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Showing posts from 2023

Car FYI’s 2024 Canadian Automotive Guide: Bentley

Photo Credit: Bentley Motors 2024 Product Lineup: Batur, Bentayga, Continental, Flying Spur  Overall Brand Impression:   Bentley’s reputation for exclusivity and highly-crafted motoring remains high in the auto industry. While the Continental GT, Flying Spur and Bentayga models continue to reflect the upper echelons of luxury in 2024, ultra-low production releases such as the Batur are vehicles that could only be created by a modern coachbuilder. Although Bentley has set sights on a fully battery electric-powered lineup by 2030, six years prior to this pledge still sees consistent employment of their twin-turbocharged W12 engine throughout their product range. This will end in April of 2024 when production of the powerplant will conclude.  What’s New for 2024: The before-mentioned discontinuation of W12 engine production by Bentley is obviously one of the biggest signs of transformation for the ultra-luxury brand in 2024. V8 engines will remain available with Bentley’s 2024 Contin

Car FYI’s 2024 Canadian Automotive Guide: Audi

Photo Credit: Audi AG 2024 Product Lineup: A3, A4, A5, A5 Sportback, A6, A6, allroad, A7, A8, e-Tron GT, Q3, Q4, Q4 Sportback, Q4 e-tron, Q4 Sportback e-tron, Q5, Q6, Q7, Q8, R8, RS 3, RS 5, RS 6 Avant, RS 7, RS e-tron GT, S3, S4, S5, S5, Sportback, S6, S7, SQ5, SQ7, SQ8  Overall Brand Impression: Steering into the realm of bold German luxury for more than two decades, Audi boasts a sizable assortment of premium automobiles catering to a wide range of motoring personalities. Entry-level luxury for 2024 can be obtained with the A3, the expansive Q line of crossover vehicles presents premium practicality, RS models reveal Audi’s racing heritage and the growing count of e-Tron models show off an electric future for the brand including the Q8 e-tron crossover vehicle line. Despite possessing an expressive 2024 model year lineup, Audi had bid verabschiedung to both the TT and R8 that had both had meritorious roles in shaping the modern perception of the brand. What’s New for 2024:  At the e

Car FYI’s 2024 Canadian Automotive Guide: Aston Martin

Photo Credit: Aston Martin Lagonda 2024 Product Lineup: DB12, DBX, Vantage Overall Brand Impression: An enduring producer of high-class performance vehicles with more than 110 years of history, Aston Martin always seems to be an auto company renowned for their lofty pursuit of excellence. With a handful of special edition models introduced in 2023 including the final production models of the DBS recognized as the DBS 770 Ultimate, Aston Martin pushes forward in 2024 with a lineup led by the all-new DB12. What’s New for 2024: The latest advancement of Aston Martin’s DB product line, the DB12, is the biggest adaptation for the premium auto company’s 2024 model range. Available as a hardtop as well as a drop top Volante variant, the 2024 DB12 is an evolution of Aston Martin’s familiar design language. The Aston Martin DB12 is billed as one of the sharpest handling DB models ever incorporating an electric rear differential and intelligent adaptive damper technology. A 4.0-liter twin-tur

Car FYI’s 2024 Canadian Automotive Guide: Alfa Romeo

  Photo Credit: Stellantis 2024 Product Lineup: Giulia, Giulia Quadrifoglio, Stelvio, Stelvio Quadrifoglio, Tonale, Tonale PHEV Overall Brand Impression:  Alfa Romeo is an unmistakably Italian auto brand that proudly admires in the design and performance of their 2024 model lineup. Joining the Giulia and Stelvio in the marque’s vehicle portfolio is the Tonale compact crossover. What’s New for 2024:  An all-new model for the 2024 model year, the Alfa Romeo Tonale has been for sale in Canada through much of 2023. The Tonale features a youthful, athletic exterior style combined with a satisfyingly high amount of standard content including a 12.3-inch driver cluster, 10.25-inch center touchscreen as well as high-tech safety features including adaptive cruise control and Traffic Sign Recognition. The Alfa Romeo Tonale also launched as the first car to incorporate an NFT (non-fungible token) digital certificate that evolves with the vehicle’s life. The 2.0-turbocharged four-cylinder or a

Car FYI's 2024 Canadian Automotive Guide: Acura

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/Car FYI Canada   2024 Product Lineup: Integra, MDX, RDX, TLX, ZDX Overall Brand Impression: Acura introduced Canadians to the initial vision of Japanese luxury showcasing sporty elegance. Despite their NSX hybrid supercar being retired after the 2022 model year, the Acura brand contains an exciting vibe with their 2024 product line. What’s New for 2024:  The most notable addition to the Acura lineup for 2024 is the revival of the ZDX nameplate. Instead of the previous iteration of the ZDX where customers saw it as a radical yet polarizing crossover shape, this time has Acura breaking new grounds offering the brand’s first fully electric powertrain. The Acura TLX sport sedan receives an extensive refresh for 2024 with a revised Type S Concept inspired front grille, larger 19-inch standard wheels, enlarged 12.3-inch center display screen and improved sound deadening for occupants. Since June of this year, Canadians have been delighted by the presence of the

NASCAR’s Unique and Forgotten Racing Divisions: Introduction

On December 14th 1947, a meeting inside Daytona Beach’s Streamline Hotel would formally establish the basis of what we know as NASCAR was formally established as a motorsport sanctioning body. It would be absurd to believe that Bill France Sr. and the other members of the gathering would fully fathom the greatness their creation would achieve over the period of over 75 years. As the technology, the athleticism of drivers and crews and finances were difficult to predict from the beginning, the journey to what NASCAR is in 2023 involved in a number of interesting tangents.  Originally assembled with a Modified division and later the Strictly Stock series (evolving into what now is the current Cup Series), NASCAR rapidly expanded their reach with a slew of stock car series for regional as well as national racing. The opening decades of NASCAR also involved experiments into many unusual forms of auto racing competition; Some of those featured stock car auto racing.  In honour of three-quar

GMC’s Acadia Covers Greater Luxury Territory for 2024

Photo Credit GMC/General Motors For GMC, a brand that associated itself with work-grade trucks and vans, the 2007-model year introduction of the three-row passenger crossover vehicle named the Acadia was a watershed moment. The GMC Acadia’s dedicated intent to target the upscale family market was course change contrasting the company’s work-grade product lineup. As part of the ongoing North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the third generation refinement for the model features an enlarged, roomier, and more evolved character. The 2024 model year GMC Acadia is granted a considerably larger space to package in modern ergonomic improvements and luxuries. Wearing a front end appearance sporting GMC’s prominent C-shaped light blade daytime running lights, the new Acadia’s overall appearance maintains a civilized yet capable demeanour. At the side of this third generation GMC Acadia, a minor design departure from previous iterations of the vehicle is the absence of a body-colour

The First 300: The Corvette’s Difficult Drop Into First Gear

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy The 2023 Chevrolet Corvette is one of the finest-tuned and most recognized performance machines made. Featuring a meticulously sculpted shape combining elements of race cars and jet aircraft, the Corvette’s recent evolution to a rear mid-engined layout for its eighth generation has been a lengthy pursuit for perfection . The 2020 Corvette Stingray with its 495-horsepower Small Block V8 engine contributed to the fastest stock acceleration from 0 to 60 miles per hour while the Z06 edition of the sports car rose the vehicle to the peak of automotive athleticism with a 670-horsepower LT6 powerplant. The book of 70 years of history has been written by eight major revisions that progressed from a modest performer. On this day (June 30th), the first chapter for the Chevrolet Corvette’s story began to be written inside a Flint, Michigan factory where the first car was assembled with less precision and polish than the modern icon. Starting life as Project Ope

True Patriot Performance Love: Canadian-born Stuart Hilborn’s Winning Indy 500 Influence

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/Car FYI When it comes to going fast, every flag in the world can be evenly captivated by the alluring rush of speed. However, the citizens of every nation want to see their country’s colours ride the fastest.  The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has long hosted exceptional gentlemen and ladies of the world attracted to the mystique of the event known as the Indianapolis 500. Drivers, financiers, media and even fans from all over the globe are recognized for their contribution to the traditional 500-mile race on the United States’ Memorial Day weekend. For Canadians, we celebrate the success of Jacques Villeneuve’s 1995 victory at the 2.5-mile oval while some curse the outcome of the 2002 Indy 500 where so argue Paul Tracy was the rightful winner rather than Helio Castroneves. While Canada’s best land-based pilots of automobiles are noted for their attempts to be immortalized through a relationship alongside the Borg-Warner trophy, one individual born in the nation