When the chance came yesterday afternoon to tool around in a new 06 Porsche Cayenne, I obviously jumped at it. I’ve like the shape since the Cayenne was introduced, so I figured it would be fun to take for a boot. I’ve gotta say that I came away unbelievably disappointed.

The truck I drove was a base model with “only” 250 hp, but I was blown away by how SLOW this this is. That’s not to say that it isn’t a nice ride, but my 06 Xterra would kick it’s butt off the line! To get the truck to really move, one must put the pedal through the floor boards and then the engine sounds great until you realize that you are barely moving for all the racket. It sounds like a sports car, but sure doesn’t drive like one. I’m sure the turbo version is quicker, I’ve been promised a drive in one so I’ll let you know.

The interior left me with mixed feelings. The fit & finish, along with the quality of materials certainly makes for a pleasant environment. I especially liked the textured, leather look dash & door panels. They almost looked like they were clad in Roots Leather. The radio controls on the dash are tiny. The oddest thing is that the radio controls on the steering wheel are located so that you can’t reach them when holding the wheel at 9 & 3. The truck also managed to make me feel a bit silly, because i couldn’t figure out how to start it! It seems that one must insert the key, turn it and hold it until the ecm sends a start signal. Only then will the starter engage. Dumb.

Did I mention that this thing is SLOW! Maybe it’s just me, but in my eyes any vehicle with a price tag of 60 grand and the Porsche name badge on it should be quicker that a workhorse Xterra. I nicked the picture above from the Porsche site as I found it a bit funny. Will any owner ever off road a Cayenne? I don’t think so.

Ok, so call me a geek, but I’m all excited. After 18 years in the car industry, I’m finally going to VIP night for the Canadian International Autoshow. I know it may sound lame to some of you in the industry, but us lowly Service types are rarely invited. I think it has something to do with the stratospheric ticket prices.

For those of you who have never been up to Toronto for the show, I’ll give you a bit of perspective. The big show in Detroit has 700,000 square feet as compared to over 850,000 for the Toronto show. It’s a BIG show. That said, last year I went once the show opened on a snowy weekday, by myself and did the whole show in just over 3 hours! That isn’t an indication of the size of the show, rather the fact that I’ve been to so many car shows over the years that I don’t get IN every car on the floor. I actually didn’t get in a single car last year, but I think my rotundness looked cool on a custom Harley bomber!

The actions of the sporting media in Canada just boggle my mind sometimes.

Yesterday, 20 year old Sean McIntosh from CoquitlamBC won the Indonesian round of the A1 Grand Prix nations cup series. But he didn’t just win, he stormed through the field from last place to take the top podium spot.

Meanwhile, in Turin Italy Team Canada only managed to score a bronze medal in speed skating.

What images are all over todays papers? Of course it’s all about the Olympics! Can somebody please explain to my why it is that motorsports always seems to take a back seat in this country? I just don’t get it!

To Sean McIntosh and the rest of the team - Congratulations on a job very well done!
To the folks at pitpass.com , thanks for making me aware of this!

Having realized that the current Quest interior is a bit too wierd for the masses, Nissan brass have decided that a major mid-model revamp was required if they hope to sell any of these capable minivans. Up here in Canada, we haven’t been given too much insight into the changes, other than the fact that the instrument cluster would move back to the conventional place in front of the driver. Another important change is the third row seat headrests will now fold down into the seats. This is a great improvement over the current model which the big headrests store in a large hanging bag when the seats are folded down.

Nissan hopes these changes will draw people over from the Honda & Toyota showrooms.

Thanks to Left Lane News for this one. There have been rumours floating around that Audi may build a mini-fighter called the A1. The car is actually a model, designed during for the Michelin Design Challenge.
Personally, I think it looks like a modern, squished Morris Minor. Just imagine a single make racing series for these things. The fans would go wild!

Today’s quote comes from George Robson, winner of the 1946 Indy 500:

“All I had to do was keep turning left”

The neat thing about this one is that George was my grandfather’s first cousin! Unfortunately, I’ve never met any of my relatives from that side of the family. I may have to look them up some day. I think they live somewhere in sunny California now.

It’s so exciting opening a magazine to see your work in print! The folks at a little Canadian magazine called The Driver asked if I would write some articles for their bi-monthly. I did and then never heard back from them, so i figured they had decided not to print me. Until yesterday that is, when the new issue appeared on my desk! It’s a page and a half of “get ready for winter” stuff aimed at the general public and it actually came out nicely. Now if I can just get some money for it!

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked this question. Sometimes it’s someone who wants to go road racing or rallying, others want to get their kid started in karting. It’s really a pretty easy question to answer. Just get out and visit some events! Regional club events are probably the best, as these are the regular guys off the street who are racing as a hobby. Pro weekends are when the teams are paid to win, not to socialize. While you are there, be sure to speak with some competitors. Racers love to talk about their car & are usually happy to share their love of the sport with anyone who is interested. The only thing to remember here is that you also want to be mindful of people’s time. The guy who is covered in hot gear oil, or is pulling on his suit to get out on the track may not be the most approachable (who wants to chat in their underwear?)

Depending on where you live, finding an event may be a little tough, as many regular media outlets don’t run listings for racing. Here, the internet is your friend. Check out the SCCA site for your local chapter in the United States and up here in Canada you can check out the CASC site for club & event listings. For rally in Canada check out Cars.

There are so many different styles of racing that it can be tough to choose. From oval racing to road course, from open road to performance rally, from autocross to navigational rallies, there really is something for everyone.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll tell you about some of the ways you can get involved to see if racing really is for you before you start spending money.

The picture above is Sandy & I in the Tall Pines Rally back in 1995.