The Garage Blog

The Garage: Your daily dose of automotive news, reviews and motorsports coverage

Archives for February 2011

NASCAR – Jeff Gordon Gets His First Win Since ’09, Denying Kyle Busch a Weekend Sweep

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Image Courtesy of JeffGordon.com

Jeff Gordon back in the winners circle.  After 66 starts many had fallen to the belief that Gordon had seen his last days in the winners circle, but Big Daddy decided to prove them wrong as he took the win in the Subway Fresh Fit 500.  If anyone could have fulfilled a wish for NASCAR this would definitely be one of them.  The crowd certainly seemed to agree as Jeff Gordon drove past Kyle Busch with 8 laps to go and never needed to look in his rear view again.  Having run up front and led laps early Gordon knew he had a car that could win it, but as late race cautions began to shuffle the field and Kyle Busch got out front, it looked like the sweep was inevitable until the final restart.

With 23 laps to go Tony Stewart made a 2 tire pit stop and came out at the head of the field, a decision which proved costly as he moved backwards through the field quickly finishing in 7th.  Kyle Busch passed Stewart with Jeff Gordon following closely as Busch began to check out on the field.  Gordon was the only car that could keep up with Busch at first and for the next 15 laps Gordon closed the distance.  Then with only 8 laps remaining, Gordon got his bumper up under Busch’s rear fender causing him to wiggle just enough for Gordon to make the pass.

“He was gaining on me really good, and I knew he was going to get to me eventually, and this place is so flat and it’s one groove that we all run the bottom,” Busch said of the sequence where Gordon got to his bumper on Lap 304.  The noise from the crowd was deafening as Gordon started to check out on the field and never looked back.

While we may have lost the Intimidator 10 years ago,  Gordon showed that he had certainly been paying attention in class with a move that reminded me of  Dale Earnhardt Sr. and proved that Gordon still has what it takes to get the win.

“He got so tucked up behind me in 3 and 4, he got me loose, and I could not put the gas down,” Busch said. “I mean, he was so far up underneath me that I could not go forward.” [Read more…]

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Default ThumbnailNASCAR – Sprint Cup Heads to Phoenix – New Points System Makes the Standings Look a Whole Lot Different Default ThumbnailNASCAR – The Season is Almost Upon Us. Default ThumbnailNASCAR – Bowyer Takes 4th Career Win at the Scareless Talledega Halloween. Default ThumbnailNASCAR – It’s Hallowdega time for the 6th Chase race Default ThumbnailNASCAR – Dale Jr to Get a Crew Chief Swap – RPM Finds New Funding

NASCAR – Sprint Cup Heads to Phoenix – New Points System Makes the Standings Look a Whole Lot Different

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As NASCAR heads to Phoenix for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 and we get our first taste of real racing for the year, let us do our best to forget the draft, forget about aerodyanamics lessons, and lets forget about the 2 car push, and clear our heads and minds for what most of the seasons races are going to look like.  1 Mile ovals and door to door racing.

Track records were made to be broken, and this weekend at Phoenix seems to be no exception.  Sprint Cup drivers out for practice this week have been shattering the track record with surprising regularity.  It was Busch who had established a track-record of 136.539 mph early during Friday’s first Cup practice session, but that mark was destined to fall 25 more times  in Saturday’s qualifying.  26 different drivers repeatedly broke the record in the fastest set of practices this track has ever seen for a NASCAR event.    But after all the dust settled it was Carl Edwards at the head of the field. [Read more…]

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailNASCAR – The Season is Almost Upon Us. Default ThumbnailNASCAR – Bowyer Takes 4th Career Win at the Scareless Talledega Halloween. Default ThumbnailNASCAR – Denny Hamlin takes the win to tighten up the Championship Chase Default ThumbnailNASCAR – It’s Hallowdega time for the 6th Chase race Default ThumbnailNASCAR – Jimmie Johnson Goes Where no Driver has Gone Before.

Got snow? Build a Roboplow!

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It is snowing again in Southern Ontario, so I thought this video might just be fitting for a Saturday morning.

Gotta love the guys with the great big brains who come up with this stuff!

Thanks to Gary Faules for the tip on this one.

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Camp4 proves that Porsche builds an awesome Winter car

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Gary flicks a Cayman S sideways as the track falls away

If you are reading this, then you have seen Ken Block’s trilogy of Gymkhana videos and thought “I can do that”. Beginning your day on the skid pad at Camp4 brings on a very real ego check. You are not that good and neither am I!

To begin our day, the yellow run group took to the skid pad in brand spanking new Euro spec Porsche 911 Carrera 4 drop tops equipped with the PDK double clutch transmission. This meant there would be no focus lost while shifting gears. Believe me, if you want to get it right, you really have to focus. The first few laps come with the Porsche Stability Management turned on. Then, the Sport Plus mode is engaged, which allows for more driver input and less e-nanny input. As you become more comfortable/brave/patient, you turn off the PSM. This is the time when you realize how little talent you have behind the wheel.

I was very proud that after an hour and a half of lapping, I was able to pull off a perfect circular drift for a lap and a half, in both directions. That perfect drift means not moving the steering wheel, keeping the wheels pointed straight and modulating the throttle very gently. A lap and a half each way felt like quite an accomplishment for this guy who used to rally front wheel drive cars with a pinch over 100 horsepower. The C4S Convertible is all wheel drive and produces a pinch under 400 horsepower. Twice the drive wheels and four times the power!

Porsche Camp4 is billed as the Ultimate Winter Driving Experience. Without exaggeration, it is.
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VW Adds Jetta GLI

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Since 1984, the Jetta GLI has basically been a GTI with four doors and a trunk. Until now. With the introduction of the all-new 2011 Jetta, that relationship has become more distant, as this is the very first time the Jetta rides on its own platform. So when VW fanatics hear about a new Jetta GLI, an adjustment of expectations is required. The new Jetta was built to appeal to a greater number of North American buyers, so even dressed up a bit the GLI lacks the edginess of the prior GLI’s.

The drivetrain of the GLI is identical to the current GTI, meaning the familiar 2.0L turbocharged four rated at 200hp, paired with either a six-speed manual or twin-clutch DSG. Although the Jetta is larger than the car it replaces, VW claims the new GLI is a lighter car. Still, with the Jetta aimed to please more mainstream buyers, it remains to be seen if the spirit of past GLI’s live on. [Read more…]

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Default ThumbnailVW Previews New Jetta in Times Square Default ThumbnailVW Announces Jetta TDI Cup ‘Street’ Edition

2011 Nissan Sentra Spec-V tackles Winter roads in Gary Indiana

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As I write this, I’m riding in the back of an airport limousine heading north from Montreal to Mont Tremblant where I will spend tomorrow at Porsche’s Camp4 winter driving experience. While the plush riding Lincoln bounces along on the less than smooth highway, I’m struggling to keep my netbook in one place long enough to type one word at a time. It would be tempting to say this is one of the worst stretches of road I’m been on, but that honour goes to a stretch of I-90 that I encountered last week in Indiana.

After miscalculating my flight bookings to cover the 2011 Chicago Auto Show, I did a bit of a scramble to see what fuel sipping four cylinder press cars were floating around the Toronto area on short notice. Given that my first event in Chicago was a Nissan dinner, it made sense to wheel a Nissan product. A couple of quick messages set me up with a 2011 Sentra SER Spec-V. Not exactly a fuel sipper, but with snow tires asnd a six speed manual, it was close enough to being a rally car that it could make quick work of anything the snow Gods could throw my way. Did I mention that my drive was 2 days after the snow storm that crippled the Chicago area?

Little did I know that I would use much of the Spec-V’s performance capabilities along the way.
[Read more…]

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Default ThumbnailTrack test: Nissan Sentra SER Spec-V

Checking in at the 2011 Canadian International Auto Show

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The Canadian International Auto Show is, for many car enthusiasts, the high point of the Canadian winter. A chance to spend a day or more poking about in new cars and seeing the newest concept cars. My first impression of the 2011 show is that I was a bit let down.

I suppose I should qualify that feeling, lest you think the show isn’t worth visiting, because it is. Over the 2 previous weeks, I had covered the new car launches at the Detroit and Chicago shows where there were several World or North American premieres. There were no World premieres in Toronto and several of the manufacturer’s booths lacked the extravagance of their counterparts south of the border. I hate to say it, but the first part of my day was a little boring.

After a while, that brought with it the somewhat embarrassing realization that perhaps I’m becoming a little bit jaded. Having been in the car industry for so long and now covering car shows as part of my job for close to a decade means that a show has to really shine to light me up. The truth about the Toronto show is that most, if not all, of the spectacular new models I saw at Detroit and Chicago are also at the Toronto show. There is some really cool stuff there that most show goers will have never seen. The 2012 Hyundai Accent wasn’t at either of the other shows, and is at Toronto. That is a pretty important model in our market and there was quite a buzz surrounding the great looking little car.
[Read more…]

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Default Thumbnail2008 Canadian International Autoshow gets under way tomorrow Default ThumbnailSchmoozing with the Mopar crew Default ThumbnailGallery: 2008 Canadian International Autoshow Default ThumbnailToronto Autoshow Day 2

NASCAR – Trevor Bayne Wins the Daytona 500 – Speedweek Ends And What a Week It Was

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With the spectacular finish of the 53rd running of the Daytona 500 Speedweek has ended.  And man what a week it was.  From the day the cars hit the track to practice for the Budweiser Shootout, right up to the end of the Great American Race, the racing has been fast, crazy and intense, no matter which series you were watching.  Record numbers of lead changes in ARCA, Camping World trucks, Nationwide and Sprint Cup race a woman led a lap in a NASCAR race for the first time ever at Daytona.  Every race ended with a Green/White/Checkered finish, winners came from all levels of experience, a Rookie wins the biggest race in NASCAR and the Grand Stands looked more full than  in recent years.

I have to say though that after a week of watching the 2 car push played out in front of me so many times, I am looking forward to the race at Phoenix to get my mind off of it and back to the way circle racing is meant to be run.  Don’t get me wrong, I certainly liked the racing action better than the usual 2 freight trains running around together, but after a week of nothing but I am craving some beating and banging at a 1 mile track.  So lets review the weeks events and clear our heads of the 2 car push until it rears it’s head again at Talledega. [Read more…]

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Mazda Celebrates MX-5 Milestone with Special Edition

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At this year’s Chicago Auto Show, Mazda celebrated a milestone in the life of their beloved MX-5 Miata-900,000 cars built to date-with a new Special Edition model. Only 750 cars will be built. Special Edition interior features will include grey door trim, heated leather seats with grey stitching, chrome accents, and aluminum pedals (manual tranny cars only). The Special Edition is available in two new colors, Sparkling Black Mica and Dolphin Grey Mica. 17″ alloys come standard.

The Special Edition is built off the top-spec Miata, and includes as standard equipment the power retractable hardtop and Suspension Package, which includes Bilstein shocks, limited slip differential, and more aggressive suspension tuning. No changes to the drivetrain, which means a 2.0L four rated ay 167hp when paired to the six-speed manual, and 158hp with the six-speed automatic. A manual MX-5 Special Edition will run you $30,925USD, while an automatic costs $$31,525.

I do find it peculiar that Mazda chooses to celebrate their sports car, which debuted with the looks of a Lotus Elan, the basic goodness of an MGB, and well, the reliability of a Mazda with a luxe version. Yet in Mazda’s press release, the emphasis was on the affluent buyer, the notion of a Miata being a third car. No one will ever call a Miata practical, but wasn’t part of the fun that this was a car you could use every day if you were so inclined? So, I ask you, dear reader-did Mazda lose the script in celebrating its sports car by going upscale? Did they contradict the Miata’s mission?

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Shutter Speed: The Dempster Dozen, the T4 and the Crazy Canucks!

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After Gilles win in Montreal I thought nothing could top that event for me. Was I wrong! My client list just seemed to explode! I had a trip lined up with my Molson ski race win to shoot the Crazy Canucks in Europe which seemed to like a good start. Early in the year I got a call from Defasco Steel in Hamilton. They produced a wonderful full-colour newsletter that had won many awards for it’s quality of print and images. It was huge! It was roughly 11″ x 14″ in size and used two blacks in the printing which gave more depth to any images. It was a beautiful publication which I would enjoy producing work for during the next decade. They wanted images of the Crazy Canucks to go with copy they already had. I believe the National Ski Team had put them onto me. Dofasco knew I was going over to several races that spring. Over I went and produced images like they had never seen. I then suggested they might be missing one of the biggest Canadian sports stories in Gilles Villeneuve. They agreed and over I went again to Monaco. What a hell of a start to the year!
[Read more…]

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Default ThumbnailShutter Speed: The first book and the first nine!