Possibly the highlight of the CarFixWorld show for me was the discovery of this incredible product. Racebricks are blocks of glass that have been internally etched with lasers. The etching shows details of NASCAR cars and NHRA cars, along with the driver’s signatures and team logos. Each brick comes with it’s own illuminated base that brings the designs to life.

More pics after the break

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What can you say about a trade show? They all have their high spots and low spots, but really are just a marketing exercise for everyone involved. CarFixWorld wasn’t really all that different, except they did have a few show cars mixed in which brightened thing up a bit.

For the potential apprentice, every possible training organization was in attendance, from the Ministry, to independant schools. If you want to find a way into the trade, this is the place to be. for the shop owner who is looking to upgrade, all the big players in shop equipment were there. In addition to Bear and Hofmann, there were a bunch of new up and commers hawking their new shop tools, lifts and such.

The show continues tomorrow, from 10-5 at the Direct Energy Center, which used to be the National Trade Center at the CNE grounds.

There have been a lot of reports lately of 2008/9 Lotus Elise test mule running around and Top Speed has posted this pic of the beauty. You gotta hope there’s a Lotus under all that cardboard, ’cause it looks an awful lot like something out of Kit Car magazine in 1982!

In an effort to curb bad drivers, the City of Toronto has enlisted the talents of Steve Fenton and his School of Bad Driving. Rather than the usual boring PSA type ads the City is known for, this is Revenge of The Nerds taking on Downtown Tdot. During filming yesterday, Mr. Fenton drove up a curb on Queen Street and knocked over a fake no parking sign.

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Buying a used car is a crap shoot. No matter how well prepared you are, you still run the risk of buying someone else’s problem. Somebody is selling the car, and there has to be a reason. Sometimes the reason is simply that it’s time for the owner to move on, yet other times it’s because they are at their wits end with it. Fortunately, you can prepare yourself and minimize the risk somewhat. With this in mind, here are a few tips to help get past some of the hurdles that we’ve come across personally, or from watching customers struggle with.

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Those guys at DC are trying all sorts of things to keep us entertained. The 2007 Sebring will keep your coffee hot or your beer pop cold. This will excite our resident coffee fanatic on those long drives up north. Next thing you know, just like a Starbucks cup, they’ll have to put a warning on the door. Caution: the beverage you are about to enjoy is hot.
Via Gizmodo

Those lucky stiffs from Autoblog and Jalopnik are over in Gay Paris, teasing us with lots of shots from the Paris Auto Show. Visit them here and here. Tell the The Garage sent you.

Photo of the Chevrolet WTCC from Jalopnik

From it’s beginnings over at Blogger, The Garage sure has changed over the past year. Version 2.0 was super cool, but with all the cool visual features it was next to impossible to add in more funtional features and some folks had a tough time reading the grey on black fonts.

Enter The Garage v3.0 where we can keep the look, but offer an easy to read and navigate format that reflects the look over at Blair Valley Media. In the near future, we should be able to show videos and hopefully even a podcast or two. So keep watching for more new and exciting stuff here in The Garage.

Building on a century or so of Italian coachbuilding tradition, F & M Auto have introduced the Antas v8 GT. With experience gained from restoring rare Barchettas and Berlinettas, F & M have used traditional techniques to bring the v8 GT to life, from it’s hand built aluminum body, to its’ Maserati V8 engine. From the heart shaped grille, old style ignition flip switch to the downdraft carburetors the Antas exudes old world charm. You can almost imagine some Italian Count barrelling down some winding road in pursuit of a Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo.

Full technical specs and tons of pictures after the break

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Following unveiling the new C30, Volvo announced that the new 2 door will be sold in the US market. If memory serves correctly, the last time we saw a 2 door Volvo on North American soil was the 1984 242T. With a 2.5 liter 5 cylinder putting 218 hp & 236 lb/ft this will be one hot hatch. We can’t wait to get our hands on one of these when it debuts as a 2008 model.

Press release and loads of pics after the break

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