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bye bye SI….hello 370z (I WISH!)    Check out the pics  

GlobeAuto answered a question posted by a consumer regarding premium fuel:

There are no benefits to your car (ie. better fuel economy, acceleration, easier maintenance) if you use premium fuel instead of regular fuel, even if that type of fuel is not required by the manufacturers.

The higher-octane fuel, depending on supplier, might have a few more additives meant to help clean the system, but you will not likely notice the difference. It would be similarly difficult to notice any fuel mileage improvements. The ignition system in a modern car is set to retard the timing if regular fuel is used in an engine set up for high test. But it is not going to advance the timing if high test is used in an engine set for regular.

Sami….save the extra money…Light on the acceleration…easy on the brakes…and spend more at Futureshop! Hahahahahaaaaa!! :))

I was reading the Globe and Mail last week and I came upon an interesting article about how “Real-world fuel numbers don’t match test results.”

Answer to question in article: The numbers you are trying to match are provided by Transport Canada and obtained in laboratory conditions. As a rule, consider anything within 10 per cent of those “lab” numbers to be an accomplishment!

If you were able to find a perfectly flat piece of road and prepared to shift at exactly the right point — or with an automatic transmission, apply the exact amount of throttle pressure — and if the temperature and humidity were correct, you might match the numbers.

But nobody drives that way and your driving habits and local roads alone probably account for the differences.

General Motors’ just released Q3 2008 earnings and said “Please help us!!! We’re in deep-shit and running out of things to cut”GM reported net loss of $2.5 billion!! Here’s the bigger story: General Motors burned through $6.9 billion of its cash reserves during Q3 2008 which reduced its bank account from $21 billion at the end of Q2 2008 to $16.2 billion today.

The simple truth is that GM makes ugly, inefficient cars that few people want to buy. GM is a company that is fundamentally dysfunctional. It must be allowed to fail.

READ — Philip Greenspun: ‘Let G.M. Go Bankrupt’

CityFlitz, Toronto’s newest auto-sharing company, showcased its $1 a day rental program in Toronto at Yonge-Dundas Square yesterday.

Its premise is simple: Drive around the city at least 30 kilometers a day in a car plastered with advertising, which heavily subsidizes the cost of the rental. They have rental cars at parking lots around the city nearby subway stations.

Cool: Wi-Fi high speed internet. This is really handy for iPhone users and anyone with a laptop who gets lost and needs to quickly look up Google Maps. Or if you’re a bored blogger stuck in gridlocked traffic.

Drawback: You are driving around in a mobile billboard (if you don’t mind). Also, each CityFlitz car in the fleet has a built-in GPS tracking system, this enables advertisers to have real-time information about the use of the car. Aside from the 30 km minimum use per day, CityFlitz members are allowed unlimited mileage within the city after that. And CityFlitzers are responsible for topping up the gas upon completion of the rental.

Source: Next Autos] 

The real coup, however, is in the prices. An unused Prius requires about $26,672 to take home. The used version, with fewer than 10,000 miles, goes for around $27,945. That’s right, nearly $1,300 more. More incredible: a 2007 model with more than 22,000 miles will only save you $276 compared to the price of a shiny new 2008. We’re not sure you can even call that depreciation.

There’s just far too few American vehicles that show off the good, and so many that show off the bad. 

RICHARD RUSSELL from Globe and Mail (from Thursday, May 1, 2008) explains why do so many new cars require premium gas? And if you can use regular gas instead?

Answer:

To meet increasingly strict emission and fuel economy standards, vehicle manufacturers must pull every last little bit of energy from a given unit of fuel.

To do this, they depend on increased compression ratios to squeeze the fuel/air mixture more before introducing a spark to ignite it — thus increasing the force of the resultant explosion. This also means more complete combustion of the fuel leaving fewer emissions remaining to go out the exhaust valve(s) as emissions.

This higher compression ratio requires a higher quality of fuel to avoid pre-ignition — when the mixture is ignited by the very act of compression or hot areas in the combustion chambers.

But, then he states that in today’s electronically controlled engines it is often unnecessary to spring for the “good stuff.” If you substitute a lesser grade of fuel, the engine control system will automatically adjust the ignition timing and other factors to compensate. The result will be slightly less power (commonly not discernible) and a slight decrease in fuel mileage.

You can check out the IIHS video of the crash testing here if you’re interested in watching the ForTwo taking a hammering.

This year the show has two events. One spring show and another in the fall. The first show just happened over the last weekend at Downsview Park. It was a beautiful weekend for car participants and photographers at the outdoor event! Dusted off my Canon 20D and snapped a tonne of pictures of modified/exotic cars as well Importfest models!Photos are on Flickr! 

With a new promotion out on Thursday — 13 cars under $20,000 — Chrysler has quickly become North America’s maker of cheap cars. Example, the starting price of its Grand Caravan minivan will fall by $6,496 to $19,999, according to information provided by the company.

Can you believe that?? Caravan less than a Honda Civic. This clearly shows that Chrysler builds shit-boxes!! The only way to sell cars that cheap is to build them cheap!! Hence, the car will only last approx. 3 years

The 50 Worst Cars of All Time……I don’t see a Japanese car on the list! HINT HINT!!

The heritage of the legendary SI performance….

The Toyota FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept will supposedly foretell the future of the automaker’s performance offerings (NEXT TOYOTA SUPRA???), but until then, we have to sit and wait.

So far in 2008 that must-have car seems to be the Nissan GT-R, a 480-horsepower sports coupe with all-wheel drive and a full-time cheering section. It will be available in the United States in June, starting around $70,000. Nissan plans to import 2,500 GT-Rs this year and about 1,500 annually in the future.

Today, I visited the Chapter’s store at John/Richmond where I browsed through a bunch of magazines. Inside “WIRED” magazine, the former head of Royal Dutch Shell (Sir Mark Moody-Stuart) has gone the other way and is urging the European Union to ball all vehicles that get less 35 miles-per-gallon, saying it is the only way to significantly address global climate change the force the auto industry to build more efficient vehicles.

I wonder what car he currently drives??? There is no way the EU would even consider his suggestion because it would effectively eliminate the entire luxury and high-performance segment of the auto industry. Good-bye Ferrari! Good-bye Porsche! Good-bye Lambo!

After a 3 and half hour drive, and a 45 minute border crossing wait, we finally entered the 2008 North American Autoshow. Who came? My dad and Sami. Yes, the old man came and walked around for 6 hours. He only repeated things a few times and and took the same pictures as I did a few times. Since it was the first public day opening, there were lots of people arriving. Once, we entered the Cobo Center, the first exhibit was Honda/Ford. The show had every single car company except for Porsche and Lambo. A big disappointment was the no show of the Knight-rider Ford Shelby GT500 (maybe the whole story was just a rumour??). Some interesting cars: Fisker Karma - a plug-in hybrid luxury performance sedan, the new Honda CRZ, Maybach Convertible and the Nissan GT-R. We were allowed to sit inside most cars, except the Ferrari’s and Bentleys. Who would allow Sami to sit inside a Ferrari?? Tips: Even though it was freezing cold the day we went, try not the wear a heavy jacket because it tends to get hot inside the hall with all the lights. Also, take a water bottle because there is only one vending machine inside the hall. The rest of the food/drinks are outside the hall. Buy your tickets through the express credit card booths. Don’t waste your time in the Chevy exhibit….all the cars are SHIT!! 

Due to a lack of Porsche sales in Detroit, Porsche is going to be a no-show at the next Detroit Auto Show. The automaker wants to focus on regions where it has more customers.