While hockey is Canada’s sport, there is a following here in the northern part of North America. But as a car nut who was always luke-warm about the sport, I loved it when the Zamboni hit the ice. Sure, you could probably walk faster than one, but there is no denying the coolness of the thing.

So when Autoblog reported that there’s a threat on the horizon for the Zamboni, I just had to let the good readers of The Garage in on it. Say hello to the IceCat!

The IceCat comes from Finland, and at a price tag of $160,000, it is twice the price of a new Zamboni. But the city of Toronto and the National Hockey League have already started phasing out its fleet of Zambonis to make room for new IceCats. 

Why, you ask? Well, the Zamboni runs on propane or natural gas, but the IceCat is electric. Guess which ice resurfacer gives off less carbon emissions? Hey, F1 and LeMans are going green too. While I don’t consider hockey a motorsport, there IS a vehicle involved, at least when the players are off the ice. May as well be current, be green, and generate some positive publicity.

While we’re really just happy to have daily Dakar updates every evening on TV, most of us here in The Garage are really rooting for American anti-hero Robby Gordon. People can say what they want about Robby, but he truly is a racer’s racer who just wants to win in anything he drives.

At the end of day 1, I think we all were a little sad to read that he had only finished in 17th position. Watching the video after the break however, puts a bit of a different spin on things. Basically, Gordon scared the crap out of himself and a quad rider and is now driving with his brain. This is a good thing! Having seen some in car footage on the OLN coverage, I’m amazed that some riders haven’t been squished. The dust is incredibly thing and hangs in the air forever meaning that drivers can’t see a darned thing.

Fortunately, today’s standings show that Robby G is whittling away at his time deficit and has moved up to 9th position overall. This is despite a couple of left rear wheel failures caused by extended periods of 120 mph plus hammering across the countryside.

Check out the first video from Team Dakar USA after the break
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Welcome back to our Forgotten Sporty Cars series, where we recall some of our favorite (and not so favorite) sporty cars. A reader of The Garage asked us to take a look at the Honda CR-X, and of course we were more than happy to oblige. 

1984-1987 Honda CR-X First Generation

In 1984, North America met a new Civic, and with it, a peppy little two-seater called the CR-X. Small, light, and nearly bullet-proof, The CR-X won a loyal following with its good looks, user-friendly interior, and incredible handling and steering. 
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I have to admit that I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for offbeat cars. Let’s face it, a car with a few design quirks just has more personality than your neighbour’s WonderBread minivan. The strange thing is that the more recent varieties of Saab just haven’t jumped out and grabbed my attention as much as the early 900 Turbo models did way back when. Even still, the cars have a loyal following and have maintained a certain amount of Swedishness under the direction of The General. I was pretty excited to know that I would have more than the usual 1 week with our 2009 Saab Aero XWD Sport Sedan over the Christmas holidays.

Like many reviewers, I just couldn’t ignore the cool factor that comes with a car that shares it’s name and lineage with fighter jets. Unfortunately, there aren’t any Viggen fighters close by for a photo shoot so a cold war era F86 Sabre on a stick would have to do. The Saab’s subtly aggressive styling certainly looks the part sharing space with the American fighter jet.
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Things have been rather quiet here in The Garage these days, as we all attempt to actually be part of our families over the holidays. Fortunately for all of us, there are 542 rally crews who eat, sleep and breath Dakar!

The gigantic field of cars, bikes, atv’s and trucks left Buenos Aires this morning to begin a 6000 kilometer loop that will bring them back to Buenos Aires on January 17th.

This is the first time the Dakar has happened off the African continent. To give you an idea of how brutal the route must be, only 421 crews have finished the first stage!

We’ll try to keep our readers up to date as much as possible. Today, we have a lead up video from Robby Gordon and Team Dakar USA. Gordon finished the day in 17th place out of 168 cars.

I had a list of great, and not so great things that happened in the automotive universe this year. Really, I did. While I pondered, and researched those “things”, the reality was I kept coming back to two defining themes that stand to make the year 2008 an extraordinary year in the history of the culture of cars.

I. The Mighty Big Three on the Brink of Collapse

The day of reckoning is here for GM, Ford, and Chrysler. For all of us consumers and enthusiasts who wondered how long these companies could sell the North American public crap products until it finally caught up to them, we have our answer. Too many brands, too many cars. And many of those cars are not appealing to consumers. 

Many of you are likely bracing yourselves for another rant against our domestic automakers. You will not be getting one from me today. Witness the car pictured below.
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Hit: Subaru Announces Revised WRX for 2009

For the 2008 model year, Subaru released an all-new WRX. The Subie fanatics could hardly believe it-a kinder, gentler, softer WRX was the long-awaited replacement. To make matters worse, the car carried the same engine as before. Subaru acted fast, and in the summer of 2008, announced plans for a revised WRX. More power. More aggressive exterior styling. Sportier interior. Tauter suspension settings. Essentially, all of the things the 2008 WRX should have been, but wasn’t. 
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Maybe call it a combination of roads rather than a single road. Perhaps even an entire region. When planning the route to Lime Rock Park from Ontario this summer, I wanted to cover ground as quickly as possible and then hit the twisties south of I90. The capture above gives some idea of the route we took, but it really only covers a bit of it.

As we left I90 to head south on 22, my co-piloto commented that he was surprised I was behaving on the windy road. 22 is a lovely road with potentially fast 3rd and 4th gear corners, yet I had no intention of attracting official attention especially given the rather full exhaust bellow the 2008 Mustang Bullitt exudes at full chat. Suddenly, I threw my passenger and the navi system for a loop when I hammered the brakes, dropped 2 gears and took a hard left onto a tiny sideroad. Now, I ran the car hard up and down through 2nd and 3rd as if I had Buford T Justice on my tail! The right seat asked how I knew I could fly here: Easy I said, they are all out on 22 looking for guys who want to go fast on the sweepers! For a good hour or so we blasted through wickedly tight, twisty roads so tiny they don’t show up on google maps, all the while listening to 10 million bucks worth of exhaust development sing through the hills. It seems to me that in that time we saw signs for 3 different States and more than a few towns. What a great place to explore. One day we’ll have to go back and go slow enough to actually see something!
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Yes that’s right, Best cars of the year. Why multiples? Well, to be honest I just can’t decide one one best car. There are a few that are the best for different reasons and a bunch of others that I love just a tiny bit less. For the most part, my list is made up of the cars that I could honestly see going into debt for today.

First, the runners up:

Dodge Challenger: To say that it is an awesome retro machine is an understatement. It looks great, sounds better and hauls serious butt. A few laps weren’t enough to cause me to fall madly in love with it. Maybe when we do an extended review in the spring I’ll be feeling the love.

JCW Mini Cooper S: Again, few cars have made me giggle the way the Mini does on the track. The JCW package just ups the ante a bit. It is truly one of the most satisfying cars I’ve driven on a track, it just doesn’t fit our current needs. Like the Challenger, maybe the tester I have in a couple of weeks will change that perception.

BMW 135i: We really spent a very short time with this wonderful car. A half hour or so filming video and a few feeble autocross laps. On the street, the car is incredible though it felt far too big on a tight autocross course after driving the Mini. I’ll have to book one as we get closer to spring and let you know how it fares with the daily grind.

Now, on to the big winners. After the break of course.
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