Canadian print media guy and friend of The Garage, Laurance Yap had a pretty special opportunity last night. He got to take Godzilla for a tour of downtown Toronto, the lucky bastard!!! For those of you who don’t understand the monster movie reference, the current Godzilla is the new Nissan GT-R. The biggest, baddest machine to hit our shores in, well, ever!

More pics after the break
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Long time readers know that I have a huge soft spot for the cars that are built by the descendants of Uncle Olaf, yet it has been a very long time since I’ve driven a new Volvo when it was new. When the C30 was announced in the Fall of 06, I fell in love with the shape almost immediately. The fact that the shape was penned by a Canadian was just an added bonus.

I picked up the not so little 4 seater this afternoon and very quickly fell in love. From the grippy cloth seats to the way the controls fall easily to hand, this car fits me like a glove. Not to mention that the 2.4 liter 5 cylinder sounds like an Uber Quattro and the 5 speed transmission is buttery smooth. This isn’t the boosted version, but who cares? It makes the right noises, squirts through traffic with ease and just feels COOL.

Later in the week, you’ll get the full report. I’ll give you the hint already that it will be pretty positive.

Oh yeah…the 3 hockey bag test is on hiatus for this one!

Saab has always attracted a slightly eclectic and literate fan base, so naturally we at OutDrive have felt the draw. The official stamp of brand quirkiness, the late Kurt Vonnegut, was the owner and manager of “Saab Cape Cod”. Saab has come a long way from the oil-gas mix, two-stroke, two-door sedans Vonnegut blames for robbing him of a Nobel Prize for Literature in, “Have I Got a Car For You”. Luckily for us, we’re not in a temporally twisted parallel universe where Vonnegut sold the equivalent of a 2008 9-3 Sport Sedan 2.0T, otherwise his excellent non-Nobel literature may never have been penned. Continue reading →

Today’s race tracks are nothing short of amazing especially when you consider what was used back in the early 1900’s. But as beautiful as they appear today they can not hold up by comparison when we take a look what used to be as we look back thru the history books.

Anyone who has been to Indianapolis will most certainly recognize the above photo which is none other than the famous Pagoda that sits on the start/finish line at Indianapolis Raceway. While many consider this to be the Mecca of all racetracks in this writers oppinnion by comparison it’s an eyesore when compared to what once was.
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Here is some great footage from the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup Race. Try and imagine a Nascar race if they allowed the crowds beyond the fence.

Here is another video from the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race.
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While we’ve lost the Toronto Grand Prix for 2008, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t some great racing to be had in Ontario this year. Just up the road from downtown Toronto, at Canada’s home of motorsport, is the annual VARAC Vintage Racing Festival. The focus for 2008 is on the thundering Can Am cars and what better place to experience these beasts than at Mosport.

Owners of these incredible cars are well aware that some of the most historic Can Am battles took place at Mosport and are always happy to bring their monsters back to the track. We’re still 4 months away and the entry list is already impressive.
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Ever since North America’s open wheel racing series was torn apart by Tony George and his American only plan, I, like many fans have dreamed of the day the two series would quit struggling and get back together. At its peak, CART offered some of the best racing in the world. What followed would be years of lackluster racing, sponsorship woes and odd business practices. Little did I dream that when the marriage between the two series, our Toronto race would be a victim of the battle.
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2008 has brought the most snow southern Ontario has seen in years. As a result, I’ve been pretty happy to be sampling a pretty wide variety of AWD and 4WD vehicles this winter. Every one of those vehicles has done a decent job getting off the line in the white stuff, but none of them were able to beat the laws of physics when it came to stopping. As I mentioned before, Toyota realizes that all season tires are really 3 season tires and have equipped their media fleet with true winter tires. What a treat!
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During some research I found out Duryea and Vanderbilt were good friends and Vanderbilt even named a road in honor to Duryea along the famous race way he built called Long Island Motor Parkway. Judge for yourself and compare the two photos. I honestly believe that is none other than William K. Vanderbilt, Jr. himself sitting in Duryea’s car and he’s even wearing the same type of jacket.

At the top is a photo of Duryea and he looks nothing like the man in that car. On the other hand check out the other two.

As we continue trying to sort out the mystery of the Mora race cars and the Vanderbuilt Cup, reader Geri has provided even more photos. To clear the blur a bit, Geri has also provided what she knows about the photos and the family that provided them.

I’ll let Geri take over from here:
They were involved with Duryea Motor Wagon Company who produced the 1st motor car in 1893 in Springfield Mass. Frank and Charles Duryea went their separate ways and Frank went to Reading Pennsylvania. The photos with Barbey’s Brewery I believe were in Reading Penn. I think the automobiles in that set of picture were Duryea Motor Wagons. Frank Duryea’s oldest daughter was one of the test drivers. I have several photos of a young woman who appears comfortable in the drivers seat. I thought she was just posing but after learning his daughter test drove automobiles, I wonder. The first motor vehicle accident involved a Duryea automobile and a bicycle on Long Island. I think a Duryea was in the Sealed Bonnet run as Frank was quite the driver and participated in the very first recorded Automobile Race in the United States. The family (who had the photos) continued to be involved with automobiles and I have photos of automobile shows up to the 1940’s. They were prominent family in Providence R.I. quite wealthy and influential.

More photos after the break
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