It has been a very long time since I’ve driven a new GM product and I’m almost embarrassed to say that I’ve never driven a Saturn. That makes it sort of fitting then that my first dip into the GM media fleet comes at the wheel of the 2008 Saturn Vue Hybrid. As the winner of the 2008 AJAC award for Best New SUV/CUV from $35,000 to $60,000 I expected to be impressed. So far, the Vue has not disappointed. It looks great inside and out and has enough pep on the road that it doesn’t really feel like a hybrid.
I’m going to have to do a bit of research on the pricing side of things. Notice the category that the Vue won in AJAC’s annual tests is 35 to 60 grand. That seems a bit out of whack when you consider the Vue is a much better value than that. In fact, you can put your own Vue on the Canadian roads for as little as $26,990 and even a loaded up AWD Red Line version only tallies in at $38,605. Our Hybrid tester with premium package still rings in at just a tick over $32,345 which seems like a pretty good value considering the amount of tech stuff beneath the skin.
Utility on the inside. Truth be told, there is so much utility here that I don’t know where to start.
First off, the interior is visually typical Toyota. No crazy patterns and no instruments that look like something out of The Jetson’s, just tasteful, traditional and attractive surfaces and shapes. Most media testers come with seats clad in leather. In the real world though, a good portion of the buying public choose cloth seats and Toyota supplied our Highlander with just that. Warm, comfortable cloth seats that warm up nice and quickly on cold days, so heated seats aren’t really needed.
While Indian automaker Tata has made huge waves world wide with their $2,500 Nano, the story really doesn’t have too much teeth here in North America where we will never see the car. Hyundai on the other hand is making some serious moves to move cars on this continent. When was the last time anyone sold a new car for less than 10 grand in Canada?
Not long ago, Hyundai launched an anniversary edition in Quebec only that was selling for just $9,995! Of course the response was so incredible that the offer has been expanded to the rest of the country. With all the stories of consumers heading south of the border to buy cheaper priced new cars, Hyundai has taken the bull by the horns and solved that issue. At $9,995, the Accent is now cheaper in Canada than it is in the USA. Ok, so it is only 5 bucks, but it’s still cheaper! Continue reading →
Pontiac is launching the 2009 Vibe here in Canada with a bit of reality TV style fun. Beginning in a couple of weeks, 4 teams of journalists will be piling in to a bunch of Pontiac’s killer hatch and traipsing around Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver in an attempt to become the top team. Armed only with a Blackberry Pearl and the support of their friends. That’s about all organizers have said about the contest so far.
Oh yes, did I mention that The Garage is going along for the ride? That’s right, the good folks from Pontiac have invited me to join in the fun. That means that our loyal legions of readers can follow along online and help The Garage’s team pull out a big win! We will need your help to get to the top.
Keep your eyes on the official challenge website where the full roster of participants will be revealed on March 17th to fans and competitors. Also on the 17th, The Garage will reveal our plans to get all of you involved too!
He may not have been in contention for the win at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 8th, but each week D.J. Kennington continues to prove that he can fight it out with the stiffest of competition.
Cooler temperatures and a winter storm greeted NASCAR drivers on Saturday. As a result, Nationwide Series qualifying was cancelled. D.J., who was making his first laps in a national series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, started the race in 34th position.
Having taken his lumps last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, D.J. quietly rode around the track towards the back of the field. While the closing laps had a flurry of on track accidents, luck was on D.J.’s side. He managed to steer the #81 Dodge through the carnage, eventually finishing the race in 34th position.
Certainly every good run gives D.J. and the MacDonald Motorsports team reason to be optimistic: D.J. has finished all four races thus far and every lap of seat time helps him become more confident and calculating behind the wheel. A string of bad luck hasn’t dulled D.J.’s competitive drive. No matter what, the #81 Dodge is certainly a fun car to watch each week.
Next Stop, Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 15th for the Sharpie Mini 300. Tight quarters and high speeds make for a lot of pushing and shoving on the track, and even in the pits. Heated tempers run high as drivers shove each other out of the way in order to gain track position. Can’t wait to see you there, D.J.!
I have so many childhood memories and some of them after all these years that stand out are about some homemade toys I used to play with in a dirt pile. Of all the toys I had my favorites were an old logging truck, an orange bulldozer and a crane, most handmade and hand painted but some were very old heavy metal types that made Tonka toys look like tinfoil. And then there was my favorite Ford tractor my father gave me which is extremely life-like. Continue reading →
The 2008 Volvo XC70 has received a few lukewarm reviews, but OutDrive.ca thinks that’s a matter of context. Determined to put the all-wheel drive in its natural setting, and Sweden not being handy, OutDrive.ca headed to the interior of BC to find out.
Gary’s post about the truck with the bent frame reminded me of an incident we had at our shop a few years ago. One of our accounts that we took care of their trucks for was The Humane Society. Prior to us taking over that account their trucks had been taken care of by the city where they were located. Over the years as they upgraded their fleet with newer trucks they would remove the custom built box on the rear of the old trucks and then install them on the newer ones. What we did not know (and obviously nor did they) was the trucks were not rated to carry the heavy custom utility beds. What they were “supposed” to do was install a structural support plate near the middle of the frame in what is known as “the crinkle zone.” Continue reading →
Winter 2008 has been one of the worst on record here in Ontario. The snowfall record in Toronto was 207 cm (81.5 inches) and was set way back in the 1930’s. As of Thursday, we had received over 170 cm. On Friday & Saturday, Mother Nature dumped another whopping 30 cm. Continue reading →
Here we are in bright, sunny Ontario following yet another giant dump of snow. There is no less than a foot and a half of the white stuff out on the deck! Given that I smoked my shoulder yesterday, there will be no shoveling for me, that’s what 4×4 and snow tires are for. Instead I’m here to take you for a hot lap around the auto blogs, on time for a change! Grab a coffee and get ready for a big one folks!
First up this week we have Niharika from EcoTrekker who has an incredible list of suggestions on how to Hypermile. In other words, some strategies on how to improve your gas mileage. To be honest, I stopped reading after the suggestion (with a disclaimer) that drafting will improve your fuel consumption. Yes, it will decrease the fuel you use when you are dead under the back of a semi. Continue reading →
