Car FYI

Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images untitled NASCAR is officially preparing to usher in a brave new path for their top-tier Cup Series with the introduction of their 7 th generation vehicle plan. In a press conference with examples of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, the Ford Mustang and the Toyota Camry in the long-developed Next Gen stock car specifications set to debut next season, there was a deep sense of optimism amongst various parties involved. Key people with NASCAR including the sporting body’s president Steve Phelps, representatives from all three manufacturers as well as drivers Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin were present at an event detailing what will be a drastically different path in Cup Series racing. With almost two years of testing, fans of NASCAR had been bracing for the details of the Next Gen race car that would put to rest many traditions in the premier stock car racing league. Though the future NASCAR Cup Series stock car...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/Car FYI Canada Theme of the Show: The Next Dimension By the time of the 2012 Canadian International AutoShow, I have attended the event for three consecutive years prior and twice on media day. There was a heightened sense of pep during the 2012 festivities each year since 2010 at this show featuring a lot of new vehicles with bold personalities. Between the manufacturer displays and the special exhibitions giving up a rare opportunity to see many historical vehicles for myself, the single day I attended the show flew by.  With the notable vehicles I’m highlighting in this recap of the 2012 auto show in Toronto, there are a few omissions I’ve decided to leave out due to the article already being longer than I intended. The Mercedes-Benz SL 550, Audi Allroad, Scion FR-S, Infiniti Etherera and Mazda Shinari are among the splendid vehicles I regret having to cut.  Notable Vehicles: Ford Fusion Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/Car FYI Canada Showcasing the Focus c...

Photo Credit: Chevrolet When the green flag flies for the 2018 Daytona 500, Chevrolet's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams will officially unleash their newest weapon of choice against the returning Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion. Replacing the oddball yet successful Chevrolet SS sedan (an Australian import that was only sold in the United States), the Camaro ZL1 marks the first time since 2007 that the 'Bowtie Brigade' will be represented by a two-door production vehicle in the Cup Series. The Camaro co-ordinates with Chevrolet's existing model used in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2013. Besides conforming to different series rules, the bodies stand apart as the Xfinity Series uses the Camaro SS while the Camaro ZL1 is being used in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. While the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 enters as a completely-new race vehicle in NASCAR's top division in 2018, it may surprise even keen observers and fans of the sport that the Camaro...

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: General Motor/Chevrolet This weekend, the Indianapolis 500 will be run for its 100th time. A primary focus around a 500-mile auto race around a historic 2.5-mile race track has resulted in a far amount of traditions. Some of these traditions such as the Fast 9 qualifying shootout and the honorary starter are newer aspects while one of the oldest is the ceremonial pace setter used to lead the field to the green flag. A staple of the Indy 500 since the first race in 1911, the pace car history ranges from a Stoddard-Dayton roadster to a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 used in last year’s event. This year’s Indianapolis 500 will feature an all-new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS trimmed in a special preview of the 50th Anniversary Package. The beautiful Abalone White sixth generation Camaro convertible features a 455-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-8 LT1 engine perfect for maintaining pace lap speed ahead of a 33-car contingent of machines set to run at speed of 230 miles per hour. A tradi...

Photo Credit:  Historic Vehicle Association May 21st 1966, a coming together of steel, glass and other assorted material converged for the first time to shape Chevrolet's answer to the Ford Mustang. Born in an era when The Beetles, The Righteous Brothers as well as The Mamas & The Papas was freshly-pressed on records, Chevrolet's attention was focused on the construction of their very first example of the Camaro. Launched to compete in a hot sector for the 1960s, it would have been hard to forecast the car's lasting impact over five decades. Ironically, a Chevrolet Camaro marking the 50th anniversary in 2016 is a golden-colored vehicle. The historic bowtie performance is painted gold and completed with a gold-coloured interior. Documented by the Historic Vehicle Association as the first pilot car (a prototype vehicle manufactured traditionally to test the production procedures and equipment to be used ahead of mass-assembly), Chevrolet Camaro #100001 was preserve...

Bret Kelley/IMS for Chevrolet The 100th edition of the Indianapolis 500 set in little more than a month from now is already taking shape with the announcement of the ceremonial pace car drive. A person well-known for celebrating in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's victory lane is presented with a special duty of starting the 500-mile classic. Set to take the wheel of the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS pace car is IndyCar superstar team owner Roger Penske. Despite never competing at the Brickyard as a driver (what was a relatively short but noteworthy career behind the wheel), Roger Penske's name is attached to some of the most significant records at the speedway. Impressively the winning car owner for 16 of the previous 99 runnings of the Indianapolis 500, the first victory for a Penske-owned car was in 1972 driven by Mark Donohue. The 16 wins for the car owner have come with 11 drivers including Rick Mears, Al Unser and Al Unser Jr as well as Emerson Fittipaldi. Penske is th...

Photo Credit: Chevrolet Through all the focus on electrified compact vehicles and vehicle technology that is rapidly advancing to the point the steering wheel may be taken out of our hands in the near future, fans of the high-performance automobile could be understandably unnerved on occasions. As United States and Canada instituted new fuel economy targets of 54.5 miles per gallon per manufacturer, the news was also arriving with wonder of what will happen to the current sports car landscape. To be honest, it actually appears to be getting better. Thankfully, a lot of the technology going into producing more efficient cars has presented desirable qualities to the newest examples of popular high-performance and sports cars. Advancements in aerodynamics, greater integration of lightweight materials and greater development into new engine technologies used to gain advantages to explore expanded levels of go-fast driving. The sixth generation Chevrolet Camaro introduced for the 2...

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...

Only six times in the past 48 years has an American performance icon undergone a massive image and mechanical makeover . It was September 12, 1966 when the press were first introduced to Chevrolet’s production pony car. Developed under the name Panther , the Camaro was born. On a Saturday afternoon at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park, the sixth iteration of the Chevrolet Camaro was brought to warm daylight. Despite being a cloudy day, the 2016 Camaro made a radiant debut. The generational shift for the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro exterior design is arguably not as substantial of a leap we have seen in previous reinventions of the Camaro. From the first-generation coupe and convertible, the Chevrolet Camaro’s appearance had evolved into a European-inspired sports car for the 1970s, a wedge-shaped 1980s darling, an aerodynamic space-age 1990s shape before assuming the modern back-in-time interpretation for the fifth-generation model. The 2016 model is focused more on magnifying the...