Car FYI

As a member of the automotive press, February 12th was show time for Toronto's largest display of new automotive trends and technology . The 2015 Canadian International AutoShow was opened with some indications for the cast of some amazing, new players in the new vehicle sector this year. For 2015, there were some spectacular premieres being captured by cameras and being adored by the attendees. The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, Range Rover Diesel, Audi TTS and the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor  were all part of the exhibition inside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. However, I must admit that this year presented a few more surprises than usual owed largely to some simultaneous vehicle unveilings. In the past, the scheduling of the Canadian International AutoShow at the same time as the Chicago Auto Show had led to a case of "either or" in automotive premieres. Influence of the Chicago show often resulted in first-...

Last year, Audi shined a light on a new future of automotive illumination. Laser headlights has been promoted by the German automaker as a powerful, efficient way to light driving paths at night or low light conditions. Championing the technology for a long time , Audi was one of the first manufacturers to offer laser lighting on a production automobile (BMW pulled off a tricky move to become the very first to market with laser headlights by offering eight customers for free on the i8 sports car). A component of the limited edition Audi R8 LMX, laser lights began beaming on European roads for summer of 2014. Only 300 micrometers in diameter, the laser spot employed on the 99 existing R8 LMX provides a strengthened source to supplement the LED high beams. With laser lighting, the R8 LMX edition boasted twice the range of illumination as with full-LED headlights (the equivalent distance of five football fields. F...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy The future of General Motors production in Canada has been a topic of rumours for the past months. Through this time, we have awaiting some indication from the auto company that Canadian manufacturing would still be a component in their corporate direction. There has been so many negative signs that the subsidiary created by R.S. McLaughlin in the early 20th century could idle their manufacturing intentions in the country after 2016. Production of the Chevrolet Camaro is destined end at Oshawa Car Assembly after this year as assembly shifts to the company's Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan. The Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Impala and Buick Regal are also produced on Oshawa's flexible assembly line by General Motors of Canada for the interim but there's skepticism on whether the current vehicle capacity will warrant giving the plant open, unless other vehicle is added...

Photo Credit: 304336 Richard Dole LAT Photo USA for IMSA Celebrated as the start to the professional yearly motorsport in North American, the Rolex 24 at Daytona is a daylong test of some of the world’s greatest sports cars. The 2015 edition of the endurance classic on Daytona International Speedway’s 3.56-mile road course collected 53 cars in four classes controlled by drivers from various countries and motorsport disciplines. In addition, the opening round of the new Tudor United SportsCar Championship, the Rolex 24 at Daytona presented the opportunity to start a new season on a high note. At the front of the 53-car grid in pole qualifying, Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian newly acquired Honda-powered Ligier JS P2 driven by Oswaldo Negri took the top spot overall. The #60 Honda Ligier was one of the fastest cars in the prototype category leading up to the start of the 24-hour race. However, as the clock ticked through the course of the 2015 Rolex 24 at Daytona, the ...