I’m in the land of trucks, SUVs and all things big-wheeled for the launch of the all-new 2013 Dodge Dart – the first Chrysler vehicle designed and built under Fiat’s ownership.
This Dart is not similar to or related to the iconic ’60s American muscle car of the same name. In fact, the modern compact sedan is actually related to the European Alfa Romeo Giulietta, which is known for its competent handling and stylish looks instead of balls-out speed and horsepower.
2013 Dodge Dart
Dart is built on a stretched and widened Giulietta package jam-packed with standard features not typically found in this segment. Even the $15,995 SE base model comes with 10 airbags, ABS disc brakes on all four wheels, traction control and on/off electronic stability control, so it should have a significant value advantage straight out of the gate.
Due in summer 2012, Dodge’s sharpest-looking compact sedan ever will compete in the most crowded vehicle segment there is, against the more conventional and popular Civic, Corolla, Cruze, Elantra, Focus and Jetta, to name a few.
Continue reading my review of the 2013 Dodge Dart on the Toronto Sun’s Autonet.ca.
The Pfaff Motorsports team will return to the Canadian racing circuit in the 2012 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada with Castrol as lead sponsor on the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 racecar, which was publicly unveiled at the Thompson Hotel in Toronto this week.
Kyle Marcelli has been hand-picked to debut the Pfaff Castrol motorsports team in the 2012 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge. With more than 10 years racing experience in 84 races, including 12 wins and 46 podiums, the 22-year-old Barrie, Ontario native is one of the country’s most exciting up-and-comers in motorsports.
“We are very excited about the upcoming race season and have great expectations for the team we have put together with Fiorano Racing and up-and-coming driver, Kyle Marcelli, behind the wheel,” said Christopher Pfaff, president and CEO, Pfaff Automotive Partners.
Marcelli’s career highlights include racing in the American and European Le Mans Series. On May 19 and 20, at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the open wheel specialist will race against 20 other entries in the 2012 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada opener during the annual Victoria Day Speedfest Weekend presented by Castrol Edge in Bowmanville. Continue →
After a ground-breaking first season, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin enters its second year with three times the entries and three more races for 2012.
Last year, less than two months before the first race, Porsche Canada announced North America’s newest single-make racing series, the Porsche GT3 Cup Canada. Designed to develop new drivers and prepare them for competition in the American Le Mans Series, Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd., in partnership with Porsche Motorsport North America and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), entered into a two-year agreement for the 20th GT3 Cup Challenge series in the world.
The inaugural 2011 season consisted of three events and a total of six races. And, while the short lead time initially made for small fields, in the end, the series produced some spectacular sports car racing. The high quality of the drivers, cars and teams ensured the results of each race were undecided until the checkered flag finally fell.
The season culminated at Mosport in July with a full field of both Canadian and U.S. drivers battling it out for North American bragging rights as well as the three class championships. Drivers Perry Bortolotti, Shaun McKaigue and Bob Seitz won their respective platinum, gold and silver class championships. All three return to the series in 2012 to defend their championships.
“It was an incredible season of racing,” said Joe Lawrence, president and CEO of Porsche Cars Canada, and one of the driving forces behind bringing Porsche single-make racing back to the place it first started back in the 1980s. “All in all, we could hardly have hoped for a better start – the fans were excited, the fields tripled in size by year end and, after witnessing the buzz, Porsche’s global technology partner, Michelin, jumped in as a sponsor. In addition, we have added three new events to the series calendar. I expect this season will produce some of the best racing Canada has seen in some time.”
Porsche GT3 Cup Canada Speeds Ahead
The first event of the 2012 season will be at Mosport International Speedway’s Victoria Day Speedfest. Two races are scheduled that weekend, one on May 19 and the other on May 20. Eighteen teams have entered 2012′s inaugural event, almost all of which have committed to a full season of racing and a run at the platinum, gold and silver championships. Continue →
In case you have been living under a rock for the last week, here are some of my close-ups with the 2013 SRT Viper GTS from the New York International Auto Show where I was on assignment for Autonet.ca. I didn’t get to see the whole show this year. However, I was there long enough for the star of the event to make its slithery presence known with its 8.4L V10 motor making 640 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque roaring to life on stage where SRT president and CEO, Ralph Gilles, addressed the media horde. Enjoy!
I’m back at the Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada to drive the all-new 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth on the 5.0-km long road course where this pint-sized car is proving you don’t need a ton of horsepower to create a super-sized grin.
The Abarth is the high-performance version of Fiat’s 500 subcompact that is gaining popularity in North America and is outselling other small cars like the Mini Cooper, Honda Fit, and Scion xB and xD since launching in late 2011.
Although Canadians will pay two grand more than our American neighbours, as well as miss out on a full track day event learning to drive their new Abarths, $23,995 is still a fair price for such big performance in a small package.
2012 Fiat 500 Abarth
The twin-intercooled 1.4-litre MultiAir Turbo four, for example, makes an impressive 115.3 hp per litre and the car weighs just 1,151 kg. Combine its 160 hp and 170 lb.-ft. of torque with a host of enhancements over and above the standard Fiat 500. Among them, a heavy-duty performance five-speed manual transmission, tuned suspension with Koni FSD twin-tube dampers and beefy sway bars, 17-inch alloy wheels, powerful ABS brakes and a nicely-balanced chassis, and it really is a track-ready every day car.
Continue reading my review of the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth on the Toronto Sun’s Autonet.ca.
Last fall, I drove the best-selling Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 GT at Mosport and was quite impressed with the car’s superb balance and exciting performance. But, today I’m at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada to drive the significantly-refreshed 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe – both the 2.0T and 3.8 GT models – and boy what fun they are!
Each gets more power and suspension tweaks that make both cars even better, along with much improved, more refined interiors and transmission choices. The 2.0T has a new twin-scroll turbocharger and a 50% larger intercooler that bumps horsepower by 30% to 274 and torque to 275 lb.-ft., while the 3.8L V6 now makes 348 hp and 295 lb.-ft. on premium fuel.
2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe
Hyundai has revised its six-speed manual transmission for more precise gear shifts, and introduces a new eight speed automatic with Shiftronic manual mode and paddle shifters. Not only that, a three-stage ESC allows drivers to partially and fully disengage both the electronic traction and stability controls while ABS remains active. The intermediate setting no longer cuts engine power.
Continue reading my review of the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe on the Toronto Sun’s Autonet.ca.
There are two photo sets here. I shot the first set back in 2005 at the 2006 Honda Civic long lead presser in Japan where I drove the then soon-to-be-launched eighth-gen Civic Si on the Motegi Twin Ring road course. The earlier JDM-spec Civics shown here were on display next to the paddock – generations one through seven are pictured here, all of them in better-than-showroom condition. No doubt it’s because the Honda Collection Hall museum stands nearby on the automaker’s hallowed grounds in the city of Utsunomiya, in Japan’s Tochigi Prefecture north of Tokyo.
The Jaguar C-X16 concept made its one and only Canadian appearance at the 2012 Canadian International Auto Show this past week in Toronto where Autonet’s Shaun Keenan got the full scoop on this gorgeous GT coupe from none other than its creator, Ian Callum, design director for Jaguar. By the sound of things the C-X16 is more than just a design concept for Jaguar, but you’ll have to keep reading to learn more.
Q: Start by telling me when the C-X16 first became the twinkle in your eye?
A: Personally, I’ve wanted to do this car since I arrived at Jaguar 12 years ago. It’s been in the back of my mind for a long time. It really started to materialize a couple of years ago when our M.D. at the time, Mike O’Driscoll, came in and said he wanted to do this car as well. He’s since retired unfortunately, but he said, and I totally agreed with him, ‘it’s about time we start looking at a two-seat sports car for Jaguar.’ We’ve got a 2+2 GT and it’s very much an extreme GT, but we wanted to get back to the roots of what Jaguar performance is about, and this is it for me!
My interview with Ian Callum, Jaguar’s director of design, on the C-X16 Concept can be read in its entirety on Autonet.ca.
I met Petter Solberg in Sardinia, Italy during the 2004 Rally Italia Sardina. Cool guy, awesome driver and quite the collection of Subarus and other awesome hardware according to this circa Dec. 2010 vid I have stumbled upon.
This is me testing the 2013 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 GT on the skidpad at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Driver Development Track (Mosport DDT). The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate car control. As you can see, the all-new 2013 Genesis is quite happy to get sideways and into a drift. With 348 hp and 295 lb-ft on tap, the V6 is powerful and torquey enough to take the long way around the pad too. Stay tuned for an update on this and a forthcoming track shakedown of the 2013 Gen Coupe.
Vital specs:
3.8-litre GDI V6 with 348 hp and 295 lb-ft
6-speed manual
1,616 kg curb weight
Torsen LSD
Bridgestone RE050A UHP summer tires (P225/40R19 front and P245/40R19 rear)
Brembo 13.4/13.0" (340/330 mm) vented discs, four-piston calipers (f/r)
Footage shot in HD with my Drift HD cam. Enjoy!
Destroy this page!
This retro space shooter game is inspired by Atari's original 1979 Asteroids arcade video game and will destroy my web page in seconds.
Instructions:
* Steer with the arrow keys
* Shoot with spacebar
* Can't see your remaining enemies? Then press and hold B
Tips: Great for vaporizing annoying ads! Press [Esc] key to exit the game mode after eliminating strategic targets. Refresh or reload the page to play again.
Being Social