Car FYI

Photo Credit: Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 aficionados in recent seasons have been witnessing a renaissance of the Silver Arrows in a manner not seen since the 1950s. Returning to the series as a constructor in 2010, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula 1 team hit a masterful stride in the prestigious open wheel racing tour in 2014 when a new series mandate for a hybrid gasoline/electric powerplant came to fruition. As of September 12th of 2017, the Mercedes-AMG team has taken victory in 60 of the 72 events since the current hybrid power unit specifications came into effect. As is the case with any automaker who uses motorsports to define their brand, Mercedes-Benz’s performance division naturally wants to directly transfer success on the track to the street. A single-passenger, open-wheel race car designed to run a main feature race no longer than two hours is starkly different from a production vehicle seemingly limits the amount of technology that could be shared. Unveil...

Photo Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field was set on Saturday night at Richmond Raceway. In a reformed ‘playoff’ format, 16 drivers qualified to compete for an all-new trophy through the final 10 races of the season. Announcing that the 2017 season will be his last full-time effort in the Cup series, Dale Earnhardt Jr would have been a fan favourite part of the playoff. While the #88 Chevrolet owned by Hendrick Motorsports has struggled through a large portion of the 2017 tour, there was still a longshot hope the driver could transfer with a win at the 400-mile Richmond race. Making a bold gamble in waiting for a caution to gain track position, the Hail Mary shot did not work. Out of the playoff fight in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Earnhardt Jr career will apparently not include an overall championship. Dale Earnhardt Sr’s record-tying seven Winston Cup titles remained a weight that many fans and critics used to assess his...

Photo Credit: Volkswagen AG During the late 1960s, the classic Volkswagen Microbus was recognized as a staple with the Flower Power culture and the early figures leading to the current environmental-minded motions. Driven or ridden in by individuals of vision almost fifty years ago, Volkswagen Group has heeded calls towards greener motoring. Intent to have one million of their vehicles per year sold powered by an electric powertrain by 2025, Volkswagen had already pledged to construct a production version of last year’s I.D. Electric concept car for 2020. Coming shortly after the unveiling of the compact all-electric vehicle, the German auto giant wildly imagined one of their most celebrated shapes adhering to their vision for the fast-approaching future. Premiering at the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Volkswagen I.D. BUZZ concept car explored the versatility afforded through an electrified powertrain. Styling of the electric concept car  wise...

Photo Credit: Infiniti Motor Company Ltd. How many of us have envisioned ourselves in a different time or place. To see or relive a moment in history in a manner you would not think possible or perhaps to be present with those we admire or love is to many the ultimate form of exploration. While time travelling is yet to be realized, many of us find ways to capture the essence of the past. This can be quite a difficult feat for those birth came after a time period. Automotive design has been no stranger to recompile their past for a future creation. At the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, one corporate attendee chose to show up in a mid-20th century costume. A youngish brand born in 1989, Infiniti introduced a 1940s-1950s inspired concept car melding the past, present and future. Photo Credit: Infiniti Motor Company Ltd. Classical in appearance, the Infiniti Prototype 9 is a vehicle that adapts its own image to a historical era of motor racing. The Prototype 9...

Photo Credit: Sam Bloxham/LAT/Formula E Since 1978, the City of Montreal has been known for showing hospitality to the global open wheel racing stars of the Formula 1 championship. A month and half later Lewis Hamilton won the 50th year anniversary edition Canadian Grand Prix, a new world auto racing tour prepares to put on a show unlike any other seen at such a scale in this country. Formula E makes its debut in Canada for what is the season three finale with the Montreal ePrix. Consisting of all-electric open wheel race cars fielded by well-rated teams and some established professional drivers, FIA's Formula E first became a spectacle in 2014 when the series debuted in Beijing.  Competing with an identical chassis designed by Dallara and built by Spark Racing Technology, Formula E teams have been permitted to develop their own electric power units since the second season. Electric powertrain options have opened the door to major automakers such as Jaguar and BMW currently i...

Photo Credit: Toyota Great Britain Everybody loves a winner! The familiar title of a William Bell song of the 1970s, the words would imply Japanese auto giant Toyota attracts a great deal of affection. Residing either at the top or around the top for the world’s leading automobile seller, the company’s reputation is also bolstered by efforts in the competitive test of auto racing. Once again, Toyota turns focus towards the French town of Le Mans and the Circuit de la Sarthe in an effort to find love at a famous daylong sports car racing event. With a fleet of three TS050 Hybrid prototype race cars, Toyota looked to capture their highly-sought first overall win at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans. Victors two big American races, the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500, Toyota’s racing credentials over the years are included past successes in rally car racing and desert off-road racing. Sports car racing also is an avenue of competition where the Japanese brand enjoyed triumphs. A col...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy Can we officially proclaim the automotive season as started in Canada? We look across our southern border and see events for sports cars as well as NASCAR stock cars already won by motorsport stars in Daytona. Heading into March Break weekend, we also saw the 2017 Verizon IndyCar season opener won by Sebastien Bourdais taking advantage of some outstanding luck to surge from the back of the grid. Appeasing classic car and custom car buyers, the eye candy of the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona provided a showcase for some great masterpieces of four wheels. In the sizable International Centre in Mississauga, the first signs of motoring life for Canadians in 2017 garnered great enthusiasm inside with the 3rd annual Motorama Custom Car and Motorsports Expo. Outside was another story this past weekend as winter decided to be a spoiler. It seems like a typical pattern in recent years that the coldest weather possible tags a ride with me to every w...

Photo Credit: Wakefield Canada/Copyright: The Decal Source When 40 engines ignite on the pit lane ahead of the 2017 Daytona 500, one competitor has already achieved a feat no Canadian racer had accomplished in 29 years. Cracking the field for the 59th edition of the Great American Race in an aggressive hustle from turn four to the finish line in Thursday night’s Can-Am Duel, DJ Kennington will start in the 28th place position for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series extravagant season opener with a #96 entry. A shining stock car racing personality in Canada since racing at Delaware Speedway during the 1990s, St Thomas, Ontario native DJ Kennington was a mainstay on the CASCAR Super Series and has since been a regular with the NASCAR Pinty’s Series. Kennington has amassed 2010 and 2012 championships in the Canadian-based NASCAR tour as well as recorded 26 wins piloting a #17 Dodge with Castrol sponsorship. Acknowledging a 23-year long partnership with Kennington, Castrol’s paren...

Photo Credit: General Motors of Canada It was almost two years ago when the Chevrolet Bolt EV Concept car made an electrifying appearance at the 2015 Canadian International AutoShow . Coinciding with the vehicle’s presence at the auto show was the official news Chevrolet would sell a production version of the all-electric compact. After a short development from car show to showroom, the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is ready for the challenging climate of Canada. At the beginning of February, a trio of electric vehicle enthusiasts has become the first 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV owners. Dean Myers Chevrolet and City Chevrolet of Toronto, Ontario as well as Bourgeois Chevrolet in Rawdon, Quebec (located roughly 60 kilometers north of Montreal) have the distinction of delivering the long-range compact electric car to their customers. Director at Scotiabank Samantha Mesrobian, former president of RenoDepot Claude Michaud and I.T. Executive Joe Winkfein are named as the first members of the Ch...

Photo Credit: General Motors This weekend kicks off the official start of the auto racing season in North America for 2017. The 12-turn, 3.56-mile road course within the Florida motorsport complex called Daytona International Speedway hosts a large field of teams and drivers competing for a once around the clock event. The debut race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona is a fresh opportunity to ring in a new year on a highest note. For 2017, big changes to the Prototype and GT Daytona class for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will create some new sights to behold for race fans. Thanks to a series of rules designed to make competition vehicles comply closer to the regulations of international racing sanctioning bodies such as the ACO and FIA, some new pieces of motoring technology are incorporated within the grid. Debuting in the top class for the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona, DPi (Daytona Prototype international) features race cars sh...