the garage

The Garage has a new home!

2006-03-27T13:15:00.000-08:00

www.thegarageblog.com

Is now live.
Please come over for a visit & change your bookmarks. I look forward to hearing your opinions on our new format.

Test video - Gumball 3000

2006-03-24T16:43:00.000-08:00

Only a couple more days!

2006-03-24T14:03:00.000-08:00

www.thegarageblog.com

Will be LIVE in a couple more days!

Love those vintage racers!

2006-03-24T06:33:00.000-08:00

I'm assuming this is a Carrera Panamerica vintage racer, but I just love old Mercedes road racers! I look forward to visiting Cars & Photos for stuff like this.

Volvo buys stake in Nissan

2006-03-23T12:33:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was speaking with some other local Nissan types about an article I had read online that said that Nissan was looking to get into the cargo van market, based on the Titan pick up. Now, Autoblog has reported that Volvo has purchased a portion of Nissan Diesel that sells diesel trucks in Asia, with an option to buy more later.
For years, business consumers have had to put up with poorly designed boxes that have terrible seating, because that's all that has been offered by the Big 3. Lately of course, the Dodge Sprinter has offered a bit of euro flavour as an alternative, but at a serious price premium. If this Nissan & Volvo combo actually comes to North American, at a competitive price, they might actually kick some serious butt in the cargo van market.

The Friday Fuckwit

2006-03-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I don't drop the F bomb very often in The Garage (well, at least the online version) but this post title from Dadcentric made me pee myself! I have a new word to use tomorrow. You have to love british lingo. Oh yeah...and the moron riding the bike is pretty impressive too.

Fuckwit indeed!

Audi TT or tank?

2006-03-21T15:42:00.000-08:00

Watch this ABC video story about a US Audi dealer who lived through a horrific crash in his Audi TT. I bet he'll sell a ton of these after the public gets ahold of this. He should post photos of the wreckage in his showroom! A very lucky man indeed.

Don't drink & drive

2006-03-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

I just came across the newest release by Atom Films. It's a triple X, Pinks spoof featuring three knobs, including a Fabio wannabe named Triple Deezle, who are racing for Pinks. This is funny, just don't make the mistake I did of inviting the kids in to watch. Now I have try figure out a way to stop the 7 year old from dropping the F bomb every 3 minutes before Mom comes home!

New address coming up!

2006-03-20T13:47:00.000-08:00

I've gone and registered www.thegarageblog.com and will be moving The Garage over to that very soon. In fact, the address may target the blogger site over the next day or so. Over the next week or so, the first The Garage v2.0 will go live on a wordpress site once we decide upon a look & feel.

2006 Stars Season Opener in the books

2006-03-19T22:30:00.003-08:00

Well, the first race of the season for me is in the books. In some ways, actually a lot of ways, I'm glad it is. It rained the entire weekend and our teams luck was somewhere in Kansas. If anyone finds it please forward it to the next race! There were some exciting races, however, for the J3 Competition race team the weekend couldn't come to a close any faster. The team could only muster a few top 15's and when your used to winning - mediocrity is not acceptable. The event with all the rain still stayed on schedule, and I have to give them credit for a job well done.
Some notables, Canadian Eric Gerrits finished on the podium with a third place place in the Spec racer class and Britain's Alexander Simms was a treat to watch in the rain. Next on the docket will be Arizona, should be dry I hope. Anyone who wants to see top notch racing should make a point of trying to come out and watch one of these events - it is quite a show.

Site review: VAST

2006-03-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

What is VAST? It is a brand new free search service that extracts classified ads from across the web and displays them in an easy to manage format. So, what does this mean for readers of The Garage? Well, their current tagline is "tracking over 4.8 million cars for sale across 13554 sites". That is a lot of cars for sale. I did a pretty generic search "race car" and it brought back over 15,000 cars for sale. Of course the bulk of them were British Racing Green, but it's still relevant. I entered "sprite" as a keyword and got 218 listings, many of those were sprites or midgets.

I thought this was worth sharing, and we make integrate it into the next version of The Garage, which is going to launch soon.

A little bit of everything

2006-03-17T21:34:00.000-08:00

What an event! Some of the biggest names and Teams are here and everyone is trying to show their dominance early. In the Shifter and ICA classes, there were a lot chance takers early on. A few pooched engines and your fair share of spins were on the docket for the day. I noticed quite the aggressive driving which really doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but it makes for entertaining practice sessions.
The J3 Competition.com team had it's ups and downs for the day. A few spins, and even a bent frame were just the norm it seemed. My driver, Victor Cabrera, showed brilliant speed during practice and sits comfortably in the top dozen drivers; but as the day came to a close - so did the nice weather. Last rounds of practice were held in the rain which created some mild chaos as everyone again tried to show who was king. Rain seems to be the weather of choice for the weekend, and with over 50 entries in most classes, setup and qualifying are going to be at a premium. Canadians to watch for, as far as I could tell, come from the province of Quebec. Tomorrow should prove to be both entertaining and interesting to say the least, so hold on boys and girls - this one is going to be a wild one!

Blog Review - Cars & Photos

2006-03-17T06:34:00.000-08:00

I just came across a brand new blogger blog called Cars & Photos. It's a pretty simple concept, a place for photogs to post some great car pics. There are some really nice shots. The above pic is of Henning Solberg at the 2006 WRC Mexico, taken by Warwick Patterson of Formula Photo.
Great job guys!

Ford Rallye Academy

2006-03-16T10:46:00.000-08:00

Now this is cool. The Ford Rallye Academy at Silverstone is using this little machine to train students from 10 to 17 years old the ins & outs of rally driving. Lest you think that it is some slug buggy, this RWD beasty is a perfectly balanced car that is powered by a 1,300 cc four cylinder. Thanks to Joe over at My ford dreams for turning me on to this one. If we had this here, maybe my kids would be driving these instead of karts!

Suzuki to join WRC ranks in 2007

2006-03-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

Suzuki has been involved in the junior ranks for rally for years, but have never made it to the top level. At the Geneva Auto show, Suzuki unveiled the SX4 WRC which looks to be their platform for the upcoming 2008 season. Power comes from a turbo charged, 2.0 l 4 cylinder mated to a 5 speed sequential gearbox that will put power through a new all wheel drive unit that uses conventional differentials from and rear and an electronic central transfer gear.

I must admit that I haven't really followed the rally scene much over the last couple of years. Here in Ontario, the WRC is televised late on a Sunday night & I find that I never get around to watching it if I tape it. Now it looks like I'm going to have to start watching. Back in my competitive days, I rallied a Suzuki, so this bit of news has me feeling all warm and fuzzy.

New Blog Launch

2006-03-15T09:26:00.000-08:00

Blair Valley Media is happy to announce the launch of our new toy blog, The Jumping Bunny. This is our first blog that is outside the realm of blogger, so it has been an exciting learning experience.

The Jumping Bunny is a essentially a toy review blog, but at times we may talk about all sorts of kid stuff. We hope you will come and visit soon.

Bloggers wanted

2006-03-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

With some of the work I'm doing with some of the other Blogs we are building around here, I've been spreading myself a little bit thin. With the launch of our new toy blog, we are now up to 5 blogs and one retail web site, along with our full time jobs, so we've decided to start looking for a few contributors.

So, if you like the feel of The Garage and think you might like to add some of your thoughts, contact me by comment & I'd be happy to talk.

Maybe it's time for an opinion on CHEATING

2006-03-14T16:33:00.000-08:00

Well now. I may be a bit younger than some of my readers, but my life long involvement in racing goes back to my toddler years in the late sixties. In 1969, my old man raced what may have been the fastest A sedan race car in Canada. An outrageous red, white & blue AMX. Now recently, some 36 years later, I have found out that the car was so unbelievably illegal that I thought that maybe the memories were becoming cloudy. The car was chopped & channeled in the interest of saving weight. There was a panic in the paddock on the first weekend when a TR3 parked next to the car with it's top up was the same height as the AMX. The car was that low.

Now how does that apply to me, the straight laced, would never knowingly break a rule guy? Simple. The old man was the first ever sports car racing champion in Ontario. Win at all costs. I've been crew for a few championships, but they were a result of hard work & solid driving. The old man was the real deal. Spare no expense, make the car fast. His cars would either win, or blow up trying.

So what's my point? Well, the current powers that be in at least one major series (ie; NASCAR) seem to have forgotten their roots. What about Smokey Yunick? What about all those bootleg moonshine runners? Even big old Roger Penske had some light weight Camaro's running around. Something about a vinyl top because the roof was so thin it dented too easily. Now I'm not saying that anyone should be condoning "cheating", but a big part of winning has always been creative interpretation of "the rules".

It has happened at all levels of the sport and will continue to happen at all levels of the sport, as long as we continue to race. Every team will always look for an edge over their competitors. Will The Garage Guy racing team ever resort to ebnding the rules? Not likely, because we don't have the budget for it. Will we get mad at the teams who can afford to? Nope. They are doing what comes naturally. Long live the hunt for that extra edge!

Cars: The Movie

2006-03-14T16:24:00.000-08:00

Call me kiddo, but I may be more excited about the release of Cars than anyone. My kids dying to see it & it may be the only movie I'll ever be sure to see on opening day. The site has recently been updated with more stuff & from the looks of the "coming soon" links, there is more cool stuff to be heard. Right now, you can watch 3 different trailers & download a couple of cool screen savers. If you've got decent speakers at your desk, turn them up because the site sounds great, from the music to the snortin' V8 exhaust.

Spec Solstice?

2006-03-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know this is really old news but I just found it & I think it's cool. Pontiac built the Weekend Club Racer concept for SEMA this past fall. At this point, it looks like it's all cosmetic, but the removable hard top is really sharp looking. Could we see a Spec Solstice series running back to back with Spec Miata soon? I bet we will.

1967 US Grand Prix Ticket

2006-03-12T09:12:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if I've got anything else to go with this one, it just fell out of a Can Am program I was scanning. I thought it was pretty cool though. I was 4 months old then & I think this little bit of card stock is in considerably better shape than I am!

Formula One is back!

2006-03-12T05:35:00.000-08:00

With a 6 am start here in Ontario, I wasn't even sure I wanted to get up that early to watch. The last few seasons have left me feeling pretty cold towards the F1 circus, with no passing and very few glimmers of real brightness. Alonso's win of the World Championship last year was great, if only because someone had beaten Michael, but otherwise the season didn't do much for me. I haven't really paid any attention to the preseason this year, as I just wasn't interested. Imagine my delight this morning, to be treated to real wheel to wheel racing all through the pack, not to mention lead changes. To me, the top two finishers are no real surprise, but there was some real excitement further back. Here are some observations:

Drive of the day:
Has to go to Kimi Raikonnen for starting last and finishing in 3rd place. I kow they had a rough day in qualifying due to a suspension failure, but Kimi...do you think you could smile a bit?

Scott Speed:
Had a good solid first race that he should be proud of. Kudos to the Speed TV boys and girls for not focusing on the American boy all through the race, but you could have at least spent a little more time on him. Remember, he may hold the newest key to getting some American viewers.

Rookie star of the race:
Has to go to Nico Rosberg. Talk about wunderkind, this guy has all of his old man's talent and maybe more. The youngest driver to ever set a fastest race lap, not to mention on the short list of drivers to score World Championship points in their first race. I'll make a prediction: Nico will be World Champion before he turns 25!

Hotseat Award:
Goes to Jacques Villenueve for hopping out of his burning BMW and watching while waiting for the fire crews to finally show up.

Best nickname:
Comes from Bob Varsha (I think) when talking about Renault boss Flavious Brontosaurus.

Quote of the race:
"He's definately got some serious attachments" from David Hobbs, describing Nico Rosberg's battle with David Coulthard in the late stages of the race.

Who cares award:
As always, goes to big brother Michael, who finished 2nd. So what!?

The biggest story....
Racing is back in Formula One. There was not only some real passing, but some serious wheel to wheel action, couple with some bright young stars who might bring added excitement to the season. I actually can't wait for Malaysia next week.

Scott Speed Fan Club

2006-03-10T05:46:00.000-08:00

Scott Speed. The next great American hope for Formula One. The boy has had some great background and training and I wish him the best. The only thing is that being a childish guy, I just can't get past his name! Scott Speed. He sounds like a character from Speed Racer. I checked his website this morning & you have to check out the glam shots in his gallery. He could have starred in Zoolander.

Thanks to motorsport live for the almost normal pic above.

Pucker Factor

2006-03-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

PUCKER FACTOR: the direct effect caused when the severity of one’s actions exceed the limits of rational thought.

The incident had a pucker factor of 10. The moment the laws of physics threatened to punish me for testing the boundaries, my nether regions clamped up tight as a vise.

I have joined the Southern Ontario Xterra Club for their 2nd Annual Adventure Weekend. 3 days of trail riding, biking, swimming and loads of great food while camping on crown land directly beside lovely Cooper’s Falls. Located on the border between the Muskoka & Kawartha regions, the Cooper’s Falls area is the entry point to a network of trails that lead across the rugged Canadian Shield. It has been a hot, dry summer so the trails are dry & dusty with the occasional puddle of mud caused where small rivers once crossed the road. For the most part, the trails are pretty tame, with only the occasion bump from a rock touching the bottom of the truck. There are some sections however that require the assistance of spotters to guide the drivers over large chunks of rock that look poised to break any vehicle that dares try to pass. It was on one of these sections where I became verklempt.

I was driving a 2003 Nissan Frontier, the pick up truck brother of the Xterra. The truck is more that a foot longer than the Xterra, which actually helps it when climbing these steep steps of rock. But the problem with the extra length is that the back end sticks out farther and tends to get caught up when coming back down these same hazards. And so it was that when I approached a whale sized rock with a nearly vertical drop off, that I decided to take the easier path down. I chickened out & took the simple route. Of course the simple route involved sweeping wide to the right to avoid a large rock on the left, while traveling so slowly the speedometer does not even move. I had watched an Xterra take this route and it was a piece of cake. Where life became difficult was when the longer truck took up more space on the hill and suddenly the road fell away from below the left front wheel. The truck dropped so fast that I thought for sure it would roll over, until a quick thinking Xterra owner jumped on the back bumper. The drop stopped and the truck teetered on the edge while balanced on 2 wheels. When it became clear that we had some stability, I crept forward until a third wheel touched the ground, and then the fourth.

The rest of the ride was smooth sailing and was rewarded with a cold swim beneath Cooper’s falls, a cold beer, a great meal and good times with some new friends. Next time maybe a shorter vehicle will help prevent another dose of Pucker.

This article originally posted on an old site I owned which has been retired.

Dontcha think 'aammm sexxxy!

2006-03-07T17:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks once again to the folks at Autoblog for turning me on (literally) to this. Apparently the Alfa 8C Competizione will be built, as a 500 unit halo vehicle at the expense of their advertising budget. It is thought that this beast will be powered by a version of the current Ferrari/Maserati 440 hp V8.

One question though. Wouldn't the name indicate a competition car of sorts? What series would it be eligible for?

I want to see this car!

Should we have politically correct racing?

2006-03-07T16:14:00.000-08:00

Hemingway wrote "There are only three sports, bullfighting, motor racing and mountain climbing. The others are all childs games palyed by adults" or something like that.

Adrenaline. The chemical that fuels any competitor to reach new heights of performance. Well, at least most kinds...I can't see steroids helping a racer. Adrenaline takes athletes to new levels, it is sometimes said that it elevates them to a new level of consciousness. In the zone.

BAM!!

Some moron crashes into you and ends your day! You flip him the bird, maybe you swear to yourself in the car. Maybe you are yelling at him from inside the car. A natural response, especially for someone who is high on adrenaline. Except....

The governing body wants to portray a squeeky clean image. Our driver's can't be flipping someone off in the heat of battle, that might offend someone. Television lives inside your helmet, so you can't vent to yourself. Since when can "the man" govern what you say out loud to yourself inside a race car. They say it is a professionalism issue. I'm pretty sure that professionalism & presentability goes out the window at 200 mph when someone crashes into the back of you. At least you should be allowed an "Oh Shit", that's what the TV networks have the 5 second delay for. Or maybe, just maybe the powers that be can stop pandering to the bible belt freaks that are so prevalent in the states that they might realize that kids can learn when certain things are appropriate in adult life. Spinning down a racetrack out of control is certainly an appropriate time to utter a swear word or two.

In this age of reality TV, why can't we show professional atheletes behaving the way they really do? Let's face it, racing can be a bit of a dirty business, let the public see the real side.

I'm pretty sure that my 12 year old utters an Oh Shit or two while she's racing, we just haven't invaded her helmet with microphones. Yet.

You just wait to hear my opinion on cheating!

Driver's Duking it out!

2006-03-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

So there i was on Sunday evening, sitting down to dinner & switched on the day's news on Speed TV and what do I see? Two sports car racers beating the bejesus out of each other. Not just a little shoving match, but all out fisticuffs, finishing up with one down on the ground under the other being pummelled! I had just returned from taking the boys to an OHL hockey game, where the highlight was the 3 times the gloves came off. These boys were big and moved fast. Fists met faces with lightning speed and the 3 boys with us couldn't get enough. Let's face it, fights are big news, never mind the fact that they are a majorly juvenile activity. My buddy & I were on our feet cheering as loudly as the kids were. It's just not something you normally see at a road course.

Road racers have always been the "gentlemen" of the sport who leave the physical punishment to those short track roundy round types they show on local cable. From what they show on those low budget, poorly produced shows you would think that to go fast & turn left, you need a good right jab. Let's face it though, history has shown us that even the big boys lose their temper sometimes. Has anyone forgotten AJ?

Do fights belong in car racing? Well, I don't ever plan on beating up a competitor, but I'm not about to turn off the TV when they show a couple of guys losing control in the heat of the moment. Should these guys be penalized? Well...that's a more difficult question. If the organizers are determined to have a squeeky clean image for the sport, then sure. But the reality is that road racing needs all the help it can get in the publicity end of things. Maybe they should offer a publicity bonus to these guys & then paint a target on the back of their car for the next round. I bet ratings would improve, not to mention that AJ might approve.

Book review: Formula 1 Fanatic

2006-03-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

Koen Vergeer is a motorsports writer & poet who was born in the Netherlands in 1962. Just a few years older than me, his viewpoint on Formula 1 is relevant to my own. Formula 1 Fanatic is his explanation of what made him become an F1 fan & perhaps what has kept the fans coming back over the years.
The book begins with an attempt to describe the Dutch perspective of F1, but for me it really starts part way through the first chapter. At this point, Vergeer describes his first visit to Zandvoort. The sights, sounds and smells leading up to the start of the race. Witnessing his first crash and the death of a driver. It made me think of my early childhood. Sitting in a Shadow CanAm car, meeting Jacky Ickx, seeing my mom in giant bell bottoms & a floppy Coke hat. Seeing my father rush off to help the marshalls in a failed attempt to save a dying driver.

What follows is a wonderfully written history of Formula 1. Vergeer's research has yeilded tale upon tale, with many candid quotes from driver's and owners alike. Perhaps he lavishes too much attention to Michael for my liking, but then again, perhaps his analysis of the elder Schumachers' impact on the sport is spot on.

Formula 1 Fanatic was a great read, one that I heartily recommend to any Formula 1 fan. For the old guys who want to relive some memories & the young guys who really should understand what it is they are getting all excited about.

10W30 Dark Ale!

2006-03-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

I was originally going to post this over at Foodies, but then I figured... What better place to review a beer called 10W30 but in The Garage.
The Neustadt Springs Brewery in Western Ontario has a history dating back to 1859 and they brew all natural, preservative free traditional style beers. 10w30 is a old world style Brown Ale that tastes malty and smooth, with none of the bitterness that many mainstream drinkers expect from a dark beer. I'm pleased that the beer is as enjoyable as the packaging is cool. I think we may have to make a road trip later this spring & go for the tour of the old building, not to mention sample some of their other offerings.
It's available at select LCBO stores for $11.50

1962 Canadian Grand Prix

2006-03-04T04:33:00.000-08:00

The Canadian Grand Prix for the Pepsi-Cola Trophy for sports racing cars was held at Mosport on September 22, 1962. The race was won by Masten Gregory, driving a Lotus 19.

SMART donuts!

2006-03-03T09:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Jalopnik for turning me on to this one. A pair of SMART cars, powered by GSXR engines doing smoke donuts that would make Tony Stewart proud. Be sure to turn the sound up!

BouRan to the Stars

2006-03-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

BouRan Data Services own Petri Ranta has finalized a deal with the J3Competition.com race team based out of Erie, PA. To be a tuner for an up and coming Junior driver. The deal, finalized late last night, consists of BRDS owner Petri Ranta Tuning for Puerto Rican Victor Cabrera for the entire IRL/Snap on Tools sponsored Stars of Karting Series. All eight races, spanning from North Carolina to California, will be hotly contested by the best that karting has to offer. J3Competition team principal Justin Stefani, along with partners Jim and John Giacomelli, had an excellent 2005 season and are looking to build on the momentum from last year and hope that the team of Cabrera - Ranta will bring home the JICA championship from one of the crown Jewels of racing. The first leg of the series is in Norman, Oklahoma; on the weekend of March the 17 -19. Watch for updates as Petri will try to give daily reports to the garage during the race weekend.

BMW Z4M Motor Racing Kit

2006-03-02T07:23:00.000-08:00

The folks over at BMW Heaven have a post about the new BMW Z4M customer racing car. This is the first ever 2 seater racing car that BMW has built for customers. The car is destined for the German Endurance series and Nurburgring 24 hour race. Powered by a 400 hp 3.2l straight six, mated to a 6 speed sequential gear box, this thing should fly!
I want one! Anybody have a spare 250,000 euros lying around?

My take on car magazines

2006-03-01T06:21:00.000-08:00

It's fairly obvious that I have amassed quite the collection of car magazines over the years. I've even got many years of the big guys that I've kept from my youth. But somewhere along the way, the big guys got too big. Road and Track, Car & Driver are just too big, too corporate for my liking. I stopped buying CD at least a decade ago & stopped picking up R/T monthly a few years ago, because the only thing I was reading was Peter Egan's "Side Glances". Now, the only time I buy R/T is when I see that there are a couple of Egan articles along with his column. Otherwise, I just read his bit online. The March issue of R/T caught my eye because I love shape of the new Camaro concept & I wanted to read the Ferrari tour article.

Right now, the only mag I read religiously is Grassroots Motorsports. It really is what it's name says. A car mag written, published, owned by car guys who get all geeky over playing with a new toy, and they really do play. The staff schedules posted on their site show some sort of racing event every weekend. If they're not racing, they're dragging a trailer somewhere to pick up a new project car. When was the last time Yates & David E. went on a mission to pick up a beater?

R & T Ferrari trip through China

2006-03-01T06:10:00.000-08:00

The latest issue of Road and Track has a great article by Patrick Hong, tracing his route along the Ferrari China Tour. The photos by John Lamm are stunning and remind me of the old Mexican Road Race shots of Ferraris from the fifties. In the issue, they hint to more pics on the web site, but i think the kept the best for the print version. On the site, there are several pages where Hong recounts their whole trip. It sounds like it must have been the trip of a lifetime. I just love the classic lines of the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti & I think it looks even meaner with the taller, rally style springs.

Will Ghosn leave Nissan?

2006-02-27T10:20:00.000-08:00

It seems there are rumours floating around that Carlos Ghosn has been approached by GM & Ford to help save their sinking fortunes. Of course it makes sense. The man has singlehandedly turned Nissan around and now is positioned to do the same with parent company Renault. My own take on this? It's like a successful coach who receives a richer offer. GM and Ford both have their livelihood at stake and will probably offer some astronomical sum to gain his services. I bet he'll take one of them on.

Great quotes from racing

2006-02-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

"When I raced a car last it was at a time when sex was safe and racing was dangerous. Now, it's the other way round."

Hans Stuck

1961 US Grand Prix - Watkins Glen

2006-02-25T11:52:00.000-08:00

Here is yet another cool bit from the '61 US GP at The Glen. This is the program for the first of 2 weekends which was for sports cars. Believe it or not, the entry list had 302 cars. The first driver on the list, was Mark Donohue in car #0 an Elva Courier.

Lotus Europa S

2006-02-24T09:14:00.000-08:00

Those guys overAutoblog keep blowing me away with cool info! I seem to have a bit of a one track mind lately, but I'm becoming obsessed with all the new toys from Lotus. Some folks seem to think the car looks a bit cobbled together, but the shape works for me. At 2189 pounds, with 200 hp the car's performance should be pretty close to it's Elise sibling. With a planned production run of only 500, it seems that the Europa isn't destined for our shores. Pity!

New contributor welcome

2006-02-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to introduce our first contributor (other than me that is!) to The Garage. Petri Ranta is a lifelong friend with a motorsports career spanning 27 years. Not bad for a guy who's only 33! With 3 Canadian Grand National karting championships under his belt, this guy knows a thing or two about chassis setup, not to mention he's one hell of a driver. More recently, Petri has been using his talents in forming Bouran Data Services, a data aquisition company that combines years of experience with the most current technology to help racers find that extra edge. While the daily grind sees Petri battling it out on the technology side on the 407 toll highway in Ontario, his weekends are far more exciting. From local Kart tracks to the Grand Am cup, he covers lots of ground. If you look closely, you may even find his laptop hooked up to some guy named Tony's Busch series car a few weekends this summer.

Petri's posts in The Garage may cover highway news & stories, and I'm sure we may get to hear some first hand racing stories from tracks all over North America!

Welcome aboard Brother!!!

New blog review

2006-02-23T05:53:00.000-08:00

I've just come across gear6 which is a nice clean looking blog set up by Casey. I like his shifter logo & title font. gear6 has a few neat items that i haven't noticed on other blogs.

Time for a challenge...

2006-02-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

I'm sure this should challenge all of you. Who is that holding the checkered flag?
I would hope that the driver is a no brainer for most of you! Any thoughts dorri?

Carbon fibre electric supercar

2006-02-21T11:05:00.000-08:00

I normally don't pay too much attention to ultra high end, independantly built cars. They have always seemed like expensive, impractical backyard built sports racers that don't hole their value. But I was reading Jalopnik this morning and came across the Mullen GT. It's not a car I'd ever even heard of, but it seems like they may have acheived the impossible. They've made an electric car that has performance equal to it's fossil fueled brother. Now that is exciting news. With 0-60 times in the 3 second range and a top speed of 180 mph, this is finally a beast that is also sorta socially acceptable. Could we see an electric car chasing the Audi diesels at Lemans soon? Could the famed 24 hour race become a legitimate showcase for alternative fueled vehicles? Let's hope so!

Tire positioning - A change in philosophy

2006-02-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

For as long as I can remember, conventional wisdom has had the car industry making sure the best 2 tires are on the front of any vehicle that is in for service. This weekend, I had to think twice about my beliefs after reading a column by John Mahler in The Star's Wheels section.

The belief has always been that most driver's are safer with the best tires on the front, as that ensures that they will have the most control of their steering. Mahler however points out that there is more to the equation than front end grip. He reminds us that todays vehicles are designed to keep their occupants safe in a straight, frontal collision. Also, when a vehicle is braking hard, weight is transferred away from the rear tires, which lessens grip. This combination creates a vehicle which is more likely to spin in an emergency situation. Given that most vehicles are designed to hit things straight on, not sideways or backwards, it makes sense that you don't want a vehicle that spins too easily. Having more traction in the rear will create an understeer (pushing) condition, which in effect ensures that an out of control vehicle is more likely to hit it's target straight on.

Years of advice thrown right out the window! It just shows that no matter how long you work in your chosen industry, you can still learn something. Thanks John.

Random thoughts on VIP night

2006-02-17T05:44:00.000-08:00

So VIP night at the Canadian International Autoshow has come and gone. First off, I think I was probably the only service type in the whole Rogers Center, surrounded by suited sales & industry guys. Overall, it was a bit of a let down really. I did make a few observations though:

Import booths vs. Domestic booths
The import booths were generally pretty mellow, with the Volvo & VW booths being very staid as one would expect. The Chrysler booth on the other hand was full of loud, obnoxious salesmen & drunk women falling out of their dresses. Not that there is anything wrong with spilling out of your dress, but it was a very different view over there!

Kia Booth
Was more or less empty all night. Either someone forgot to invite their dealer body, or Kia dealers can't afford the $160 complimentary(!!!) passes.

Lotus Elise
I must be beginning to sound like a broken record on this one, but I LOVE this car! Last night was the first time I've laid eyes on the car in person and I just couldn't take my eyes off the British Racing Green model with the hard top. It has been many, many years since I've been at a show and just stood and stared at one car. The guy in the booth told me that they are working on getting the Exige certified for Canada also.

Nissan Booth
While the current show booth is getting a little long in the tooth, Nissan had 2 of the upcoming cars that are showing the way that Nissan is hoping to go. The upcoming Versa hatchback is a stunning little car. A lot has been said about the interior space and it is indeed impressive, but what struck me was the level of trim applied to the dash. The dash & door panels look like they've shrunken a Maxima and I think that is good thing. The 2007 Sentra looks great also, finally they seem to have a grasp on style for this small car.

Dealers wives
I don't think I've ever seen so much plastic surgery & silicone in one place. Usually that might be considered a good thing, but when it applies to 55 year old women who've spent too much time in the sun.... well, you get the picture!

2006 Porsche Cayenne

2006-02-15T14:32:00.000-08:00

When the chance came yesterday afternoon to tool around in a new 06 Porsche Cayenne, I obviously jumped at it. I've like the shape since the Cayenne was introduced, so I figured it would be fun to take for a boot. I've gotta say that I came away unbelievably disappointed.

The truck I drove was a base model with "only" 250 hp, but I was blown away by how SLOW this this is. That's not to say that it isn't a nice ride, but my 06 Xterra would kick it's butt off the line! To get the truck to really move, one must put the pedal through the floor boards and then the engine sounds great until you realize that you are barely moving for all the racket. It sounds like a sports car, but sure doesn't drive like one. I'm sure the turbo version is quicker, I've been promised a drive in one so I'll let you know.

The interior left me with mixed feelings. The fit & finish, along with the quality of materials certainly makes for a pleasant environment. I especially liked the textured, leather look dash & door panels. They almost looked like they were clad in Roots Leather. The radio controls on the dash are tiny. The oddest thing is that the radio controls on the steering wheel are located so that you can't reach them when holding the wheel at 9 & 3. The truck also managed to make me feel a bit silly, because i couldn't figure out how to start it! It seems that one must insert the key, turn it and hold it until the ecm sends a start signal. Only then will the starter engage. Dumb.

Did I mention that this thing is SLOW! Maybe it's just me, but in my eyes any vehicle with a price tag of 60 grand and the Porsche name badge on it should be quicker that a workhorse Xterra. I nicked the picture above from the Porsche site as I found it a bit funny. Will any owner ever off road a Cayenne? I don't think so.

Yipee...I'm going to VIP night!

2006-02-14T04:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, so call me a geek, but I'm all excited. After 18 years in the car industry, I'm finally going to VIP night for the Canadian International Autoshow. I know it may sound lame to some of you in the industry, but us lowly Service types are rarely invited. I think it has something to do with the stratospheric ticket prices.

For those of you who have never been up to Toronto for the show, I'll give you a bit of perspective. The big show in Detroit has 700,000 square feet as compared to over 850,000 for the Toronto show. It's a BIG show. That said, last year I went once the show opened on a snowy weekday, by myself and did the whole show in just over 3 hours! That isn't an indication of the size of the show, rather the fact that I've been to so many car shows over the years that I don't get IN every car on the floor. I actually didn't get in a single car last year, but I think my rotundness looked cool on a custom Harley bomber!

Canada wins A1 GP race in Indonesia

2006-02-13T09:45:00.000-08:00

The actions of the sporting media in Canada just boggle my mind sometimes.

Yesterday, 20 year old Sean McIntosh from CoquitlamBC won the Indonesian round of the A1 Grand Prix nations cup series. But he didn't just win, he stormed through the field from last place to take the top podium spot.

Meanwhile, in Turin Italy Team Canada only managed to score a bronze medal in speed skating.

What images are all over todays papers? Of course it's all about the Olympics! Can somebody please explain to my why it is that motorsports always seems to take a back seat in this country? I just don't get it!

To Sean McIntosh and the rest of the team - Congratulations on a job very well done!
To the folks at pitpass.com , thanks for making me aware of this!

1961 US Grand Prix promo flyer

2006-02-11T06:43:00.000-08:00

Almost as cool as the Lemans stuff is this promo flyer for the 1961 US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Notice that they ran 2 weekends, one for the sports cars and one for the Formula 1.

Eventual winner Innes Ireland in a Lotus-Climax. This shot is actually from Zandvoort in 1960.

The back of the flyer, including a map of The Glen & the town.

2007 Nissan Quest to receive interior work

2006-02-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

Having realized that the current Quest interior is a bit too wierd for the masses, Nissan brass have decided that a major mid-model revamp was required if they hope to sell any of these capable minivans. Up here in Canada, we haven't been given too much insight into the changes, other than the fact that the instrument cluster would move back to the conventional place in front of the driver. Another important change is the third row seat headrests will now fold down into the seats. This is a great improvement over the current model which the big headrests store in a large hanging bag when the seats are folded down.

Nissan hopes these changes will draw people over from the Honda & Toyota showrooms.

Audi A1?

2006-02-10T09:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Left Lane News for this one. There have been rumours floating around that Audi may build a mini-fighter called the A1. The car is actually a model, designed during for the Michelin Design Challenge.
Personally, I think it looks like a modern, squished Morris Minor. Just imagine a single make racing series for these things. The fans would go wild!

More Great quotes from racing!

2006-02-09T06:54:00.000-08:00

Today's quote comes from George Robson, winner of the 1946 Indy 500:

"All I had to do was keep turning left"

The neat thing about this one is that George was my grandfather's first cousin! Unfortunately, I've never met any of my relatives from that side of the family. I may have to look them up some day. I think they live somewhere in sunny California now.

The internet is nice, but....

2006-02-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

It's so exciting opening a magazine to see your work in print! The folks at a little Canadian magazine called The Driver asked if I would write some articles for their bi-monthly. I did and then never heard back from them, so i figured they had decided not to print me. Until yesterday that is, when the new issue appeared on my desk! It's a page and a half of "get ready for winter" stuff aimed at the general public and it actually came out nicely. Now if I can just get some money for it!

1964 European Grand Prix

2006-02-06T17:39:00.000-08:00

The Ranta Collection of automobilia includes the program for the 1964 European Grand Prix from Brands Hatch and a really cool promo book from Castrol. The program lists entries for the Grand Prix and support races, including Touring cars, Grand Touring cars and Sports Cars which are what we would call sports racers. There are cars from Cooper, Lotus, Repco, Crossle, Merlyn, Elva, Ferrari, Jaguar, A/C cobra, MG, Porsche and more.
The Castrol book includes a great history of Grand Prix, with lots of photos & a few cutaways, like the 1963 Cooper F1 shown above.

I want to go racing, how do i get involved?

2006-02-05T05:42:00.000-08:00

I can't count the number of times I've been asked this question. Sometimes it's someone who wants to go road racing or rallying, others want to get their kid started in karting. It's really a pretty easy question to answer. Just get out and visit some events! Regional club events are probably the best, as these are the regular guys off the street who are racing as a hobby. Pro weekends are when the teams are paid to win, not to socialize. While you are there, be sure to speak with some competitors. Racers love to talk about their car & are usually happy to share their love of the sport with anyone who is interested. The only thing to remember here is that you also want to be mindful of people's time. The guy who is covered in hot gear oil, or is pulling on his suit to get out on the track may not be the most approachable (who wants to chat in their underwear?)

Depending on where you live, finding an event may be a little tough, as many regular media outlets don't run listings for racing. Here, the internet is your friend. Check out the SCCA site for your local chapter in the United States and up here in Canada you can check out the CASC site for club & event listings. For rally in Canada check out Cars.

There are so many different styles of racing that it can be tough to choose. From oval racing to road course, from open road to performance rally, from autocross to navigational rallies, there really is something for everyone.

Over the coming weeks, I'll tell you about some of the ways you can get involved to see if racing really is for you before you start spending money.

The picture above is Sandy & I in the Tall Pines Rally back in 1995.

Just look at that droop!

2006-02-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

I saw part of a show on OLN last night on the 2005 Score Baja 1000. These trucks have always interested me, but a quote from a truck builder just blew me away.

"We build 'em with 33 inches of clearance and with enough travel that they can hit a 3 foot whoop at a hundred mile an hour without blowin' the truck apart"

Imagine hitting a 3 foot berm at 100 mph and actually making it!! Now that's engineering.

2007 Austin Healey????

2006-02-02T12:13:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Autoblog for getting my imagination going on this one! There are rumours floating around that this "Tempest" concept might acutally be the base for a 2007 Healey. The conspiracy theory types have pointed out that the car is just a photoshopped Solstice and the argument could be right. The back half certainly does resemble the Pontiac roadster. Either way, I think it looks great. Let's hope that it's not like the many other British retro rides that haven't been built.

From the Archives: Long term test 2003 Xterra

2006-02-02T04:26:00.000-08:00

Odd. Unusual. Different. Like a little Land Rover. These are some of the descriptions I heard people used when Nissan introduced its Xterra model in late 1999. Perhaps because my viewpoint on anything has never been anywhere close to mainstream, I really liked the shape. I still do like the shape, four model years later as the platform reaches the end of its life. My long range tester is a 2003 Xterra SE model with the optional supercharger. Due to it’s love it or leave it Orange color, it has become known as the Atomic Pumpkin around the Grant household.

Perhaps best known for its most popular colour, Solar Yellow, each year Nissan prepares a limited run of some bright, unusual colour. For 2003, they offered the truck in two of these limited shades. Early in the model year, we saw the bright orange truck arrive just in time for Halloween, and then later the next summer came green. And what a green it was! Officially named Camo, this could best be described at HULK Green. A comparison to the big green cartoon character may be a fitting one, as the Xterra has two distinct faces, one that many people may not expect. In many media comparisons, the Xterra is often tested along side of other small sport utility vehicles that really are sport – cutes. While Toyota’s RAV4 and Honda’s CRV may look rugged on the outside, underneath that skin hides the heart of a car. Under an Xterra however, it is all truck. Built on a full frame chassis, the Xterra follows traditional truck designs. This gives the vehicle a much different feel on the road, but also makes the vehicle more capable when carrying a load or venturing off the beaten path.

In showroom condition, the Xterra is a very capable off road vehicle. There really does seem to be a bit of that Land Rover DNA built in, because this thing climbs rocks like a Billy goat. Because of its’ truck construction, the Xterra has a tow rating of 5000 lb, which makes it a fairly serious tow vehicle for a stylish weekend warrior. As a result, the Xterra has developed a dedicated enthusiast following that is supported by an endless supply of aftermarket manufacturers. You can buy anything for an Xterra, from hard core suspension modifications to safari style roof racks to carry more cargo. These enthusiast groups embark on cross country trips all over North America, testing the limits of their vehicles and their own skills. The hard core types that Nissan uses in their ad campaigns for the Xterra really are the kind of people who drive these things. It’s not uncommon to see a heavily modified truck, covered in stickers, with bikes and kayaks on the roof heading for some adventure up north.

While the supercharged Xterra won’t break any records down the drag strip, it certainly has more guts than the base model. The non supercharged model has always felt inadequate when trying to merge onto the highway, so the extra power is most welcome.
All of this capability however, does not come without a price. In this case, that price goes up and down with the price of gas, but it’s never cheap! The Xterra’s gas tank holds about 70 liters, and in over 20,000 km my fuel usage has varied dramatically. In the extreme cold this winter, my worst tank was down around 280 km from a full tank! Now that the weather has warmed up, I think my best tank was a record 425, still horrendous when compared to a CRV or RAV4. Those vehicles don’t benefit from the extra power provided by the optional supercharger though.

The unusual body design is actually home to a world of functionality. With seating that is comfortable for a family of five, with the smallest one still in a booster seat, this became our vehicle of choice for family outings. The cargo area is large enough for all the stuff needed to take three kids away for a weekend at a resort. If we were camping however, we would need an aftermarket Safari basket to store more stuff on the roof. A friend who drives an Xterra discovered that, with the back seats down, an inflatable double bed fits just nicely in the back. It is certainly more comfortable for a couple than a tent when the rain starts coming down. There are three 12 volt outlets for charging cell phone, running air compressors or keeping that portable refrigerator powered up. In the back, there are what looks like steel coat hooks all around the ceiling. I found these to be very useful keeping the propane tank upright when rushing to the local station in the middle of a dinner party by stringing bungee cords between the tank and the hooks. Every car should have these. The stereo in the SE model has a six disc 300 watt Rockford Fosgate in dash player that is connected to eight speakers including a large sub woofer in the cargo area. The space taken up by the sub is a small sacrifice compared to having enough bass to embarrass your kids in front of your friends!

Other than its’ excessive thirst for Premium gas, I really can’t complain about the overall package. In just over 20,000 km the only problem has been a sticky speedometer needle. The power windows are a bit on the slow side, but this seems to be a common characteristic with the Xterra and its’ big brother the Pathfinder. Some owners complain about the lack of an intermittent setting for the rear wiper, but I haven’t found this to be a bother for me. One of the big selling features of the vehicle is the large storage basket on the roof above the front seats. I find it odd that the designers would include a sunroof that can only be used if the basket is removed. Also, due to the shape of the roof, the glass sunroof panel can only flip up to allow slight ventilation.

Overall, I found the Xterra SE-SC to be a fun, practical vehicle to drive. I just wish that you could drive a bit farther between fill ups. I think if I were to buy this truck, I would choose the better mileage of the non supercharged, 5 speed model. After all, it is a truck and not a sports car. For roughly $37,000 you get the quirks and practicality that comes with the Land Rover Discovery, with Japanese reliability for a third less money.

How do you teach common sense?

2006-02-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

Note to self: make sure new lot guys are properly trained!

I just came back from a road test to find our new lot guy had jacknifed our dumptster & ATV on the way down the ramp! It seems that he had attached the tow bar to the end of the dumpster with fixed wheels, not the end with casters. Talk about the cart passing the horse! The look on his face was priceless.

Great Quotes from Racing

2006-01-31T18:29:00.000-08:00

The ever popular Murray Walker:

Murray: "And look at the flames coming from the back of Berger's Mclaren"
James: "Actually Murray, they're not flames, it's the safety light"

If yer hungry....eat yer import!

2006-01-30T18:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Dorri made a post about the Ford truck plant in Dearborn making employees who drive off makes park across the street. I was intrigued to read the reply from a reader who is obviously a dyed in the wool Ford fan. As one who works in the retail side of the car industry, I just HAD to comment on this!
First of all, I grew up in a Chrysler household, so when i went to work in a dealership, it made sense that I should work in a Chrysler store. Guess what I discovered... their cars were poor excuses for automobiles and it felt so wrong taking peoples money for repairing this junk that I moved to a european import store. When my wife & I bought our first new car, we bought Japanese. My father was horrified. Over the next few years however, he saw how reliable the car was, even in the face of all the abuse I put it through. As consumers, we found that our money was better spent on an import (built in Ontario) than it was on a "domestic" car.

Now that I've spent many years in the industry, I've learned a few things about the way the car world works & I can make a few educated observations.

1 - criticise a "domestic" car and union workers all over freak out!
2 - when "domestic" content is counted, many "imports" have higher North American content than almost all "domestic" cars!
3 - having worked for European, Japanese & "domestic" makes, the "imports" are almost always vastly superior cars in the long run that hold their value much better.
4 - when Toyota, Honda, Nissan & Hyundai all design & build vehicles IN North America, what makes them less domestic than the crap that "domestic" manufacturers try to pass off on the public?

Number 5 may be the biggest one!

The quality of a car isn't determined by the guys & girls on the line, but rather by the ACCOUNTANTS who determine how much money the designers are allowed to spend on design and materials. The line workers build the best product they can, with the raw materials given to them by the accountants!

The type of cars driven by the employee has nothing to do with the quality of vehicle he builds, nor with the pride in which he builds it.

What can the "domestics" do to regain market share? They can LET their guys build cars with better materials, that will last longer and feel new for more than the first year!

1965 Lemans 24 hr program

2006-01-29T08:37:00.000-08:00

A year or so ago I was very lucky to receive a gift from a close family friend. Sarge Ranta has a long, interesting motorsports history that has included spectating at a good many of the events that make up our racing history. Along the way, he has collected programs, entry tickets and magazines and has kept them in immaculate condition. I've decided that The Garage would be a perfect place to share some of these wonderful treasures.

The program cover above is for the 1965 Lemans 24 hr race. Tucked away inside are an entry ticket, time comparison sheets & a colour track map. The entry list has all the legends of motorsport Miles, Bondurant, Surtees, Amon, Ginther, Gurney and cars from Shelby American, Ferrari, Porsche, Ford and more. Of course there is the winners Jochen Rindt & Masten Gregory with their Ferrari 275LM.

Over the next few months, I'll post more images. I have the program rom the 1964 British Grand Prix, a bunch of US & Canadian Grand Prix and come to think of it I've got some pretty cool programs of my own from the early eighties.

Lotus Elise is coming to Canada

2006-01-28T06:22:00.000-08:00

The folks at John Scotti Motors in Montreal have made it happen. They have done all the work needed to get the Lotus Elise legal for the Canadian market. This lightweight, mid engined sports car is powered by a 190 hp 1796 cc 4 cylinder made by Toyota, which should deliver uncharacteristic reliability from a British performance car. While 190 hp may not seem overwhelming in today's world, in this case it is more than enough to propel the 1984 lb Elise to 60 mph in only 4.7 seconds! Thanks to it's light weight, low center of gravity and near perfect balance offered by the mid engine placement, the Elise is said to handle like a formula car.

Now if i can just get my hands on one for an afternoon...

And God created.....

2006-01-27T05:06:00.000-08:00

HEATED STEERING WHEELS!

Now these things aren't new, but I've just always thought they were a bit gimmicky, so I've never actually turned them on. This morning, just for kicks I decided to give it a shot in the 2006 Nissan Maxima I'm driving this week. All I can say is....WOW! This feature should be required equipment on ALL cars. Why you ask? Well, it feels so nice & cozy that it forces you to actually keep both hands on the wheel at all times. Just imagine how much safer our roads would be if everyone kept their hands on the wheel where they belonged.

Honda kills the Honda Michelin Series

2006-01-25T10:23:00.000-08:00

The Toronto Star has reported that the Honda Michelin Series has been cancelled for 2006. Citing poor field sizes and poor economics. It seems they had expected fields of 30 plus cars and were disappointed when this did not happen.

Now normally, I'm a pretty positive person, especially when it comes to an exciting new racing series. In this case though, I've gotta say...give your head a shake! The racing community in Ontario had just come off a failed single marque series, with a large number of great little Nissan Sentras for sale. All these folks had just dropped a bunch of money to build & run these cars. Who exactly did they think was going to line up to buy another production race car and sit back & wait for the series to go away again?

Also, having watched a couple of track sessions, I came away feeling bored! Whatever happened to the field of screaming bees that made up the legendary Honda Michelin of the 80's & 90's? I know that Honda was afraid of feeding the street racer image, but let's face it. Race cars need to be heard to be cool!

It's a shame that the series wasn't put together at a better time, with a stronger commitment from Honda!

New award from AJAC

2006-01-24T16:47:00.000-08:00

Those crazy guys and girls at AJAC just can't leave things well enough alone. They just loved one car so much that they had to create a new category because it lost the sports car category due to price! Wimps!
The Most Coveted award goes to : 2006 Corvette Z06

Ok, so I haven't driven one. I'm sure it rocks, but....

Why can't these morons have the testicular fortitude to say "it cost to much for our points structure, so it loses!"

AJAC Car Of The Year Awards

2006-01-24T04:43:00.000-08:00

Each year the countryside east of Belleville Ontario is invaded by a bunch a journalists & a fleet of contenders for the annual car of the year awards. The vehicles are tested on the country roads and the racing surface at Shannonville. This years category winners are:

Best new economy car Honda Civic sedan
Best new family car(under $35,000) Hyundai Sonata GLS
Best new family car (over $35,000) Hyundai Azera
Best new luxury/prestige car BMW 5 Series Touring
Best new sports sedan BMW 3 Series
Best new sports car Honda Civic si coupe
Best new sport utility vehicle Mercedes-Benz M-class
Best new pick-up Honda Ridgeline
Best new multipurpose family vehicle Mazda 5
Best new modern muscle car Dodge Magnum SRT8

The overall Car of the year winner will be announced on February 16th at the opening of the 2006 Canadian International Autoshow

From the archives: The Red Head

2006-01-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

As a very young boy, I had the good fortune to have parents who spent a lot of time traveling Austria, scoping out new destinations for their ski travel business. I have fond memories of riding through the Tyrolean countryside in my father’s Ferrari Dino. I remember the distinctive pattern stitched into the leather, the signature polished open gate shifter and of course, the bright red paint. I remember traveling through small villages, where everyone would stop and stare at the sight of the little Italian sports car racing through the narrow streets. More that anything, I remember the sound. The magic music that only a Ferrari can make, reverberating off the mountains as we snaked along tight twisty roads. When the road became a tunnel, through the mountain, the sound was delightfully deafening. The kind of sound that burns into the memory of a small boy and remains vivid well into adulthood.

As exciting as a day in the real world of the car business may seem to some, it really can be a drag to one who makes it their daily grind. So when the offer came to sneak out and go shopping for a supercar, I jumped at the chance. My friend had recently sold his pristine 1989 Ferrari 328 and has been lusting after another Ferrari of the same era. Testa Rossa. The name means many things to many different people. To some it is an Italian vineyard. To others, the literal translation, Red Head, refers to a lovely lady. But to the car lover, it can only mean one thing. FERRARI. While not quite as curvaceous as the classic racing model from the Fifties, the chiselled Testa of the late eighties was the pinnacle of Ferrari’s road going cars of the era.

A short trip into Downtown Toronto, just beyond the shadow of Sky dome, we arrived at the rear entrance of a non-descript warehouse. Through the door was a temple to automotive excellence. The lobby of the garage was stark, with high ceilings and pale walls. It felt like some sort of industrial art gallery, just teasing the visitor with glimpses of the automotive treasures that lay beyond. There were Ferrari’s everywhere, from the early seventies right up to the current models. There was the newest Diablo, the Viper GTS, a couple of older Porsches and even a really cool Lambo truck that looked like a Hummer on steroids. Sitting side by side were a pair of Testa Rossas, both the traditional Ferrari red.

This was the first time I had really paid attention to one of these cars up close. I was here to inspect the car, to look for any obvious flaws that an excited car guy might overlook. What I found was a work of art that definitely had the most attention paid to the mechanical details and not the finished product. The car was shod with massive, modern eighteen inch alloy wheels, making the car look much tougher than the original sixteens. The interior was immaculate, but then who could see past that shift gate. Painstakingly polished aluminum staring up at me, what else matters? I begin to feel like I’m regressing. Upon closer inspection, I was astonished to find the fit and the fit and finish is horrible by today’s standards. Almost all panels that aren’t visible from the outside are slathered in flat black paint that faintly conceals grinding marks and rough edges. Once you look past that to the important stuff though, this machine is all racecar engineering. From the meticulous welds on the tubular frame to the wonderful red crinkle finish on those big rocker covers, everything about this Red Head screams for speed. The conservative factory exhaust has been replaced by Tubi pipes that curl from the cylinder head to the sharp polished tips that exit below the rear of the car.

A turn of the ignition created a telltale whirring noise from the mechanical fuel pump, the starter engages and the flat twelve engine comes to life. This car is loud. Even at a cold idle, the great Tubi pipes do nothing to quiet the big engine. As the engine heats up, the throttle is blipped a few times and the shop fills with the ripping sounds of a Grand Prix descendant. The car is as loud as any racecar, but the sound is like a mechanical symphony. It’s easy to imagine this magnificent beast cruising through the mountains, with it’s engine note reverberating off the high walls of each corner and down through the valleys, announcing it’s approach into each village...

I’m brought back to the present when the beast is put to sleep. Suddenly the shop is quiet, except for the ringing in my ears. When asked what I think, I’m not terribly objective. I’m under the Ferrari spell, 5 years old again.

I can’t wait till spring arrives and the car’s new owner can pull back the soft cover and unleash the crimson beast for the first time. I wonder if He’ll let me drive?

This story was originally written in 2003 for racerchicks.com
I never did drive the Testa!

The Challenger

2006-01-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

Dodge Challenger as driven by Sam Posey

New Challenger Concept

The Camaro

2006-01-22T08:38:00.000-08:00

New Camaro Concept

The Famous Penske Sunoco Camaro driven by Mark Donohue

The Mustang

2006-01-22T08:28:00.000-08:00

Vintage Mustang Trans Am racer

Retro look Mustang GT500 Concept

A thought about Trans Am racing

2006-01-22T08:04:00.000-08:00

Hey Mr. Gentilozzi..... I've got an idea that may just revitalize Trans Am! Why not go back to the grassroots history? Just think, the North American series with the most history needs something new & a bit of history may be just the thing.

For those who aren't old enough to remember, Trans Am started out with production based cars that were tuned for performance. They raced the big v8 cars like the Camaro/Firebird, Mustang, Challenger/Cuda and the AMX/Javelin. The small bore classes were populated by the BMW 2002, Datsun 510 and the like. These cars were built for speed, but they were production based regardless.

Now that all the domestic automakers are building, or promising to build retro models with modern performance, why don't we lose the tube frame, floppy body race cars and return to a production based formula? Remember the old saying "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday"? Just think of a field full of new Mustang GT500's, Challengers & Camaros. Just for fun, why not include the 350Z and the M3 for old times sake?

Race cars that the public can relate to instead of plastic bodied Jaguars and Marcos. Let's face it, how many race fans in North America know what a Marcos is?

Take the series back to it's roots & I guarantee that the fans will follow!

Hans Stuck at the Nurburgring

2006-01-18T14:39:00.000-08:00

This clip is just incredible! This is in car footage with Hans Stuck in a 2004 BMW M3 GTR setting a new lap record. There are spots where he is in top gear for what looks like well over a kilometer.

Turn up the speakers and look HERE

Granda Bud's P & G Special

2006-01-18T04:36:00.000-08:00

They say I should talk about what I know!

2006-01-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

What the hell do I know?

It seems that business sites telling folks how to profit from their blog are popping up all over the place & they are all talking about how you can generate dollars by writing about what you know. Well, what do I know about? I know tons about raising kids, but that doesn't make me special, or even right. Well, of course I'm right, just ask me! I know lots about me, but who cares about me. Well, a big part of me is cars. In fact, cars pretty much define who I am.

I was born in the later half of the sixties, which I really think was the golden age of racing in North America. We had sports racers being built by factories, local car clubs and handy guys in their garage. We had Trans Am when it was at it's peak. We had the Can-Am ground pounders. Unlike most kids though, I actually had access to these cars. My Dad raced an outrageous red, white & blue AMX here in Ontario on some of the tracks that have become legends in Ontario history. Harewood Acres. Edenvale. Mosport. I don't think I stood a chance. I had no choice but to become a car fanatic.

Paris Hilton eat your heart out!

2006-01-14T07:25:00.000-08:00

I work with a guy who is in his late forties & has this habit of dating hot, younger women. What they see in him I'm not so sure, unless it is the hot car and the $800,000 house. His latest girlfriend apparently was doing some house cleaning yesterday (if that's what you call snooping around in boxes) and came across an unmarked cassette tape. Of course she had to throw it in and see what was on it. What she heard was the sounds of a woman in the throws of ecstasy! She immediately called work & freaked out on him for taping her. It was halfway through this tirade when she heard the woman's voice and realized (maybe even worse) that it wasn't her! She had stumbled upon a tape that he had made with a previous girlfriend 10 years ago. Of course, she lost her mind! Why do you still have this when you live with ME???

Now it is kinda weird that this cat is still keeping a freaky love tape from a decade ago, but he claims to have forgotten about it long ago & it was in the bottom of a box in a storage room.

Maybe the girl should learn not to be so nosy & realize that her boyfriend who is a full 20 years older than her has a lot more history than her, not to mention that he's a bit odd. I wonder if he's going to live through the weekend.

Loser

2006-01-14T05:34:00.000-08:00

Not only is the guy a Royal Knob, but he doesn't have the balls to allow comments or an e-mail link on his site so that people can respond to him!!

Killjoy

2006-01-14T05:25:00.000-08:00

like any good blooger, I attempt to visit the blogs of people who comment on here, so long as they are real people, not just some knob trying to sell me a real estate scam. So I visited Juicy Fruit's site & was looking forward to reading all about the life of a park ranger.

"I am only 28 years old, I am not too far off from these guys, but when I was their age, I didn't do stuff like this, I had fun yes, but I didn't need to break the law to do it."

What were they doing?

Drinking in the park!!!! Oh my...imagine the horror....teenagers drinking in a park!!! Now don't get me wrong, I would be the first one to smack them out for making too much noise, making a mess or doing damage in the park, but to find someone so young who is upset by kids drinking is weird. Guy, that is normal behaviour for teenagers! You live in Virginia, not Utah...get a sense of humour!

Don't even get me started on busting people for having sex in the car.....

2005-10-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

The Garage Guy & Mamma G at Rally of the Tall Pines in 94

we need some pictures here

2005-10-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

The soxc.org gang on an outing a couple of years ago

random thoughts

2005-10-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

there are a ton of stories all over the net about the 200000 cars that have been destroyed in New Orleans etc, but nobody has made mention of how many CLASSIC cars have been damaged!!

what's the story? i know it's shallow, but really....how many thousands of dollars in classics have been destroyed!

Toxic stink

2005-10-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

Sitting here in my office, I am engulfed by the nasty stench of shop floor drains! This place has been open almost 2 years & no-one has ever had the smarts to empty the underground tanks. This place stinks!

more pointless comments!

2005-08-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Look down, way down to the story on pointless comments. It has a pointless, business related comment!!! Weird!

To Kill a Kat

2005-08-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

We have known for some time now that our cat has been heading towards the end of his long, healthy life. This morning when he fell down & didn't even try to get up, I knew the day had come. This is not the first time we've lost a pet, so I thought that it would be easier. And yet, here I was again, alone at the Vet's office crying in front of total strangers who claim to understand your pain just to make you feel better. Really, inside they are making silent jokes to themselves about this grown man who is blubbering away in front of them!

Oh yes... note to self: next time you have to end a special life, you might want to turn down the volume on the cell phone!

Back to the inner laughter of Veterinary professionals. I am far from cheap. I have friends who are cheap & I think I can tell the difference. I spent the day calling vets checking up on how much they wanted to rape me to off my cat. The price started at $210 and went up over $300!!! We are talking about the injection of about 4 ml of some deathly drug. Perhaps they are using premium unleaded. I called the clinic that had seen to the demise of our other cat & found the relative value of $165 plus gst. No wonder they are silently laughing at me.

Perhaps I should have taken Martin up on the offer to borrow my axe. On the other hand, maybe he could take one of my children in one swing as he had offered to do my cat. Cat haters may think I'm a wimp, but come on...he has lived with us for more than 16 years! We've been married for 17 and our oldest kid is 11. I think we should be upset!

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying that a cat is as important as a human, it's just that we do become attached to them. Don't we?

pointless comments

2005-08-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

What the hell is up with the psycho who is out there commenting on people's blogs with nonsense about cheesecake?!?!!? I don't have anything against cheesecake mind you, but it seems like a strange way to draw people into your blog. I want to know what you think if it's at least semi relevant. love me, hate me... I don't care, but don't assault me with your love of dairy desserts!

Is cheesecake really dairy? Do some of you have to pop a lactaid before enjoying it's creamy goodness?

Why it's birelgarage...

2005-08-10T11:48:00.000-07:00

Because thegarage.blogspot.com was taken and i'm not so very creative!

Birel is the brand of Kart racing chassis that my daughter races. As life moves on I'll tell you more about kart racing. Go look at thegarageguy.blogspot.com and i'm sure you'll find some karting pics there somewhere!

Did I forget to mention?

2005-08-10T10:16:00.000-07:00

I guess i should have mentioned something...

I am an absolute car freak! Watch out for way too many automotive references and random pics for no apparent reason!

The car above is probably the reason for it all. My Dad raced it in 1969 & it was so outrageous that at 2 years old, the car was burnt into my brain! I've been looking for it for years & I think I've found it. Watch for more useless info on it soon!

Those Damn monthly bills!

2005-08-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

I just went out to listen to the thunder (yes, my puter is still turned on!) and a piece of paper fell out of the crack of the front door. It seems that the local cable provider has decided that it's time for us to catch up on our account. One of the strange things about working from home is that you never seem to get around to opening those little envelopes that aren't addressed to the business. As I picked up the envelope, I wondered why the ass didn't knock on the door, I mean i'm sitting a whole 15 feet from the front door! Then it hit me..... holy crap... the cable is my internet...my connection to the outside world....argh...i guess i'm going down to the cable office today. of course our modern technology is too slow for me to do it online, I have to get off my ass & go out to do it!

blog me baby - i want to be blogged!

2005-08-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

ok, so i've had this little blog sitting here doing nothing while i go about attempting to earn a living. Lately the Lovely & Talented Mrs G has been wanting to start a journal to write down her special warped views of our families' life. I've been trying to convince her she needs to start blogging, but then I haven't even done anything with my own. Sooooo.....here I go, taking up some virtual space with my random thoughts regarding life in general. If you are visiting from The Garage Guy blog, please ignore my unprofessional, crazy rants, as sometimes they might be referring to YOU!

finally my new homepage is live

2005-03-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

It's ALIVE!!

www.thegarageguy.ca

Our Daughter doesn't care!

2005-03-18T05:58:00.000-08:00

The girl is at a 2 night sleep over & said she'd call last night. She didn't!

Her we sit, mushy old parents, feeling sorry for ourselves because one of our kids is growing up! Are we cheesy or what? perhaps it's worse that i'm writing about it here.

do they not want to increase their sales?

2005-02-25T12:04:00.000-08:00

I am getting increasingly frustrated with manufacturers & suppliers who are super slow at responding to new retailers. it's almost like they don't care if you buy their products!

chewed up & spit out & boo'd off stage

2005-02-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

success is my only mother effing option!

this is becoming my anthem, whoever thought i'd get my inspiration from some two bit hood, white bread rapper from detroit! i keep this in my head at all times, while i'm laying the groundwork for my business. we are going to be successful & free ourselves from the destructive life that working in a car dealership creates. it better happen soon, or i'll be broke!

yet another test

2005-02-08T09:31:00.000-08:00

look at this look at me now

trying it out

2005-02-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

showing off

i did it!

2005-02-07T13:49:00.000-08:00

i posted a pic using hello!

here it is http://thegarageguy.blogspot.com/

the garage will sorta be my place to make a mess, while i hope that thegarageguy will be more polished.

Lord help me!

2005-02-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

ok...so I've loaded hello & picassa & now I can't figure out how to post a pic. arrghh!

back to try again

2005-02-07T13:03:00.000-08:00

i tried this blogging stuff way back in september, now i think i'm going to give it another go.

working on a saturday

2004-09-25T06:34:00.000-07:00

here i sit at work on a foggy, nasty saturday while the dude is at his first hockey practice.

odd customers today, but at least it's keeping the guys busy!