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AJAC announces 2018 Canadian Car of the Year category finalists

December 18, 2017 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

For the third year in a row, the Automobile Journalists Association spent a couple of days at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Southern Ontario, to finalize testing for vehicles which are eligible for the Canadian Car of the Year awards.

For this year’s program, the format changed somewhat in order to allow Canada’s top journalists to test more vehicles. The experts were able to vote for vehicles they have driven all year long, while the event, known in the industry as Testfest, allowed them to get seat time in vehicles which might not have been available to them for testing in their home market.

The vehicles evaluated are then scored by the journalists to rank them in relation to other vehicles in their market segment in order to determine the top vehicle available to Canadian consumers.

Once the scores have been tabulated, the top three finalists in each category are announced. That list was released today.

And the finalists are:

Best City Car in Canada for 2018:

Hyundai Ioniq Electric

Nissan Micra

Volkswagen e-Golf

Best Small Car in Canada for 2018:

Chevrolet Bolt EV

Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid/PHEV

Mazda3

Best Large Car in Canada for 2018:

Honda Accord

Mazda6

Toyota Camry

Best Small Premium Car in Canada for 2018:

Alfa Romeo Giulia

Infiniti Q60

Jaguar XE

Best Large Premium Car in Canada for 2018:

Genesis G80

Lexus LC

Volvo S90 / V90

Best Sports – Performance Car in Canada for 2018:

Honda Civic Si

Honda Civic Type R

Volkswagen Golf R

Best Premium Sports – Performance Car in Canada for 2018:

Jaguar F-TYPE

Porsche 718

Porsche 911

Best Convertible in Canada for 2018:

Mazda MX-5

Mercedes-Benz SL

Porsche 718 Boxster

Best Small Utility Vehicle in Canada for 2018:

Honda CR-V

Mazda CX-5

Nissan Rogue

Best Large Utility Vehicle in Canada for 2018:

Chevrolet Traverse

Mazda CX-9

Toyota Highlander

Best Small Premium Utility Vehicle in Canada for 2018:

Porsche Macan

Range Rover Velar

Volvo XC60

Best Large Premium Utility Vehicle in Canada for 2018:

Acura MDX

Land Rover Discovery

Volvo XC90

Best Minivan in Canada for 2018:

Chrysler Pacifica

Honda Odyssey

Kia Sedona

Best Pick-up Truck in Canada for 2018:

Honda Ridgeline

Ram 1500

Toyota Tundra

Category winners will be announced at the Montreal Auto Show on January 18. The 2018 Canadian Car of the Year and 2018 Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year will be chosen from those 14 winners and will be announced at the Canadian International AutoShow in downtown Toronto on February 15.

Photo credit: Jordan Lenssen for AJAC

Nissan Canada announces Micra Cup involvement to extend to 2020

November 14, 2017 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

At the season ending banquet for the popular Micra Cup Series on Saturday evening, Nissan Canada and series promoter JD Promotion & Compétition announced that their committment to the series has been extended to 2020.

With action like racing fans haven’t seen since the demise of the legendary Honda Michelin Series of the Seventies through to the early Nineties, the Micra Cup has provided incredible excitement for fans and racers alike.

The series wouldn’t have happened without the passionate involvement of automotive journalist and long time racer Jacques Deshaies and Nissan Canada’s Didier Marsaud. In a time when entry level racing has become increasingly difficult to market, the duo have worked tirelessly to create an affordable racing program that has been noticed around the world for its success.

Ontario auto journalist Brian Makse is a series regular.

Series press release

Mississauga, Ont. (November 12, 2017) – On Saturday night, JD Promotion & Compétition and Nissan celebrated the third season of the Nissan Micra Cup in Quebec with an annual gala event for those involved in making it a success – including drivers and their teams, partners, series organizers and staff from Nissan Canada. At the event, Joni Paiva, president of Nissan Canada Inc., announced that Nissan Canada and JD Promotion & Compétition have extended the Nissan Micra Cup contract for three more years, with races to occur in both Ontario and Quebec once again.

“The Nissan Micra Cup has grown a lot over the past three years – we’ve preserved the exclusive, but welcoming and professional series theme, and have opened our doors to a much larger audience,” said Joni Paiva, president, Nissan Canada Inc. “The Nissan Micra Cup is more than just a motorsport series. It is a testament to the reliability; affordability; and quality inherent not only in the Micra, but all Nissans in the portfolio. The Nissan Micra Cup is also another way for us to connect on a deeper level with the general public, the fans, Nissan owners and Nissan dealers, and we’re thrilled to bring the family spirit of the Nissan Micra Cup back to Canadian tracks for three more years.”

The Nissan Micra Cup was launched in 2015 as Canada’s most affordable racing series, with all drivers using identical, almost stock Nissan Micra S race cars offering fun behind the wheel and reliability. In its inaugural year, the Nissan Micra Cup took place in Quebec only, and in 2016, it expanded to Ontario, bringing new drivers and even more excitement to the track. In 2017, the vision for the Nissan Micra Cup evolved even further. With the goal of attracting more than just racing enthusiasts, the Nissan Micra Cup put on a number of special consumer-focused events and invited Nissan Micra owners to attend the race weekends free-of-charge.

Of note is that Nissan Canada was the main automotive partner for the 2017 Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (GP3R). About 700 Nissan customers were invited to the race weekend, and were witness to a free concert, From the Track to the Stage, featuring Nissan Micra Cup driver and Quebec comedian, Michel Barrette, as well as winner of La Voix 3, Kevin Bazinet. This initiative brought a much larger audience to the GP3R race weekend, increasing the reach of the series.

“Since its launch in 2015, the Nissan Micra Cup has been a huge success, at all levels, both in Canada and even internationally,” said Jacques Deshaies, owner of JD Promotion & Compétition and the series promoter. “In three years, the Nissan Micra Cup has become a leading racing series in the national motorsports community, while also remaining the most accessible and affordable. We are very proud of this 100 per cent Canadian achievement and look forward seeing it grow and evolve even more over the next three years.”

Over the past three years, approximately 25 cars have competed for the championship title each season, with drivers from very diverse backgrounds and varying levels of experience. To date, the entry list has included drivers ranging from 18 to 64 years-old, four women, five international drivers and representatives from 12 Nissan dealerships. Additionally, the Nissan Micra Cup races have featured a number of well-known professional drivers from NASCAR and other prestigious racing series, including Richard Spenard, Louis Philippe Montour, Karl Wittmer, Bertrand Godin, Aaron Povoledo , Patrick Dussault and Jesse Lazare, to name a few.

Several celebrities also took part in the series and competed on the track at a number of Nissan Micra Cup race weekends. In addition to Quebec comedian Michel Barrette, Canadian figure skater and Olympic medalist, Elvis Stojko, Quebec actor Jeff Boudreault and TV anchors Carl Nadeau and Benoit Gagnon, had nothing but positive things to say about their experience racing behind the wheels of their Nissan Micras.

Another highlight is that both of the Nissan Micra Cup championship winners, Olivier Bédard in 2015 and 2017, as well as Xavier Coupal in 2016, were recipients of the Gilles Villeneuve Trophy, one of the most prestigious annual awards in the world of Quebec motorsports.

“We are very excited to announce the extension of the Nissan Micra Cup in Canada,” said Michael Carcamo, global motorsports director, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. “The Nissan Micra Cup represents the most affordable racing platform in Canada. Along with competitive drivers and exciting race venues, the Nissan Micra has proven its durability and reliability in the most intense environment, motorsport racing. We look forward to more great racing in the years to come and we congratulate all the participants of the first three seasons.”

More details on the 2018 Nissan Micra Cup calendar to come in the winter.

For more information on the Nissan Micra Cup, please visit http://www.micracup.com/main.

Reboot: 2017 Ram 1500 Sport

September 7, 2017 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

Regular readers know that BBQ plays a big part in the other side of my business. Whenever we cater an automotive themed event, we do our best to incorporate an appropriate tow vehicle for the event trailer that we borrow from the good folks at DCS Appliances. On Labour Day weekend we were cooking up some BBQ for up and coming NASCAR driver Gary Klutt from the hit TV show Legendary Motorcar. Gary drives a Dodge in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, so it only made sense that we should arrive with the event grill attached to the back of a RAM pickup.

For this event, the folks at RAM Trucks Canada set up up with a bright green RAM 1500 Sport. This truck was basically the same truck as we towed with back in the Spring, so we really shouldn’t have anything additional to report. There was however one really big difference: the colour.

With the red truck, people either didn’t notice the truck or if they were truck people they commented on it being a nice truck. The bright green with matte black hood striping caused people literally to stop what they were doing and stare. I watched a little kid ride off the sidewalk because he was craning his neck to watch the big green truck drive by!

Even while driving, the sporty element of the RAM 1500 Sport seemed more enthusiastic. It felt like a truck that you wanted to have more fun with, instead of just cruising on down the road.

That sporty influence behind the wheel was also somewhat evident at the pump, as our observed fuel economy was a bit more hefty than it was with the red truck. Last time we towed almost daily and the truck consumed 14 L/100 KM for the full week. This time, we only towed one day and we saw 14.7 L/100 KM for the week. I will attribute that to my right foot being a bit more sporty!

: The fold flat floor feature of the RAM 1500 makes the rear seat area really usable for daily tasks like grocery shopping. Even more so when picking up food for fifty!

: They say you never know you need a pickup until you actually have a pickup. We took advantage of the RAM’s bed space to pick up a used freezer for our catering kitchen.

Whether or not you would choose a safe colour on a pickup or something that screams “hey, look at me” is totally a matter of personal preference. At the end of the day however, colour choice can totally affect the way you appreciate a vehicle and the way it is perceived by others. Personally, given the choice, I would be driving the screaming green!

Celebrating 50 years of Grand Prix in Canada at CIAS

February 21, 2017 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

As a kid in the Seventies, I used to look forward to the Toronto auto show every year. My parents had split up, which meant no more race cars for me, but my step-father always took me to the auto show and for a number of years that was the only place that I got to see racing cars. Then, at some point, someone in charge of the show decided that race cars did not belong at a show for new cars and the show got boring. Over the years, you began to see more fun, but never to the same level.

Until, that is, Jason Campbell took over as the General Manager of the show, now known as the Canadian International Autoshow. With a background in international motorsport marketing, think Red Bull, Campbell immediately set to work making the show fun again. It meant the return of motorsport in a big way, with a celebration of the 100th running of the Indy 500. With the fun came attendance and the 2016 show saw more guests go through the turnstiles than ever before.

To open the 2017 show, Campbell worked with my old boss, Norris McDonald and using their combined talents brought together a collection of individuals who have been influential in Formula 1 in Canada since the earliest days along with some incredible cars that were part of the action.

Legendary Canadian motorsport journalist, Norris McDonald used decades worth of connections to help bring this celebration together and acted as emcee.

The day before the show opened for the media preview, a crowd of maybe 100 or so people gathered in a hall at in the MTCC to oogle race cars and listen to this group swap tales. The conversation began with Bob Hanna, the man who brought Grand Prix racing to this country.

Originally scheduled for an hour or so, the event ran closer to three, as people such as former Canadian F1 team owner Walter Wolf and F1 driver Alan Berg reminisced. As time progressed, Canadian racing legend Ron Fellows, who now co-owns Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (home of the Canadian Grand Prix when it was called Mosport) was followed by 1997 Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve. The latter was joined by his Mother and Sister.

Jacques Villeneuve

The racing machinery, which remains on display throughout the public show, is even more impressive. The Villeneuve connection is strong here, as the first car one sees when they enter in Gilles Villeneuve’s Ford Mustang, freshly restored and looking perfect. A Ferrari 312 T3 that Gilles drove sits across from the Williams driven by his son.

There is a Cooper, driven by Bruce McLaren and the ’78 Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing machine piloted by Mario Andretti. A Lotus driven by Ayrton Senna sits across from a Nigel Mansell Ferrari.

With the FIA Masters Historic Formula 1 Championship coming to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in June, the track also has a multimedia display in the collection, offering up free entry to the event, printed on cool reproductions of the 1967 Grand Prix of Canada tickets.

To learn more, visit the Canadian International Autoshow online

Driveteq announces 2017 event schedule at CTMP

January 14, 2017 by Gary Grant 1 Comment

As a motorsport journalist, one of the most common questions I am asked by newcomers is, “how can I get to drive on the track?”

Even fifteen years ago, the answer was not so easy. It was difficult to get a car that wasn’t a full blown race car onto a track. Today however, it seems as if there is a lapping day going on pretty much every day somewhere in Ontario. Even in the Winter, weather permitting. The challenge is finding one that offers an affordable price, driver training options and a laid back,yet safe and inviting environment.

Some track days are run like an old boys club, where newcomers are sort of welcome, but rules are loose and many of the cars are really fast. Experience levels vary. Other events are run by other newbies, who may not quite have a handle on the safety and instruction elements needed to run a track day.

Over the past couple of years however, our friends Gerry Low and Rick Morelli at Driveteq have grown their business from a handful of friends spending the day at the track to a full blown track day experience, with literally dozens of events every season. Driveteq’s days have an open and inviting vibe that comes as a result of the duo’s passion for the sport and its people. Their people include a roster of talented and experienced instructors and support staff who love to see their guests improve. This vibe means that experienced drivers with fast cars also join in the fun too.

Newcomers will receive instruction from some of the country’s top high performance driving personalities.

For 2017, Driveteq has listed thirteen events at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Le Circuit Mont Tremblant. Once you become part of their circle though, you quickly learn that Driveteq seems to hold almost constant events throughout the year, as they snap up any date that becomes available, sometimes even within days.

Driveteq 2017 schedule

CTMP Driver Development Centre
1. Sunday, April 23
2. Friday June 16
3. Sunday, August 20

CTMP Grand Prix track
1. Tuesday, May 16
2. Tuesday, May 30
3. Friday, June 30
4. Monday, July 10
5. Wednesday, August 2
6. Monday, August 28
7. Monday, September 18
8. Thursday, October 5

Mont Tremblant
1. Wednesday, May 31
2. Thursday, June 1

To learn more, visit Driveteq online here

AJAC hosts inaugural Executive Forum at Testfest

November 2, 2016 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

Historically, the event known at Testfest, where vehicles are evaluated for the Canadian Car of the Year awards is an uninterrupted week of vehicle evaluations. The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada switched things up a bit this year with the introduction of a panel of automotive executives.

Assembled by David Taylor and David Miller, the forum brought together five of the country’s brightest automotive minds to discuss their views of the future of the automobile. Moderated by veteran journalist Mark Richardson, the panel included David Patterson, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at General Motors of Canada, Wolfgang Hoffmann, President of Jaguar Land Rover Canada, Francois Lefevre, Nissan Canada’s Chief of marketing for Leaf, Don Romano, President CEO of Hyundai Canada and Ted Lancaster, Vice President & COO of Kia Canada.

There were lots of decent quotes to pull from, but the reality is that the entire discussion was legitimately interesting. Even if you don’t have interest in the business side of things, but have a passion for cars, the entire hour of the panel is worth watching.

Image credit: Ivan Novotny & John Walker for AJAC
Video credit: James Davidson & Sam Fellows for AJAC

Video: This is Testfest

October 31, 2016 by Gary Grant 1 Comment

In addition to his daily duties at Testfest, my Co-Chair partner Justin Pritchard also took some time out during the week to shoot some video of some of the testing in progress.

In his first video from Canadian Car of the Year testing, Pritchard visits the off-road portion of the program to show how journalists learn how each vehicle performs with limited traction.

Video: Day 2 at Testfest

October 27, 2016 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

Winter has arrived early here at Canada’s home of motorsport, with cold temperatures and a delightful mix of rain, sleet and snow pelting AJAC journalists this morning. Quite a change from yesterday, when skies were still bright and sunny.

Yours truly is featured in yesterday’s wrap up video, explaining why the Canadian Car of the Year program is such an important tool for Canadian consumers.

Testing kicks off for the Canadian Car of the Year awards

October 26, 2016 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

It is late October and that means that it is Testfest time in Ontario. The event is an annual gathering of the top automotive journalists from across Canada, who converge on Canadian Tire Motorsport Park evaluating vehicles.

The results of these evaluations are tabulated and then compiled along with objective data and performance testing data. The scores then determine the category winners.

Check out the first day’s wrap up video.

Historic Canadian 1966 Ford GT40 sells for $4.4 Million

August 21, 2016 by Gary Grant Leave a Comment

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate to spend some time with a special car that had just been restored by our friends at Legendary Motorcar, a 1966 Ford GT40 Mk1 road car.

Not just any GT40 (as if there were such a thing), chassis number P/1028 has a unique Canadian history. The first road car delivered to North America, P/1028 did a short stint as a test car in Michigan before being put into service as a PR vehicle. You know, the vehicles that are sent out to auto journalists to flog. It also found its way onto the pages of Mechanix Illustrated and Playboy.

The car was sent north, to the care of Comstock Racing Team Manager Paul Cooke, where it was to be used to build buzz for the team’s P/1037. Cooke, who was on hand when the freshly restored car was unveiled at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, says that P/1038 lived in his Toronto garage during that time. It was his job to ensure that the car was visible at events all over, so Cooke drove it to media events, restaurants and the like during the week. Come race weekends, Cooke and the GT40 would arrive at host tracks a few days early in order for the local press to have a go at the exotic machine.

Shelby specialist Peter Klutt, owner of Canadian restoration house Legendary Motorcar, says that he actually wasn’t aware of the P/1028’s Canadian connection when the car was acquired. It wasn’t until the restoration began that the early history became apparent.

Not only was P/1038 the first North American road car, but it was the only one to be fitted with a full host of creature comforts like air conditioning and leather trim, making it truly a one of a kind car.

When the time came to send the car back to Ford, Cooke requested first right of refusal should the car ever go up for sale. That time came later, when Cook says he was deeply involved with a team that was racing McLaren cars in the Can-Am series. The asking price was around $2,500 at the time, which Cooke felt was a bit too steep to justify the purchase, so he let it go.

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Last night at the Mecum Auction in Monterey, P/1028 sold for a whopping $4.4 Million.

Talk about the one that got away!

Mecum Auctions lot description

GT40 no. P/1028

First road car delivered to North America

Ford test and evaluation car

Ford North America Public Relations car

Early development road specification GT40

Same family owned for nearly 40 years

The only GT40 road car delivered new with air conditioning, leather trim, luggage boxes, undersealed chassis and painted with a special finish

11,000 original miles

289 CI V-8 engine

5-speed manual transmission

Among the most significant of the road going GT40s

Comprehensive four year restoration finished in 2016

Correct NOS parts

Documented by GT40 historian Ronnie Spain

Built at the Ford Advanced Vehicles factory in Slough, Buckinghamshire, England, P/1028 was the first road car delivered to North America. When P/1028 landed at the Ford Division headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, it was briefly used as a test and evaluation car on Ford’s test track. Shortly after, it served as Ford North America’s official Promotional GT40.

In many ways, these early road cars were production racing coupes slightly converted for the street, but they still carried many of their competition features, including only driver-side seat support, two fuel pressure gauges, battery-mount brackets in passenger foot well, lighter fiberglass, etc. At the same time, they developed P/1028 to be as comfortable and luxurious as possible to show the U.S. market, and it is the only GT40 outfitted this way. Fully optioned and fitted with leather upholstery and trim, padded dash, air conditioning, centered rearview mirror, heated windscreen and luggage boxes. In addition, the build sheet noted “undersealed chassis” and a “High Performance” 289 with a single Holley 4-barrel carburetor and Sunbeam Tiger air cleaner and rated at a healthy 335 HP. Using the same ZF 5-speed gearbox as the race GT40s, the road cars employed special exhaust silencers, softer brake pads and shock absorbers that were 25-percent softer than the race units. Making these road cars much more suitable for the street, still, the road coupes were capable of astounding performance, very similar to the production racing coupes.

Before P/1028 left Ford to go on its promotional tour, a series of photos were taken at Ford’s styling studio dated 3/9/1966 showing just more than 1,000 miles on the odometer. The first stop on the promotional tour was to the 1966 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida. It was paraded around the event all weekend and was parked in the pit lane prior to the race, for spectators to get a closer look. After Sebring, the GT40 traveled through the United States to dealerships, car shows and exhibits. In the July edition of “Playboy” magazine, P/1028 appeared in a four-page spread discussing the car. Its next magazine appearance was in “Mechanix Illustrated,” September 1966, where Tom McCahill tested the GT40 at Ford’s test track in Dearborn.

After six months of traveling around the United States, P/1028 was sent to Comstock Racing in Toronto, Canada to continue its promotional outings in Canada. Comstock Racing was Canada’s most successful racing team and had a great relationship with Ford and Shelby. On one occasion, Ken Miles was loaned to Comstock to race the group’s 289 Cobra at Mosport. P/1028 followed around Comstock’s Racing Coupe P/1037, and the rest of the Comstock racing team for the remainder of the 1966 season, traveling to tracks like St. Jovite, Mosport, Westwood, Watkins Glen and more. There is film of Eppie Wietzes driving P/1028 around St. Jovite during the Can-Am weekend, where it was used as the pace car.

After the 1966 season ended in Canada, P/1028 was shipped to Kar-Kraft, painted blue and was used as a Ford VIP car for Ford Executive Fran Hernandez. Sometime in 1967, P/1028 was finally sold to its first owner David Tallaksen a former 12 Hours of Sebring class winner. By 1969, the GT40 made its way to Monterey Historics founder Steve Earle and was featured in “Sports Car Graphic” magazine. After spending time with another California owner, P/1028 was purchased by the Schroeder family of Burbank in 1975. During their stewardship, the car was relatively frequently shared with the public. It was repainted in the famous Blue-and-Orange Gulf livery for a Gulf television ad in 1981 and was then displayed at the Justice Brothers Racing Car Museum in Duarte, California. It was exhibited at the 2003 Monterey Historic Races marking Ford’s Centennial.

After nearly 40 years of ownership, P/1028 was sold and a complete ground-up restoration was started. After completely disassembling the car, everyone was happy to find an extremely original car, the way an approximate 11,000 original mile car with an undersealed chassis should be. The original metallichrome silver paint was found under the Gulf, and dark blue layers of paint, almost all of the hard-to-find original pieces that came off the car for the Gulf commercial came with the car in boxes, and as Ronnie Spain states, “it is impossible to get a cleaner bill of health than this as far as originality of a GT40 chassis is concerned.” With the help of Ronnie Spain, Mark Allen, Jay Cushman and Graham Endeacott, Legendary Motorcar was able to finish P/1028 to an extremely high level of detail, sourcing as many original parts, pieces and material as possible. Today, P/1028 looks the exact same way it rolled down to the pits in Sebring 50 years ago. Between the historical significance, originality and quality of restoration, P/1028 is certainly one of the most important road-going GT40s in existence, and it is publicly for sale for the first time in its life.

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