What do you get when a Toyota Prius mates with a Subaru Baja? A Toyota Prija of course.

Steve Woodruff is probably the only person in the world that thought combining the two ideas would be a good idea, but he went and did it anyway. The result is a rather ugly looking pick up that is probably the most efficient pick up in the world.

Woodruff claims his Toyobaru gets about 40 mpg (or 5.8 L/100 kms in Canadian speak) which is awesome. The added weight of the pick up bed hasn’t affected fuel mileage that much as it’s not far off from a regular 2006 Prius.

Even though the Toyobaru does amazing fuel wise, it still isn’t likely to have any towing capabilities. But hey, it still hauls a lot of stuff just like a pick up is supposed to. Woodruff didn’t mention how much the crazy experiment cost, but it was likely a lot. Which means any fuel savings would likely be a bit of a moot point. But in terms of the environment, it’s definitely a win.

Too bad it looks hedious.

[AutoBeYours]

I never watched the Dukes of Hazzard, despite them having a car with a somehow sweet name on the show (the General Lee). However I know enough about the show to know that the General Lee was asked time and time again to perform spectacular stunts, not least of which is the barrel roll.

Now, the Dukes of Hazzard undoubtedly have a huge following and I’m not sure if the show ever had any “don’t try this at home” warnings, but it I’m guessing with the type of people that watched the show, a warning wouldn’t have mattered anyway.

Case in point, an owner of a BMW X5 decided to try the classic barrel roll stunt. I’m not sure how much the General Lee weighed, but it was surely less than the over five tonne X5. Plus, I’m sure each stunt required quite an intricate set up. These facts of common sense obviously escaped the X5 owner. The lack of reaction from the people recording the stunt would seem to indicate that they saw this coming too.

Watch his unfortunate results in the video above.

[Youtube]

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]

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]

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]

By Kevin Harrison

Don’t you hate it when someone else’s tastes have a negative affect on you? For instance, I have an inhuman ability to eat spicy food. And I mean spicy. Think of the spiciest thing you’ve ever ate, I guarantee I’ve had spicier. And if I haven’t, I guarantee that I am able to handle it better than you. This may seem like bragging, but it’s really just abnormal. In fact, it’s damned inconvenient. Since my tolerance for spice is so high (thanks to my heritage and just plain growing up with the stuff) it’s hard to find truly spicy food in Halifax that meets my satisfaction. Believe me, I’ve tried. Why? Because North Americans can’t handle spicy food. North Americans apparently prefer blandness. I am seriously addicted to spicy food, so sometimes living here is like an alcoholic living in a prohibition nation.

North American tastes have also been screwing me over in the car world as well. It’s because Americans prefer unnecessarily large vehicles that have a billion horsepower but handle like they are driving on marshmallow roads, and look as though they were designed for Flava Flav. Chrome and shininess everywhere. Basically, tackiness everywhere.

Because of this, we have been deprived of amazing vehicles like the BMW 535d, the Ford Focus RS, and the Audi A1.

Recently there’s been an interesting change, however. It seems the folks at Ford, who make tremendous vehicles for the European market, have finally had a light bulb go on in their heads. Instead of building two versions of the Focus, why not just sell the good one globally? Indeed, why not try selling other product here too?

So here we are, with the Ford Fiesta. The little car is finally available on our shores. Even though we now have Euro Fords, have they still been Americanized for our stupid tastes?

Selling the Fiesta in Canada specifically is one of the smartest things Ford could do. Canadians have more sense than Americans do, and thus, we tend to buy smaller cars. The sub-compact and compact segment are the big sellers here. We also love our hatchbacks.

But Ford has decided to cater to North American tastes still with the Fiesta. As a result, they have made a sedan version. The sedan version looks more awkward than Kate Gosslin on Dancing With The Stars. What the hell were they thinking? Putting a boot on a hatchback rarely works. Then putting tremendously tiny wheels with some of the ugliest hubcaps since the Smart Fortwo on it makes it look downright dumb. The fiesta isn’t a wide car either, so what you’re left with is a car that looks more Americanized than Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Fiesta isn’t a wide car either, so overall the look isn’t that appealing. The good news is, we still get the great looking and practical hatchback as well. But, unfortunately my tester was the ugly sedan.

Otherwise, I am happy to report that that’s pretty much where the bad news ends with this car. The interior is quite nice with quality materials. It’s obvious that attention to detail was high on the list when designing the interior. Ford didn’t mess about with the interior like they did the exterior for our tastes – this is exactly the same interior that the Europeans get. Sync is also optional on the Fiesta, and if you’re not familiar with it, it’s basically a more capable blutooth system that can also read your texts back to you, stream audio and even your twitter account. One other thing the Fiesta has is an abundance of ambient lighting. My tester came with soft red ambient lighting, and even though it personally isn’t my thing, I can see how it might be appealing to others.

Driving the Fiesta is quite a treat. When driving at normal speeds, road noise is almost non-existent. It’s really quiet inside the cabin. Ford claims the wind noise is 10% quieter than its competition at highway speeds. That’s probably true. Not only will you have a quieter ride, but you’ll also be returning super fuel economy in the process as the Fiesta’s highway rating is 5.1 L/100 kms. In the city the Fiesta gets an equally impressive 6.9 L/100 kms. This is partly due to the Fiesta’s new six speed automatic transmission. It’s a dual-clutch gearbox that is a first for the class. Ford claims 9% better efficiency over a traditional automatic. As a result, the automatic bests the manual transmission’s efficiency scores as the manual is rated at 7.1 city and 5.3 highway.

You’ll still want the manual transmission though. Why? Because the automatic that my tester has really impedes driving fun. And it is possible to have fun driving the Fiesta. The 1.6 litre engine makes 120 horsepower and 112 pound feet of torque which is more than adequate for a vehicle this size, but the automatic robs the engine of its power. Mating this to the five speed manual is sure to take advantage of the otherwise peppy engine.

Handling abilities are excellent. But again, get the optional bigger wheels with alloys because it will almost certainly improve the Fiesta’s abilities in the bends, which it does quite well already. Luckily the Fiesta comes with the same stiff suspension and front springs that the European version gets as well as quicker damping in the shocks. This translates into a sub $20K vehicle that feels like it handles on rails.

The thing with the sedan however, is even though it looks ridiculous, that trunk is absolutely massive. It’s astonishingly big. It looks to be just as big as the trunk in the BMW 528i I tested. You won’t loose much practicality by going for the sedan over the hatchback that’s for sure.

But you really should go for the hatchback. It can do everything the sedan does, and likely does it better if you equip it with a manual and big alloys and tires. You’ll also loose the bulkiness and awkwardness of the sedan.

The Honda Fit is generally agreed to be the best in its class, but now I’m not so sure. For the first time in a very long time, I’d have to say that an American brand is actually better than its imported counterparts. Maybe because it’s not actually American, it’s European? No matter. The Fiesta is just one great zippy little car in a tidy package. Just make sure you get the true Fiesta in its SES trim and for the love of God, get the hatchback if for nothing than style alone.

Ford, keep up the good work and bring over more Euro models!

Base Price: $12,999

Pros:

• European interior, sync is really cool
• Handling abilities are excellent
• Fuel economy is excellent
• Quiet ride
• Great peppy engine
• Tremendous value
• Ridiculously large trunk for the sedan

Cons:

• Sedan looks stupid
• Ambient lighting is a bit tacky
• Small dorky looking wheels with ugly hubcaps
• Automatic robs engine of power

Overall: 8.5/10

Whoa! Check out this race in Quebec where a driver redefines how to overtake your opponents!

HEICO SPORTIV – The all new Volvo S60. from heicofilm on Vimeo.

Video has just been released of the Volvo S60 Heico Sportiv. Wow. It looks terrifically sexy! And being a Volvo, it’s super safe.

The Heico Sportiv S60 boosts power to 330 horsepower and 339 pound foot torque. That’s good enough for a 0-100 time in 5.8 seconds. If I’m honest, that number seems a bit disappointing. All that power with only a 5.8 0-100 time? I guess the AWD system must be really heavy. It’s not like 5.8 seconds is anything to sneeze at.

Plus, when your car looks this good, you’ll want to give people enough time to look in awe anyway.

[Heico Film]

What happens when a 19 year old drives a Pontiac Firebird at over 160 kph into a guard rail? A police cruiser happened to catch it on the dashboard cam.

Shockingly, this kid survived the crash and no other vehicles were involved.

[WDTN]

By Kevin Harrison

Photography by Nick Rudnicki

As I start to get older, I start to notice certain changes. Mainly, I can’t eat a hamburger anymore without gaining 50 pounds. I also can’t seem to stay up past 2 am on a Saturday night as I’ll pass out from plain old fatigue rather than copious amounts of alcohol. I also caught myself in one of those ‘back-in-my-day’ moments wherein I was ridiculed by someone much younger than me for not having a twitter account.

“Back in my day…” I stopped short. I couldn’t believe those words came from my mouth.

Now I’m not old by any means, I’m in my mid twenties, but it’s definitely at this point in your life when you notice the changes. And they generally aren’t good ones.

The old adage ‘wine gets better with age’ doesn’t apply to humans. Cheese gets better with age though. So does scotch. But not human beings, I’m convinced of it.

Cars, on the other hand, are hard to figure. Do they get batter with age? The Chevrolet Impala, now into its ninth generation almost certainly has not. The Impala went from being an iconic tourer to a sleek coupe to a rapper’s wet dream to a hold-its-own sleeper to, well, the number one choice of car for people 70 and up. What the hell happened? The Impala used to be cool.

The BMW 5-Series is settling into middle age as well. Now into its seventh generation, is the 5-Series getting better with age? Or is it turning into an old grandpa mobile like the Impala?

I took the newest iteration for a spin to find out.

My favourite generation 5-Series was definitely the E39. When I was about 15, a black on black 540i with a six speed manual was my dream car. Nothing on the road looked as good or performed as good. Even today when I see an E39 540i on the roads, it grabs my attention more than a short skirt does. I liked the Bangled 5-series that followed afterward as well, but some say that’s when the 5-series took a turn for the worst. They said it was too big, too flashy, too bulgy, too heavy etc. I’d argue against most of those points, but we’ll leave that argument for another time.

The current generation is much more toned town. In fact, it’s down right conservative. Chris Bangle no longer works for BMW and it clearly shows. While Audi is trying to grab peoples attention with an overload of LED’s, and Mercedes-Benz is trying to grab attention with grille symbols the size of grape fruits, BMW is apparently content on going back to it’s old conservative styling. Which, in of itself, means understated yet eye catching. Only pure white halo rings and LED turn signals give any sort of hint to attention seeking. The white ‘eyebrows’ over the headlights are carried over from the previous generation giving a bit of an evolutionary look. The rear is very much in line with the rest of the BMW family. In fact, it’s now quite difficult to tell the 5-series apart from the 7-series – the rear of both vehicles look almost identical. The side profile is sleek with the big shapely hood generating an almost classic sports car look to it. The look is completed with 17 in 5-spoke wheels.

Inside is also typical BMW, which again, mimics the 7-series almost to a tee. The steering wheels is too thin for my liking. I’m using to typical chunky BMW steering wheels that give you the grip you need for aggressive driving. On top of that, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t get into the idrive system. Even though it’s more user friendly, it’s still complicated and ridiculously distracting from the road.  The nav system allows you to have a 3d view of where you are and where you’re going, however the system itself can be a bit difficult to use. The sat nav woman doesn’t shut up once you have a destination selection. She interrupts every 5 seconds giving you directions, even when you’ve decided that sat nav is stupid and you don’t want directions anymore. Seriously, it’s impossible to shut her up. Luckily, you have very comfortable seats both in the front and rear to ease any aggressiveness the sat nav cow might induce. You can adjust the driver’s seat literally any way you want to. Even the top half of the seat only reclines.

Despite having nice comfy seats, they are still supportive enough for sporty driving. And it is possible to have fun in the 528i. Its 240 horsepower and 230 pound foot torque from BMW’s buttery smooth 3 litre inline six seems a bit down on power, but it’s more suited to the 5-series. Torque chimes in at around 3,000 rpm and the engine will happily red line for you every single time. Even when you’re not in manumatic mode, this engine just loves to rev. As I’ve said many times before, with such tremendous engines, it’s impossible to not drive BMW’s fast. The 528i is no exception.

The automatic switches gears in a crisp manner with little delay. One thing I absolutely adore about BMW is that a six speed manual is actually still available on this new 5-series. Try getting a manual transmission from BMW’s competition, you’ll be out of luck. My tester, however, had the new eight-speed automatic. I still don’t understand why a car would ever need 8 gears. You never ever reach the top gear, and if you somehow manage to, you’re likely go way over the speed limit. And don’t try to give me that fuel efficiency nonsense either, I don’t buy it. I tried to get the 528i up to the 8th gear for city driving, and 6th was the best I could do. If I tried to go higher, even in manumatic mode, the automatic would just downshift the engine anyway.

The new 5-series has been criticized as being softened up from the previous generation, and it is noticeably softer. However, much like how the new M3 is noticeably softer, it somehow doesn’t translate into reduced handling abilities. In fact, the new 5-series feels just as good – if not better, in the corners than previous iterations. The steering initially feels soft, but once you push the 528i, the speed sensitive steering kicks in for good feedback. Throw the big 5 into a corner and it takes it relatively well. Very well in fact, for a car that has no sport package. Take the traction control off and the 528i suddenly becomes quite eager to play as tail slides are easy as pie and relatively controlled. Still, this isn’t what the 528i is built for.

If you want a big sedan that has all the ingredients necessary for performance, you’re better off with the 535i or the 550i. But if you want a comfortable, classy ride that would rather pamper you with luxury, but is always down for some good old fashion aggressive driving whenever the mood should strike you, then the 528i is the right car for you. Don’t let the base trim level label fool you, this is every much a true BMW through in through.

I can say without a doubt that this is among the best 5-series we’ve seen yet. It may not be the best looking, it may not be the most powerful, it may not be the most luxurious, but it is definitely a well balanced mix of everything that makes driving pleasurable. Even though I apparently am getting worse with age, I’m happy to report that the 5-series is only getting better with age.

Price: $53,900

Pros:

• Styling to please mostly everyone now
• Manual transmission still available
• Addictive red line loving inline six
• Crisp shifting transmission
• Comfortable and versatile – plenty of cargo room

Cons:

• Eight speed auto is not necessary
• Chunkier steering wheel needed
• Idrive still sucks
• Sat nav is annoying

Overall: 8.5/10

Special thanks to Campbell Harbord of Halifax BMW and Nick Rudnicki.

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]

Mercedes-Benz decided to leak official pictures of the next generation CLS ahead of its official debut at the Paris Auto Show.

The car that started the whole four door coupe craze retains a similar sweeping profile, with some S-Class added to the mix, along with a front facia more in line with the rest of the Mercedes-Benz family.

If you thought Audi is going nuts with LED lights, then think again. Mercedes is going to be the new LED king. There are 71 LED bulbs in the headlight cluster alone! The headlights, daytime running lights, turn singals and side lights are all going to be LED. Same story goes for the tail lights, which now have a more eye catching design. While that may look cool, that just means more of a chance of lights burning out down the road. Probably costly to replace too. The interior is all new as well with a three spoke steering wheel now standard as well as a steering column gear shift like the S-Class has. No manumatic option then?

No word on engine specs, however expect a 3.5 litre V6 and a 4.6 litre V8 to be available. An AMG version will come down the road.

With BMW already green lighting its Gran Coupe concept, and Audi premiering the A7, the refreshed CLS could not have come at a better time.

Click here for more pics.

[Mercedes-Benz via Autoblog]

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]

My head is swarmed packed with puns and cheesy jokes right now.

Apparently in Wake County, North Carolina, a truck carrying bee hives broke down on the side of the highway. A passing police officer stopped to offer assistance and called a tow truck. The officer decided to wait with the broken down transport truck until the tow truck arrived as it was very early in the morning before sunrise. Turns out that was a bad idea because by the time the tow truck came by the sun had risen which meant it was a fresh new day for the bees.

They they came out of their hives and started swarming the officer and transport truck driver! But luckily the bees rightfully hate Dodge Chargers so much that they then turned their attention to the officer’s Charger police cruiser! Oh the hilarity! And actually the officer sought refuge in his police car, but ended up being trapped there due to the amount of bees.

Bee keepers from the University of Carolina were then called in to take care of the bees’ apparent love/hate for the Dodge Charger. When enough were taken off the car, the policeman was able to drive away.

Autoblog has a caption contest going for this story. How about:

“Sting operation backfires”

“Dodge Charger charged with swarmings”

“Officer regrets honey dip donut choice from Tim Horton’s”

“Winnie the Pooh arrested for stealing honey, bees react strongly”

“Flower has bees arrested for sexual assault, bees insist pollination”

“Choice of Dodge Charger for police force has everyone buzzing”

I could go on… unfortunately.

[Autoblog]

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]