August 21st, 2006 — Tags:bmw, bmw-canada, car-control, driver-training, parallel-parking, rally-driver

It’s 1:30 in the morning on a dead end street. A sober 17 year old doesn’t see all the dead end signs and at only 70 kmh, he jumps the curb at the end of the road and plows into a light post and a car on the lot in front of BMW Canada. The Chevy Lumina the kid was driving had to be towed.
Now I get the stupidity of a teenager. I was a teenager and I remember crashing into things because I was going too fast. That was a rally driver wannabe on a winding, deserted road. BMW Canada and the adjacent dealership are very brightly lit and the road out front is almost 4 lanes wide. The court at the end of the street is gigantic. There are Dead End signs all the way down the road.
The kid was only travelling about 70 kmh which is about 43 mph for our American readers. How the hell does one lose control under these conditions? Obviously, the kid isn’t the brightest of bulbs, as his graduated license doesn’t allow him to be out driving after midnight without a fully licensed driver in the car. Even still, he wasn’t moving that fast for the area. He was clearly way over his head, or beyond the capabilities of the Lumina. Either way this kid needs help.
Poor driver training or stupid kid? I don’t have the answer, but I suspect that if we taught car control rather than just parallel parking, we’d have less of these daft incidents.
Source Durham Region News
July 26th, 2006 — Tags:bmw-canada, kenzie, m-coupe, mini

I must be pretty oblivious. Somehow I’ve completely missed the release of this beautiful machine, which was really surpising given the amount of reading I do while researching for The Garage. When we were over at BMW Canada taking pics of Kenzie’s Mini, there were actually 3 of these things sitting there. Just a sweet looking piece. I’m going to have to get some seat time in one.
more pics after the break
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July 17th, 2006 — Tags:bmw-1-series, bmw-canada, john-cooper, kenzie, newfoundland, rally-car, tarmac-rally, vintage-rally-cars

One our quest to find a BMW 1 Series, the boys and I headed over to BMW Canada of Sunday afternoon. We didn’t find a 1, but Jim Kenzie’s steed for Targa Newfoundland was sitting outside the shop door. This Cooper S is pretty typical for a tarmac rally car, with lots of John Cooper Works add ons, along with all the usual safety upgrades. Oddly enough, it was the first time the either of the boys have ever noticed a removable steering wheel.
Targa Newfoundland is a tarmac rally that attracts teams from around the world, bringing both modern and vintage rally cars to the incredible roads around Newfoundland. Canadian automotive writer Jim Kenzie and his Mini have become fixtures at this annual event.
More Mini pics after the break
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July 16th, 2006 — Tags:autospies, bmw-1-series, bmw-canada
Well, at least one 1 has made it here. AutoSpies has posted this shot of a BMW 1 Series compact 5 door taken in the San Francisco Bay area sporting manfuacturer plates. Available in other parts of the world since 2005, the 1 Series is smaller than a 3 series, which puts it in the compact class. What makes it unique to the class, is that it is a rear wheel drive machine that car be outfitted with one of several engines, ranging from a meek 116 hp, up to 163 hp. We want that one in The Garage!
BMW Canada is about 1 KM from The Garage, so we’ll have to spin by over the next couple of weeks to see if we can spot one here.