Car FYI

Photo Credit: CNW Group/Canadian Tire Corporation Limited For aspiring young motorists in the Toronto area, later this summer will breed a new choice for professional training to best handle the obstacles and challenges open road can bring. One of the largest retailers in Canada, Canadian Tire has announced plans to take new drivers to school through their new business called Canadian Tire Drivers Academy. Launching in the pilot stage at the Leslie and Lakeshore Canadian Tire retail store August 13th, the new driver training program institutes the more than just the basic lessons in parallel parking and emergency stops. In what is a total of 20 hours of classroom time, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation's approved Beginner Drivers Education course is merged with hands-on car basic maintenance lessons. In addition, certified mechanics educate and guide students with two hours of teaching to better understand the operations of an automobile. Road lessons are performed unde

Photo Credit: CNW Group/Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc Joining the zero-emissions vehicle trend, Mercedes-Benz owned small vehicle builder smart has prepared their first customer available fortwo microcar. After a Three-Phase process that involved testing the electric powertrain around the world, customer orders for the smart fortwo electric drive is now being taken in many markets including Canada. While the nearly 8-year presence of the smart brand in Canada is greeted with mixed interests depending on individual motoring tastes, the fortwo electric drive versions of the small two-seat vehicle is priced very attractively. For the smart fortwo electric drive coupe, Canadian buyers will be paying $26,990. About $12,000 the starting price of the gasoline-burning fortwo coupe, smart's electric drive is currently the most reasonable priced fully street legal electric vehicle. For an open-air electric drive, a cabriolet variant of the vehicle is being sold at $29,990. Photo Credi

Photo Credit: McLaren Automotive An exotic ride befitting any high adrenaline individual seeking a road missile with $229,000 US, the McLaren MP4-12 is a 205-mile per hour supercar coming from a highly established motorsport history. The McLaren MP4-12C is also known for being one of the fastest accelerating production cars taking just 3.2 seconds to reach 60 miles per hour from a standstill. A rich track pedigree accented by the recent inclusion of the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on the prestigious Formula 1 circuit, McLaren’s latest road car is the most provocative effort to be recognized on and off the track with the same esteem as Ferrari. Within a week span capped by Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 victory on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, another momentous occasion for the McLaren Group occurred in the city of Toronto. McLaren Toronto officially opened with the Executive Chairman of McLaren Automotive and McLaren Group Ron Dennis present. “To go from the racetra