Earlier this morning, the world was rocked by yet another sex scandal. This time, rather than a politician or a rock star, it was one of the big bosses of the Formula 1 circus, Max Mosley. Sex in sports is nothing new. Mosley however seems to have taken things to a whole new level that should rock the world.

Max Mosley is the captain of one of the most successful sporting franchises the world has ever known, one that is worth more than many countries. He is also the son of a couple of Adolf Hitler’s supporters. So close in fact, that Hitler was a guest at their wedding.

Max hired hookers. No big deal in the grand scheme of things, except that what he allegedly did with those hookers in beyond comprehension. On Max’s visit to the dungeon, the roles and costumes had been conjured up to replicate the inside of a Nazi prison camp. With all his money, he didn’t have the brains to prevent 5 hours worth of video being shot. If you really want all the gory details, visit News Of The World. Suffice it to say that the scenario would be pretty messed up for most normal people. Mosley isn’t normal people. As the head of Formula 1, and the spawn of Adolf’s posse, MM is in an entirely different league. The sex aspect…who cares. Add in the other crap and it is vile and he should be held accountable somehow.

I would suspect that we might see some changes in the F1 hierarchy over the next few days. If not, there is an even bigger problem. Interestingly, there were screen grabs from the video all over the web this morning. Now, a google image search shows nothing. Isn’t it just amazing what insane amounts of money can do?

If you are like most people, all of your keys are together in one place. Usually it is somewhere convenient, like a rack in the kitchen or perhaps a mud room, or maybe the front hallway. They are convenient places to keep the keys so that they don’t go missing.

I was speaking with a friend who is a car theft security specialist who helps car dealerships safeguard against car thieves and he told me about a disturbing trend. Brand new cars are going missing from driveways all over Toronto and the bad guys are defeating the modern immobilizer systems by using the owner’s key. How do they get the key? Simple really, they just scope out the houses in a neighborhood to see who has their keys hanging on a rack in the kitchen. Jimmy the sliding door and voila, off they go with the keys to your pride and joy! It’s that easy.

Can thieves see where your keys are?

Wow, life has been crazy in the real world lately, which means that the virtual world has been taking a back seat lately. Like the farthest back seat on a big yellow bus. It has been all I can do to create a post here and there every couple of days, let alone put together the Carnival of Wheels. Hopefully, life will return to normal soon, and with it the publishing frequency. For now, let’s share a pint and cruise some of the submission for the CoW that I was supposed to do last Sunday.

First up on the grid today is a newcomer who calls himself mleighto and writes a blog called Car Show Kiosk. mleighto has submitted a post about the care that needs to be taken when purchasing a clone type car. This is a pretty touchy subject with many people and I’m sure our own Gary Faules may have a comment or two on this post.
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When we started planning The Garage a few years back, I envisioned a sort of virtual garage where all manner of car enthusiasts would feel comfortable dropping by and sharing a story or two. As The Garage has grown, we’ve been lucky enough to be joined by young enthusiasts and old racers. Time worn journos and new guys trying to make a name for themselves have dropped by with a few tales. Each one has helped shape The Garage and added a bit more flavour. Today, we have yet another talent coming dropping in for a visit. Thanks to Gary Faules, I am more than honoured to welcome C. Van Tune to The Garage.

Who is C. Van Tune? I’ll let Van make the introduction himself:
If you’ve been a car enthusiast for any of the past 28 years, you probably know the name C. Van Tune. Maybe you’ve read some of the two thousand articles he’s written. Or seen any of his hundreds of TV news appearances. Or, maybe he’s best known as the Editor-in-Chief of Motor Trend Magazine from 1994-2001. He surprised everyone when he stepped down from MT’s helm, but very soon after he accepted the job as host of ESPN’s first automotive TV series “Drive”, and quickly set about doing his trademark sideways-driving, smoking-tire road tests for the sports world—a winning formula that continues today. A self-described victim of “Mad Car Disease” Van owns more than 15 cars, most of which are 1950s and ‘60s American classics. His love of motor-sports has put him behind the wheel in professional road racing, drag racing, hill climbs, autocrosses, off road racing, vintage racing and celebrity racing. Always a down-to-earth person who enjoys talking cars with anyone, Van can be counted on to leave the scene amid a giant cloud of tire smoke…and to hell with the hydrocarbons!

Van has hung up the keyboard for now, but has graciously allowed us to post some his Drive segments. While the products in these vids may be a few years old, those of us who live outside the reach of ESPN will have an opportunity to see some classic footage.

Over the coming weeks, we’re going to share as many of these Drive episodes as we can. After the break, watch as Van gets some seat time in a Porsche Carrera GT.
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This photo was taken a couple of days ago in Death Valley by one of the Motor Trend family. And I thought gas was expensive here in Toronto at $4.36 a gallon!

The shot came to us via ex MT Editor C. Van Tune

Few things burn my toast more than innocent people being hurt by street violence. Early last month, veteran Detroit auto writer Frank Washington was out for his morning walk when he was savagely beaten and stabbed. The incident has left Washington unable to work, while recovering from the required surgery.

Brenda Priddy, the purveyor of countless new model spy photos, has put together an e-bay auction to help raise funds to help Washington recuperate. So far, the auction includes:

A series of 5 DODGE CHALLENGER PROTOTYPE PISTOL GRIP SHIFTERS from the Dodge Design Studio!

Two ORIGINAL framed mid-engine CORVETTE sketches from the CORVETTE DESIGN STUDIO, circa 1973.

RARE BMW ’sculpture’ / model (circa 1981) donated by Jim Dunne.

A $1200 MICHELIN gift certificate.

And a 5-hour BOB BONDURANT High Performance driving class!

This is a great opportunity for enthusiasts to help out one of the guys who has helped fuel your automotive passions get back on his feet.

Source Autowriters.com

Photo courtesy of ClickOn Detroit

Having the 2008 Ford F-150 in The Garage this week is a bit of a double edged sword. On the positive side, we are in the midst of moving my step father and I have some lumber to pick up this weekend for a new deck. On the slightly frightening side, gas is $1.09 a liter (roughly $4.36 a gallon) this week here in the Toronto area.

As many readers may be aware, the 08 F-150 is nearing the end of it’s production run, with the all new 09 model waiting in the wings. This late model test will serve us well when we test the replacement in the next few months. So far, it is a great looking truck that has tons of seating room. The kids even commented on how wide the rear seat is. Out back, our tester has the full complement of cargo aids, from lockable storage bins to cross rails and a cool divider to keep stuff from sliding around.

Check back over the next couple of weeks as we let you know what life is like with Ford’s bread and butter hauler.

Buy Volvos. They’re boxy, but they’re good. We know they’re not sexy. This is not a time to be sexy anyway with so many new diseases around. Be safe instead of sexy. Volvo: boxy but good.
From the 1990 Dudley Moore flick Crazy People.

Boxy, but good. This is what many, many people have thought of Volvo for many years. What non Volvo enthusiasts may not realize though is that Volvo has a rich history of building sexy, fun to drive 2 doors. 122. P1800. 142. 242. Ok, so from that group only the P1800 could be considered sexy, but they all share something in common. They are all incredibly fun to drive!

The Volvo C30 was designed by Canadian, Simon Lamarre with the P1800 in the forefront of his thoughts, but the fun factor embodied by all those other hot 2 doors were also heavy influences. Here in The Garage, we too have been influenced by those cars of old. One friend of The Garage owns one of the nicest P1800’s in existence. Another races a 122s with a genuine Trans Am history, while yet another owns a 142 that was the original poster child for Targa Newfoundland. We, like many other Volvo enthusiasts have lamented Volvo’s lack of a 2 door since the 242 left Canadian shores in 1984. Enter Lamarre and the C30, a fun to drive hatch that embodies the spirit of Volvo 2 doors from days gone by.
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Ford has released details of the impending sale of their premium British brands to Indian automaker Tata. The short story is a closing date by the end of next quarter and a paltry $2.3 Billion US.

The long story of course is still in the crystal ball stage. There is little question that this sale will have a dramatic effect on the Indian car market. How much effect will it have on the North American market remains to be seen, but Tata will now have an established dealer network on our shores. Could we see a new economy brand on this continent over the coming years? Only time will tell.

Full details from Ford after the break
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Catch the Vibe, the Canadian launch of the 2009 Pontiac Vibe kicked off this morning in Montreal, with the first round of automotive writers taking on a whole host of challenges. We’ve been watching over the day as our Team Traction mates looked to be at the top of the heap all day. As the scores are being tabulated this evening, we seem to be falling behind, though I’m hopeful they’ll find us a few more points as the evening progresses.

There are 100 points up for grabs for the team who has the most online supporters come daybreak. If you haven’t joined up to support Team Traction yet, be sure to visit Catchthevibe.ca tonight to cheer for the home team!

After the break, see Team Traction in action!
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