide all while getting 3 L/100 kms is astonishing. Mind boggling even. On top of that, the 918 Spyder will be able to keep classic handling abilities that Porsche is known for and will be quite the looker if the concept is any indication.

Pricing is the downside, but that’s the case for any supercar. It is expected to start around $650,000 US. Yikes. But considering the technology packed into it and what it’s capable of, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised. Also this is likely the reason why it will be produced in limited numbers. I’d be surprised if Porsche was able to make any profit on it too, actually.

People are already saying that this could be the successor to the amazing Carrera GT. And if the history of the Carrera GT is any indication, the 918 Spyder should have no problem fitting in with the big boys.

[Canadian Driver]

Chevrolet Volt Uses… Premium Gas?

GM, GM, GM. What were you thinking?

Why would you go and develop a car that is supposedly going to be your saviour as well as an industry game changer for fuel efficiency and the environment and then go and make it require premium gas?

That’s like encouraging people to practice safe sex, yet charging them a premium to use condoms.

And the things is, I don’t even understand why the Volt would require premium gas. Why would a tiny 80 horsepower engine need a high octane output? I will concede, however, that’s it might be possible to get added efficiency by using higher octane for the Volt’s generator. And if it is, and it’s also the reason why premium gas is required, then you need to explain that to the public, GM. Because right now it looks kind of foolish offering no explanation for people to spend more money for your supposed halo car.

However, it’s not like you’ll be going through loads and loads of premium since GM claims you can go up to 65 kilometres on the electric motor alone before using a single drop of premium. It’s still a bit of a disappointment nonetheless.

[The Truth About Cars]

Nissan vs Germany Round 2

Recently Nissan has been becoming quite cocky as they have released ads taking jabs at three German companies known as being among the best for performance: BMW, Audi and Porsche.

Porsche didn’t take too well to Nissan’s new marketing approach as they threatened legal action against Nissan of using their logo without permission. I, on the other hand, said that Porsche should shut Nissan up by going head to head on the track. But anyway, technical legalities is definitely not stopping Nissan from digging at Porsche heals. Audi is also targeted again in this new round of advertising.

Nissan actually went out and bought an Audi TT-S and a Porsche Cayman S and is driving them around London with special messages to the public written on the side of each car. For the Audi, the message reads “More expensive, slower and less powerful than a Nissan 370Z”. The Porsche got branded with “I dream of being as fast as a Nissan 370Z”. Ouch.

That certainly is a way to get around the legalities that Porsche set out. BMW was not targeted this round, but I’m sure Nissan has something special in mind for them.

[Nissan via Top Speed]

Bargain: 2011 Volkwagen Jetta to Start at $15,875

Whoa! I was not expecting this.

Volkswagen Canada announced today that the 2011 Jetta will have a starting price of $15,875 in our market. That’s over six grand less than a base 2010 Jetta!

Thing is, though, you get pretty much the old Jetta set up. That means that 2.Slow litre four cylinder engine making 115 horsepower. You also get the torsion beam suspension which, lets face it, is about as refined as Kid Rock. Also a 5-speed manual is the order of the day instead of a six speed. Despite all this, this will probably work well for Volkswagen, specifically in the Canadian market. VW has been selling the Jetta City in our market for a while now, which is essentially a facelifted previous generation Jetta. And it’s selling well here.

But if all that sounds too underwhelming for you, don’t worry, there will be more powerful Jettas available too. I’m even hearing a revival of the GLI is planned as well. The TDI Highline will be the most expensive Jetta at around $26,000 until the GLI arrives.

[Volkswagen Canada]

And The Cheapest Hybrid Award Goes to…

The Honda CR-Z.

Previously Honda themselves held the honour with the very unimpressive and underwhelming Insight which starts at $24,900. Honda even scared Toyota with that price and had them scrambling to make a hybrid version of their Toyota Yaris so that they could take the cheapest hybrid crown. But I’m sure that idea took the back burner when the results were in on the Insight. Just terrible.

Well Honda has just released Canadian pricing and the supposed successor to the CR-X will start at $23,460 for the six speed manual or $24,290 for the automatic making it the cheapest hybrid available in our market. The CR-Z is also the first ever hybrid available with a manual transmission. Sweet!

But the numbers don’t seem so sweet on paper. I mean, being the successor to the CR-X means that you gotta hold your own in the performance department. And with a 1.5 litre four cylinder engine making 126 horsepower and 136 pound foot torque, well, it just doesn’t seem possible to be fun to drive.

But at least it will be really efficient, right? Nope. While its 5.6 L/100 kms city (6.5 for the automatic) is nothing to sneeze at, this is a hybrid! There are regular gasoline cars that can do those numbers.

So, basically the new CR-Z is going to be nothing special in either performance or efficiency. Way to go, Honda. Let’s just hope it’s better than the Insight.

Oh and by the way, I’m fully aware that the pic above is not the production version of the CR-Z. It’s just I think the concept looked so much better.

[Honda Canada]