Car FYI

Equipped with four-wheel drive system incorporating a Rock-Trac part-time transfer case and 33-inch all-terrain tires, the Rubicon trim version of the Jeep Gladiator will be available to Canadian customers for a considerable lower price for the 2026 model year.  Roughly a decade ago, the Jeep brand had been promoted as the backbone to its parent auto group Stallantis (Known as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles prior to 2021). Featuring a rich history that has made their vehicles attracting a broad base from serious off-roaders to luxury-minded city drivers, Jeep was also advantaged with a growing consumer trend favouring crossover utility vehicles. An expanded range of products in recent years included the flagship Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer  as well as a pickup truck version of the company’s famous Wrangler called the Gladiator. While Jeep has been recognized as a steady profit centre for Stallantis in North America, the brand has also underwent growing criticism from loyal customers a...

Photo Credit: Car FYI Canada/Chris Nagy Selling a little over 1,400 vehicles to Canadian customers in 2019, Alfa Romeo has a small yet unique footprint in the marketplace in this country. For 2021, Alfa Romeo will continue to import three models consisting of the Giulia sedan, Stelvio crossover and the limited production 4C Spider sports car (advertised as a 2020 model). The Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio are both marketed under a realigned, simplified trim line led by base models typed as the Sprint. In June of 2020, Alfa Romeo began celebrating 110 years of vehicle production. Alfa Romeo 4C Spider   Photo Credit: Stellantis North America A low production, mid-engined sports car, the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider has wonderfully fulfilled the role of providing a true Italian performer on the street. The 4C spider is based on a carbon fiber monocoque frame inspired by Formula 1 race cars creating a well-balanced machine with race-tuned suspension. First arriving in North Americ...

  Photo Credit: American Honda Motor Inc./ Acura Entering its 35th year as Honda’s luxury brand in the United States and Canada, Acura appears with 2021 lineup containing five vehicles ranging from their strong-selling RDX crossover to the NSX supercar. Acura has discontinued sales of their RLX Sedan following the 2020 model year promoting the all-new TLX to the position of the luxury brand’s flagship sedan. Skipping the 2021 model year, the Acura MDX three-row premium crossover vehicle is based on an all-new larger 2022 counterpart arriving in February. In this latest anniversary year for the premium marque , the focus remains on blending comfort with precision engineering and sport holding.   Acura ILX Photo Credit: American Honda Motor Inc./ Acura Despite being based on the same platform as the Honda Civic, the Acura ILX’s design and content makes it a tempting choice for drivers seeking a modestly-sized sedan with premium comfort. Available in four trim levels, the 2020...

Photo Credit: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG The Porsche 911 is an instantly sporty shape few other automobiles have been able to match. As soon as the production started on the first car on September 14th of 1964, the magical charm of the sports car carries through with every generation of refinement to the vehicle. The 992 architecture is the most advanced version of the Porsche 911 touting the smoothest body lines, awesome engine power supported by available equipment such as all-wheel drive or all-wheel steering and an interior containing a level of luxury amenities few past Porsche enthusiasts would have expected. Instilling the ultimate heights of performance for drivers of the latest German sports car is an all-new 911 Turbo. With the first turbocharged 911 coming into existence in 1975 known as the Porsche 930, the 256-horsepower machine was conscripted for motorsports with models sold to the public to comply with sporting regulations. Though the engine power figures of the 930 se...

Photo Credit: Jaguar Land Rover Today, the Land Rover brand exists in a landscape it could not have predicted back when they constructed a Centre Steer prototype meant as a rugged postwar utility vehicle. Land Rover originally developed products directed towards more practical customers envisioning their vehicles on a farm or in other off-roading environments. Of course, today’s automotive customer is now attracted to the marque’s four-wheel drive vehicles as versatile and tough while also supported by premium equipment. The metamorphosis towards a more luxurious focused Land Rover product line largely gave way to its strictly purposeful presence in recent decades with exception of one model. From 1983 to 2016, the Defender nameplate stood alone in Land Rover as a less spoiled sport utility vehicle embodying the traditions of the brand’s original models first sold in the late 1940s. The Land Rover Defender maintained a charmingly bulky shape that included a proven off-roading c...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy Since the merger of Fiat Group Automobiles and Chrysler Corporation was announced, the framework for installing a greater dose of Italian content from the former company in the United States and Canada was laid. With Dodge, Chrysler and the Ram brand all heavily driven by Fiat's European influence heading into the 2017 model year, the door had also opened to a pair of brands that returned following meager presence on Canadian roads for years. The Fiat 500 that arrived in late 2010 brought one of the world's oldest running automobile brands back and has been reinforced by added models including the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider. In 2014, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles gave Alfa Romeo a new chance to shine again in upper part of North America (the brand had already been present in Mexico in recent years). Following the arrival of the 4C sports car and the 4C Spider that came in 2015, the Alfa Romeo name is prepared to adorn a new sedan for 2017. A new vehicle on...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy Purposed to be the choice family shuttle heading into 2017, the Chrysler Pacifica premiered less than a year ago at North American International Auto Show in Detroit centered on rising the bar for comfort, practicality and advanced technology, Advertised as a vehicle with 40 firsts in the minivan category, the 2017 Pacifica's momentous roll-out is bolstered by remarkable available equipment such as Forward Collision Warning-Plus, hands-free sliding door and liftgate opening, a Stow 'n Vac integrated vacuum supplied RIDGID and a rear seat Uconnect Theater entertainment suite consisting of internet-enabled 10-inch touchscreens that can be used to play built-in games. In addition to innovations made in the name of safety and comfort for the new Chrysler minivan, the Pacifica would be the first Fiat Chrysler Automobiles product sold in North America with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.   Featuring a modified version of the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engin...

Photo Credit: Maserati  Spending over a century gaining a reputation for building finely-crafted sport coupes, roadsters and sedans, Italian brand Maserati is set to give rise to a new era for the 2017 model year. Giving hints at a production luxury crossover utility since 2003, Maserati formally declared their entrance into the competitive market by debuting the Levante at this year’s Geneva International Motor Show. Badged with the Italian word translating to English as “rising’, the Levante tall stature embodies principles already explored through the Quattroporte and the Ghibli (this crossover vehicle shares its platform with both sedans). Maserati’s luxury design as well as the brand’s performance properties such as a low center of gravity, 50/50 weight distribution and the company’s Skyhook adaptive suspension. Expected to arrive in Canada for this September, two versions of the new Maserati Levante can already be ordered from Maserati dealerships. According to the ...

Photo Credit: Chevrolet of Canada Canadians have been told the differential in the currency rates would lead to many things becoming more expensive. After several years where the Canadian dollar was valued higher than the United States dollar, there has been a substantial swing in the other direction. This threat of higher Canadian prices is particularly the case with food (although never discount the motivation of plain, simple greed by an opportunistic entity). As expensive items similar in both the United States and Canada, automobile pricing has seen some of the most extreme differences caused through currency conversion. Canadians simply want to know our earnings are being sought by companies that accept the knowledge of how hard we work for our money. With well-priced items serving as a great springboard for attracting our dollar, Chevrolet's newest Spark subcompact could be a satisfying enticement to car buyers flirting under the five-digit price milestone. Showing t...

Photo Credit: General Motors Canada Canadians has long gravitated towards smaller, economical cars. Thankfully, the compact car segment is one where high value is now an expectation. Besides fuel efficiency and reliability, the 2016 model year compacts must also fulfil customers with a sense of pizazz. Chevrolet is pressing forward with the redesigned Cruze will build in a relatively respectable first-generation model. Powered by a turbocharged, direct-injected four-cylinder engine, the modernized appearance of the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze sedan will grace dealership showrooms by the spring of 2016. Pricing for the upgraded 2016 model year Chevrolet compact car ahead of its release has been announced for the main trim levels. The entry-level 2016 Cruze L with a six-speed manual transmission will start at $15,995 plus the vehicle's $1,600 destination freight charge. Priced $180 less than the 2015 Cruze Limited model, the new Chevrolet Cruze L will introduce owners to a larger ...

As the Chevrolet Camaro nears it 50th anniversary since introduction, there is excitement created by an all-new version of the vehicle that restated the bowtie’s sports car performance reputation. In the previous two generations of the Camaro, Canada had a major part in bringing the affordable, rear-wheel drive pony car to life. Canadian pricing for the new generation Chevrolet Camaro clearly expresses the cost of pony car aggression for north of the border performance seekers. MSRP (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price) for the 2016 Camaro will start at $28,245 in Canada. For those interested to know the difference between the Canadian and United States price, there is a $1,550 separation. The base model of the 2016 Camaro is  $2,575 lower than its 2015 counterpart. The addition of a standard turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is a main contributor to the reduced vehicle price tag. The 275-horsepower powerplant replaces the still-available 335-horsepower 3.6-lit...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy When connecting with Canadian motorists, we certainly love our pickup trucks. In the case of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), the full-sized Ram pickup trucks sold under the Ram brand is, by almost every definition, the workhorse for the auto company. The half-ton version Ram 1500 pickup truck possesses powerful towing and hauling capacity from innovative yet potent engines such as the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, 5.7-liter Hemi V8 as well as the recently-added EcoDiesel V6 engine. Important to the Canadian arm of FCA, the vehicle is a high-selling product. In the first five months of 2015, the Ram pickup line accounted for 37,572 in sales dwarfing the Jeep Cherokee as well as the Chrysler 200 Sedan. With the success of the EcoDiesel V6 engine last year, the Ram brand has gained encouragement to expand into deeper niches with their full-sized truck line-up. During the 2015 auto show season, the world was introduced to the Ram 1500 Rebel off-road warrior 4x...