Dave Mulroney is our Ambassador to China and he recently is catching some flack for a recent purchase. No, it’s not any sort of spending scandal but it’s apparently due to the choice of government vehicle that Mulroney recently posted pics of. Mulroney’s Toyota Camry Hybrid (which is identical to the one posted above) was immediately mocked by over 1000 Chinese as soon as he posted the picture. In China, most politicians are seen in uber premium German sedans, primarily Audis. One Chinese commuter commented:

“It’s always best to yield to an Audi — you never know who you’re messing with, but chances are it’s someone self-important.”

In China, Camry’s are generally regarded as cars the next step up from buses and bikes. That’s about it. A fellow Chinese Ambassador also joined in the ribbing as he posted to Mulroney’s pics saying “A Chinese mid-level cadre wouldn’t lay an eye on your car!”

Mulroney actually responded to the Chinese backlash saying that he only has a budget of around $32,000 (CAD) to spend on his governmental vehicle and that spending any more is outside of the set guidelines.

“I have to answer to Canadian expectations. What happens to China is for Chinese people to decide,” Mulroney continued. He also said he originally posted his hybrid because he often gets questions about how the embassy operates, and how much money is usually spent. Mulroney said he was just trying to seem transparent with the Chinese people, something that their government is often criticized for not being.

While this certainly won’t spark any sort of international incident, it does indeed show different cultures attitudes towards certain vehicles and vehicle makes.

[The Globe & Mail]

If the picture didn’t already give it away, it’s the 2009 Toyota Venza. Shocked? Don’t blame you. The Cadillac Escalade and Honda Civic SiR have consistently traded the not so honourous title over the past several years.

It seems as though Venzas taken without permission are being sold to unsuspecting owners and it’s quite easy to do so. Also parts for the Venza are apparently in high demand (who would’ve thought), so those big 20 inch wheels are usually nothing but dollar signs for car thieves.

“Consumers need to be aware when they’re in the market for used vehicles or parts,” said Rick Dubin, Vice-President of Investigative Services at the IBC. “Those luxury, high-end vehicles may be hotter than you think.”

We’re half way through 2011 so it’s a good time to check in and see which models are most appealing to Canadians so far. Honda’s Civic is holding strong as the number one selling car in Canada, while Ford’s F-150 takes best selling truck and best selling vehicle overall.

Here’s the complete list:

1) Ford F-150 – 46,825 units

2) Ram Pickup – 30,459 units

3) Dodge Caravan – 29,986 units

4) Honda Civic – 26,371 units

5) Hyundai Elantra – 24,283 units

6) Ford Escape – 23,183 units

7) GMC Sierra – 22,225 units

8 ) Chevrolet Silverado – 19,233 units

9) Toyota Corolla -18,853 units

10) Chevrolet Cruze – 18,769 units

No big shockers here. I’m a little surprised that the Ford Focus didn’t make the list considering it’s now a credible contender. But Canadians obviously love their pick-up trucks and compact vehicles. Stay tooned to see where each vehicle places at the end of the year and if there will be any new additions to the list.

[Auto 123]

Honda must be happy about this.

After experiencing a sales slump and some tough criticism on new products it must be comforting to know that their most recognizable model, the Civic, is still quite popular with Canadians. It was the best selling car in Canada last month.

It must also be even more comforting to know that, despite being a five year old design, it is beating the newly redesigned Hyundai elantra (which was the best selling car in Canada for the month of January and February) and Mazda3. In fact another stablemate in the compact segment is starting to regain in sales – the Toyota Corolla. It was the second best selling car while Chevrolet’s new Cruze took third place with the Elantra and Mazda3 taking 4th and 5th spots respectively.

Despite all those being compact cars, don’t think for a second that Canadians are off huge pick-ups. The Ford F-150 is still the best selling vehicle in Canada overall. The GMC Sierra is 6th overall and the Chevy Silverado is 9th overall.

[Auto North]

David Akinson, CEO of GM, is apparently following in the footsteps of his predecesor Bob Lutz by making controversial off the cuff remarks.

His latest came at a public appearance at the Economic Club of Washington where commented on this thoughts of the Toyota Prius. Here’s what he said:

“We commonly refer to the geek-mobile as the Prius. And I wouldn’t be caught dead in one”.

Shots fired.

I would never own a Toyota Prius either but I’m not ignorant enough to say things like that about it. You can’t deny that the Prius is a phenomenal technicalogical breakthrough in fuel efficiency. You can’t deny that it’s currently the most fuel efficient car available in the world. Maybe you should wait to see how well the Chevy Volt does before opening your mouth.

But maybe Akinson is just being truthful. In which case, I’ll offer him another thruth:

I wouldn’t be caught dead in 95% of GM products.

[Autoblog Green]

WTF?

SEMA is currently underway and there have been some interesting cars this year. If you don’t know, SEMA stands for Specialty Equipment Market Association and basically what they do is show off visually modded cars that only a Fast & Furious douchebag would be interested in. This year, there seems to be an unusual amount of cars present at the show that would otherwise never be modded. For instance there is a stretch Toyota Sienna minivan limo, a stretched Scion XB limo as well as this vomit inducing Toyota Prius.

The Prius is called the C&A Custom Concept and thank God it’s just a concept. It’s trying way to hard to have a Lamborghini Reventon style front end. The Reventon front facia really only works on a Lamborghini.

On top of that, the C&A  has a carbon fiber body kit and the body is dropped by a ridiculous 4 inches! And believe it or not, those are actually 18 inch forged aluminum wheels. Except they look way smaller thanks to the stupidly massive front and rear overhangs.

But don’t worry, as if it couldn’t get any tackier, the C&A comes with an interior COMPLETELY made of suede. Just because if you’re gonna do it, you might as go all out ugly.

As you guessed, there have been no modifications under the hood, so what we are essentially left with is a normal non powerful Prius that probably handles decently and looks like a piece of Darth Vader’s stool.

DO NOT WANT.

[Toyota]

The Green Car advisor is shedding some light on just how fast the world’s first mass produced electric vehicle can go.

After rumours of its time being in the 5 to 13 second range, they were able to consistently get 7 seconds. That’s not bad at all, considering it takes a 4 cylinder Toyota Camry 9 seconds, a Toyota Prius, 9.8 seconds and the LEAF’s direct competitor, the Chevy Volt, 8.8 seconds.

On top of that, the LEAF apparently has a top speed of 150 kph. That number could and should be a bit higher, but it means the LEAF is definitely usable on the highway.

Can’t wait to try one for myself!

[Green Car Advisor]

Lotus has unveiled a pic of the 2014 Elite Concept (though it looks production ready to me) ahead of the official unveiling in Paris.

Along with a pic came more details on the specifications and they are quite impressive. The Elite will come with a 5.0 litre V8 which makes 611 horsepower and 531 pound feet of torque. Wowsa! Combine that engine with typical Lotus lightness and you’ll be able to get from 0-100 in just 3.5 seconds in the Elite.

On top of that, though, Lotus will apparently work with Toyota in incorporating hybrid technology into the Elite as an option. With a big V8 you can almost certainly bet that fuel efficiency will be dismal so the hybrid technology isn’t a bad idea – so long it doesn’t upset the handling.

Toyota’s got its PR game in full swing with this announcement claiming it doesn’t mind sharing it’s hybrid technology with other manufacturers “because we would like to see environmental technologies adopted and used as widely as possible.” Right. It’s not because you can make sick amounts of profit by licencing out the technology. No, it’s because you really care for the environment that badly. I don’t know who you think you’re fooling with statements like that, Toyota.

[Autoblog Green]

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 hideous.

[AutoBeYours]

Toyota isn’t effing around anymore, are they?

Toyota Canada has quickly issued a stop sale on the Lexus HS 250h due to fire risk concerns. Apparently if a rear collision is severe enough, excessive amounts of fuel can spill out causing a risk of fire, or even an explosion.

Toyota said in a press release:

“As part of its annual compliance testing program, the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently conducted a test of the
2010 model year HS 250h. The test involved striking the vehicle with a
deformable barrier from the rear at approximately 80 km/h. The vehicle
is struck by a moving deformable barrier with a 70 per cent overlap. As
part of the test, the vehicle was then rotated on its longitudinal axis
incrementally to each successive increment of 90 degrees. During the
rotation, the vehicle exhibited fuel spillage that exceeded the
requirement in the standard.”

That’s all fine and good, but what is the solution Toyota? They have no idea. Until they can think of something, no new 2010 HS 250h’s will be delivered or sold to the public.

Better get on a solution soon, Toyota.

[Toyota Canada]

Congrats to Volkswagen!

They picked up International Engine of the Year award honours for 2010 for the 1.4 litre TSI twincharger engine typically found in the Golf, Jetta, Scirocco, Tiguan, Touran, and Seat Ibiza Cupra. Unfortunately for us, we don’t get to experience that engine in any of VW’s offerings in North America. Volkwagen also picked up a second award for the 2.5 litre five-cylinder turbo that they use in the amazing Audi TT-RS.

BMW picked up the most awards for four different engines. The first was for the incredible 3 litre inline six D1 twin turbo used in the 135i, 335i, 535i, X5 35i, X6 35i and Z4. Next BMW was awarded for the 1.6 litre turbo found in the Mini Cooper S, Clubman S, Peugot 207 & 308 as well as the John Cooper works Edition Cooper and Clubman. BMW’s wonderful diesel was recognized as well, specifically the 2 litre twin turbo used in the 123d and X1 123d. Finally, and not surprisingly, BMW picked up an award for the 4 litre V8 used in the M3.

Mercedes-Benz and Toyota rounded out the list, each picking up one award. Mercedes-Benz won for their 6.2 litre V8 found in all the AMG models and Toyota was awarded for their 1 litre engine found in the Yaris and IQ.

Congrats to all the winners!

[International Engine of the Year]

Either batman has been hit hard by the recession, or some douchebag thinks he actually is batman. Either way it’s a fail, but it’s likely the latter.

I’m not sure what possesses people to take perfectly fine cars and then transform them into their nerdy wet dreams, but it’s starting to get out of control. As proof, some fool did this to a brand new 2010 Toyota Yaris – one of the last car’s to ever be associated with the batmobile.

I sincerely hope one of this guy’s friends punched him in the nose for doing this to his car.

Oh wait, he probably has no friends.

[VW Vortex]

Huh?

I recently tested the 2010 Toyota Prius, and even though it isn’t the car for me, I came away quite impressed. One of the things that impressed me was its unexpected power. The Prius can get from 0-100 in 9.8 seconds. That isn’t fast enough to induce any sort of thrills, but for a hybrid, that’s pretty damned good. I even pondered whether I should even mention the Prius’ 0-100 time because I figured no one remotely interested in a Prius would really care. Speed = lots of fuel consumption after all. Apparently I was wrong.

Timothy Hird from Georgia seemingly had a fit of road rage as he was unimpressed with the way a Honda Civic was driving. He then decided to show non-hybrid owners just how fast his Prius could go by racing the Civic. There was lots of back and fourth yelling, and the Prius was apparently able to hold its own, but in the end, a close call with a police officer ended the Civic vs Prius affair.

Both drivers were booked for wreckless driving and Hird even got thrown in jail for it. All this just to prove your Prius is faster than people think?

[Top Speed]

By Kevin Harrison

I believe in climate change. There really is no reason to not believe it in my opinion. Is it a cash grab by certain companies and corporations? Maybe. Businesses are certainly shifting towards a more environmental angle and are starting to make products that they claim will help save the environment. We usually need to pay more than we’re used to. But really, when are businesses not jumping onto the latest trend? They’re here to make money and if they’re making it at the expense of saving our earth, then I’m okay with that. And if climate change turns out to be a hoax, then at the very least it means that we saved money on energy, fuel etc and we end up with a less disgusting, cleaner earth. So, in my mind there’s really no downside to trying to save our environment.

How we go about doing it is fairly controversial. In the car world, there are many interesting solutions. You have diesel, which has been around since 1892 and thus proven to be the most reliable way to save gas. Then there’s relying on pure electricity – burning no gas and emitting no emissions is pretty sweet… assuming you don’t run out of electricity in the middle of nowhere. But really the same risk of running out of gas exists in the cars we drive today.

Then there are hybrids, likely the most popular way to save fuel and emissions right now. Toyota has the most hybrids out of any manufacturer. The most popular is likely the Prius. In fact, the Prius is so popular that you simply need to say its name and everyone not only knows it’s a Toyota, but knows that it is the car of choice for environmentalists, celebrities and people who order chai lattes at Starbucks – you know, the trendy ones.

There’s no doubt that the Prius is the most frugal car when it comes to gas consumption, but there really is more to cars and driving than how much gas it uses. Is it actually a good car?

First things first, we’ll get the foolishness out of the way. At no point during my time with the Prius did the brakes not work or did the gas pedal stick. You likely already know about the hoopla surrounding all the recalls. All I have to say is I hope you learned you lesson Toyota. But braking problems were specifically linked to the Prius and I’m happy to report that the brakes work extremely well. Too well in fact. They felt quite touchy at first. Coming to a smooth stop at a red light was something that was difficult at first, but you got used to the pedal feel quite quickly.

When the red light turns green, there is a momentary sense of panic as you put your foot on the gas and seemingly nothing happens. At this point the electric motor is the only thing propelling you and it is eerily quiet. So quiet that you don’t even notice that you’re actually moving. And when I say moving, I mean moving at the same speed the planet revolves around the sun. It is painfully slow. You then compensate by mashing the throttle down a bit harder. This causes the gas engine to spring into action to give you your get-up-and-go, which is useless since you are now burning a lot of gas to get the 3000 pound Prius out of everyone’s way. The main purpose of a hybrid is to obviously save gas. Almost every single time I found myself in this situation. This was not my first time in a hybrid, by the way. The other hybrids I’ve driven don’t seem to have the same electric motor lag.

Once you are able to get the Prius going though, there is lots of power. The Prius is no BMW, but there is definitely no lacking in power. 0-100 (not that it matters since Prius owners won’t be racing) takes a respectable 9.8 seconds. There’s definitely enough passing power for highway driving and even enough power for some fun spirited driving at times. Again, your fuel consumption will suffer if you do this though.

Power comes from a 1.8 unit which develops 134 horsepower combined with the electric motor. This is a more powerful, yet more efficient engine than the previous generation which made do with a 1.5 litre engine and 110 horses. The 2010 Prius, despite the added power, gets better efficiency too as it is rated at an incredible 3.7 L/100 kms city and 4.0 highway. The Prius is a “full hybrid” meaning the electric motor is a method of propulsion, not an assist. The Prius, as mentioned, can run fully on the electric motor by itself in the most ideal conditions.

How does the Prius do so well with efficiency? Well on top of the hybrid set up, there’s lots of weight savings to be found such as an aluminum hood and rear hatch, front axle, rear suspension and centre pillar. The Prius uses ultra low rolling resistance tires on standard 15 inch wheels which look pretty ridiculous on the car. They’re too small. Optional 17′s are much better and are the ones to go for.

As a result of said tiny tires with low rolling resistance, handling is not this car’s forte. It felt fairly unstable in corners and the lack of feedback to the driver was huge. This likely won’t be an issue for most Prius drivers however. The Prius has one of the best turning radius’ around.

The interior is all new for 2010 and it is unique and tastefully laid out. Also new for 2010 is a larger digital display that tells you what all the inner workings of the Prius are doing so you can train yourself to drive in an efficient manner. The steering wheel is probably the smallest I’ve ever encountered in a car short of a go-kart. When in reverse, the Prius makes an immensely irritating beeping sound like a large truck does when it’s reversing. Why? It’s stupid. I know I’m reversing, I’m the one that told it to reverse by selecting ‘R’. Not to mention that I’m not daft and I can and will notice that I’m going backwards, not forwards. The noise luckily isn’t audible from outside.

There is lots of great space and cubby holes everywhere. Thanks to the hatch, the Prius is quite versatile and would serve quite well as a family hauler. In fact, I wondered it it was the ultimate family hauler. Honestly, it can do anything an SUV can do (except do well off-road) but it does it way more efficiently and safely. If I had kids, I would easily take the Prius over most of its competition.

Except I wouldn’t. While I appreciate all the emissions and gas saving technology crammed into this car, it just isn’t inspiring at all. It’s a bit like having a supermodel as your wife, yet remaining celibate. Even though I care about gas savings and the environment, I also care quite a bit for performance. In fact performance is my number one factor in looking for a car. The diesel options from BMW and Volkswagen are superb. In fact the latter offers a wagon version of their diesel and a six-speed manual to boot! It even costs less. Therefore that would be the one that gets my money if efficiency was my top priority.

But that’s not to say I don’t appreciate the Prius. Far from it. I think it is a remarkable achievement. Whether hybrids are a solution to our environmental predicaments remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, it isn’t a bad start.

Price: $27,800

Pros:

• You won’t find a car that does better on gas
• Versatility
• Luxurious feel, lots standard
• Less dorky looking than previous model
• Decent and unexpected power
• Good safety

Cons:

• Electric motor lag
• Can get pricey with options
• Stupid irritating noise when in reverse
• No handling abilities whatsoever

Overall: 7.5/10

Now, here’s the thing. There are certain vehicles out there that really seem to resonate with the people. This inevitably translates into celebs buying said vehicles because it is the latest cool thing to do. The Lincoln Navigator, the Cadillac Escalade, the Mercedes-Benz any-model and even the Toyota Prius all come to mind. In fact, I’ve pointed out that the new Chevy Camaro will be the new hot car in Hollywood as Lebron James & Ludacris seem to be all over it. Young Jeezy even made a song called “Camaro”.

Rick Ross also has several songs dedicated to Maybach’s, and Luda even did a song about the Cadillac Deville. There’s no doubt that certain vehicles make an impact on certain celebrities rappers. One vehicle yet to have a rap song made about it is the Toyota Sienna minivan…until now.

I’m all for good hearted goofy rap spoofs, but this one really isn’t funny. It’s trying too hard to get laughs and we know when you try too hard to get laughs you end up with Carrot Top.

The thing is, it is possible to make a funny rap song about a traditionally ‘uncool’ car. The Casual Mafia was able to make an amusing song about the Toyota Prius. This video, however, tries to do the same thing but falls quite short, even though it appears to be much more high budget. Oh and the song is called “Swagger Wagon” which would work if the Sienna was a wagon. Since it isn’t, it remains an unfunny title on top of it all. At least they’re “rapping” about the Sienna SE, which is probably the best trim level you can get.

But, you be the judge. check out the video above for yourself. Thanks for the tip, Leah!