Review and Recap of the 2014 International Auto Show

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had bough tickets to attend a day at Toronto's International Auto Show in which I went to on Friday the 21st. As I had stated, I had not yet been to an auto show that met the size of the International shows. With this said I was pretty excited to check it out, and today I will be reviewing my overall experience at the show and if it met my expectations.

McLaren Display

So to start the journey at the Auto Show I needed to buy tickets which I found at a discounted rate online, even the full price tickets however are no more than $25 per person which is fairly reasonable for the admission. To start my experience I had went to a Starbucks on Front Street to get myself a hot beverage, but when it came time to enter the gates I was told I had to finish my drink before entering which was a bit of an inconvinience but I understand the reasoning none the less.

Once I finished and passed the admission the real fun began, there were tonnes of cars, promotions, and kiosks to interact with. As far as cars go, there was essentially every type of car sold in Canada for you to browse through and in some you could even sit in. The Honda showcase consisted of their vehicle lineup as well as their other branches of motorcycles, boat engines, and utility equipment which was unique to the others. In addition to the displays I came across a few prototype cars, one that really stood out was the Nissan prototype on display that is still yet to be manufactured. Among theses showcases many manufactures brought other branches of their business similar to Honda,

Ferrari's Display

some were Formula 1, 2, and 3 cars, or classical cars. Once I finished wandering around the north side of The Convention Centre, I wandered to the south side where there were tonnes of other manufactures and showcases from well-known vehicles. There was a "Classical Alley" section dedicated to classical cars that have been re-done and even a motorway showcase presented by Canadian Tire that showcased different generation box cars. Once I had finished the main levels on either side of the building I thought the fun was over so I headed back to the entrance from where I entered and realized there was also an escalator going downstairs! This is what I had been waiting for, a showcase of exotic cars from; Bentley, Lamborghini, McLaren, Ferrari and more. This is the main reason why I came to the show.

Dodge Viper SRT

To summarize my experience, overall it was a good day spent, I didn't feel as if it was a waste. I got to see and learn about many new cars, sit and interact with some displays, and if you were interested in purchasing a specific car, I even saw some people do that. For contests there were a wide variety of contests throughout the event, all relatively the same, to be honest these go annoying as there were multiples of each floor, and representatives approaching you for the same thing over and over again. In addition to the promotions, some irrelevant kiosks felt out of place when promoting hardwood floors, newspapers, kitchen-ware, and so on. Lastly the only thing that would have made it better would be a larger section for exotic cars, and more variety, there were only a few cars if you're lucky from only some of the exotic manufacturers, some only had a single car on display.

Other than this, I enjoyed my time there and will likely be returning to any shows in the future.

Canada Makes Supercars?

After browsing around the other day looking for luxury-super cars that are for sale within Canada and who owns them, I stumbled upon something very interesting and exciting for Canada and Quebec specifically. What I found was a ridiculously mean super car called the Felino CB7 that has been in the works for the past 3 years with Antoine Bessette (a former race car driver, now CEO) backing up the entire project.

http://www.topspeed.com - Felino CB7

The project of the Felino CB7 is one of the first super cars actually designed and developed in Canada, by Canadians. The car is said to be track inspired but legal for street. Currently there are still some tweaks that need to be made to the car and work to be done to make the car street legal, but it has revealed an interesting future for the Canadian car. This model concept is spreading around the nation like wild fire and was even in attendance stealing the spotlight at the 2014 Montreal Auto Show.

If you're interested in the details of this car, its powered by a GM-sourced V8 engine that is currently being tested with 2 differently staged turbo systems. The car price is yet to be known, there is quite a bit of speculation that it may be under $100,000 simply because Antoine Bessette's objective was to form a super car for under $100,000. I personally find it hard to believe this is the price it will retail for in Canada. What is known about this car is that is can do a 0 to 60mph in under 3 seconds and has a max speed of 190mph, thats 305km/h! The Felino CB7's V8 alone pushes out more than 500 horsepower to the rear wheels and the optional turbo kits being tested will raise this to upwards of 600 horsepower.

http://www.topspeed.com - Felino CB7

My thoughts on this car are:

• It looks insane (like a futuristic Bat-mobile)
• If it is sold under or for $100,000 it could be the most affordable super car
• Its great that something like this is coming out of Canada!
• Its made way too fast for too cheap, no one needs this much power on the road, and at a price like that, many Canadian can obtain Lamborghini power at a low cost

Overall its a really cool car, if you want to see more, check out this video.

Canadian International Auto Show - 2014

As you may have heard, the Canadian International Auto Show is now on at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, ON.  The show runs annually, this year the dates are for February 14th to February 23^rd.  Thanks, to a fellow blogger’s comment on one of my other posts, I have decided to buy a set of tickets to the show and will be going there next week before the show wraps up to check out what the show has to offer. This won’t be my first time going to an auto show, I have been to multiple local shows that showcased similar displays however on a smaller scale. With that said I am excited that this will be my first time visiting the Canadian International Auto Show. Over the years I’ve heard some pretty cool things from others that went previously so it will be great to experience it for myself.

For those of you that haven’t been to an auto show, or aren’t sure what they are all about. Well there is a lot more going on at these shows than people think. There are displays and activities for everyone to enjoy, not just car enthusiasts such as myself. Most commonly the big shows are known for their displays of “exotic” imported cars from; Maserati, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley, and so on, this in my opinion is my favorite part. However its not just about the cars that almost no-one can afford, there are a lot of recognizable displays from manufacturers we see everyday such as; Honda, Mitsubishi, Fiat, and so on that use the 600,000square/ft of space to show off their new 2014 models and any new innovate technology that comes along with them.

To top it off there are tones of contests and prizes to be won from insurance companies, car manufactures and more.  Some of the contests offer discounts on financing options, free gas, free cars, and much much more. 

Anyways, before I spoil it for anyone who may be going, overall seems like it will be a cool event to go to and I will be sure to let everyone know my final thoughts once I do so.

Cheapest Cars to Buy

Being a student and being a car owner, I am well aware of the costs associated to buying, driving, and maintaining cars. Today I am going to provide a list of the 5 most affordable cars. This list could possibly be quite useful to anyone looking into buying a new vehicle or even a bench marker for used vehicles if this is the route you decide to go. This list will focus on the most affordable base models of cars that are readily available in Canada. Throughout the word there are micro manufacturers that produce and sell cars for less, but these are not of any relevance to us. Lets start with number 5:

Smart fortwo - jeyauto.com

Coming in at the fifth most affordable car for us Canadians is the Smart fortwo, prevalently known as the "SmartCar". The base model of the fortwo is very simple, almost too simple, however it is said to be one of the safest vehicles on road today. Unfortunately for the fortwo many people have not fully accepted this vehicle as being practical nor stylish. Many consumers still view this car as unsafe due to the small size, despite Smart's remarks. With all this said, the Smart fortwo comes in at a base price of $11,590 brand new. If financed this means $195/month with a term of 72 months and 6.9%APR. Not entirely bad for an incredibly efficient vehicle built by the makers of Mercedes-Benz.

Toyota Yaris - commons.wikimedia.org

The fourth place spot is taken by the Japanese inspired Toyota Yaris hatchback. The Yaris is a step up from the Smart fortwo as it comes with more gadgets and accessories, however remains incredibly simple at it's base form. One definite gain it has on the Smart fortwo is 3 additional seats hidden in the back despite being a two-door hatchback like the fortwo. The problem that lays within this model is again the acceptance and practicality, some love the small micro cars, however many other prefer something with a little more storage space. The Toyota Yaris hatchback comes in it's base form for $11,350 which could still mean $195 a month with an APR of 7.2% over 72 months.

Chevrolet Aveo - www.carautoportal.com

Third place goes to a domestic friend, the Chevrolet Aveo. This car being Chevrolet comes from North America for the most part which can be seen as a negative or a positive depending on who you are. Personally speaking and many car enthusiast may agree, domestic vehicles don't always promise re
liability and quality as their European and Japanese competitors do. In contrast to this, the Aveo is a step up from the Yaris and the fortwo when it comes to accessories and features in the car. It does come with additional power options that the previous two contenders didn't offer, however thats where the line is drawn, aside from an extra few buttons and gadgets the Aveo still offers a small or micro feeling that seats 5 snug. This car comes in at $10,895 for good reason. Which is $185/month with 72 months at 6.2% APR.

Kia Rio - www.automobilesreview.com

Second place for affordability goes to the European inspired Kia Rio. The Rio is similar to the past cars, it comes with the basics, not including power anything however the Kia Rio unlike the rest so far does have 4 passenger doors! Aside from this it is not a hatchback which allows for additional trunk space and can be seen as a more practical car to many buyers. The Rio also has looks on it's side, for being a smaller vehicle the appearance presents an overall neutral feel that can be seen as masculine or feminine which is pretty unique for the car. The Kia Rio comes off the lot in it's base form for $10,890 which translated into payments is $183/month for 72 months at 6.9%APR.

Hyundai Accent - www.wallarena.com

The most affordable car available to Canadians in the Hyundai Accent. The Hyundai Accent base mode is another coupe hatchback that seats 5 and surprisingly with a decent amount of comfort. The surprising fact about this being the most affordable is that's Hyundai didn't cut any of the car's value
to accommodate the pricing. The Accent base model comes standard with tire pressure monitoring which means that the 14 inch wheels are able to handle much better in tight corners. Along with this the Accent comes with some power options depending on which area you are in, again just added value to the price. One of the most attracting features of this car are the six standard airbags covering such a small area. Overall this car can been seen as the most affordable car to Canadians, but arguably the car to carry the most value given the price point. With this said, the Accent sells off the lot for $10,775 which over 72 months is $182/month with 6.9%APR.

One side note I might add is this information will vary depending on your area, APR, dealer and so on. This meaning the values given are true to an extent however some of these cars can be found cheaper, or more expensive. Again this is dependent on many factors.

Canada's Number One Vehicle

Hello everybody, first off welcome to my blog where I will be discussing relative news from the automotive industry and of course some of my personal opinions. The goal is to not regergitate information from headlines but rathe rot shed some insight on topics that affect and are somewhat important to Canada among the industry.

www.autoguide.com - Honda Civic vs. Hyundai Elantra - Canada's Top Car 

Since we have just begun the month of February, and with the new year behind us I felt it was appropriate to discuss and write about Canada's top car in 2013. Surprisingly this information is actually quite difficult to find online as almost all car manufacturers with some sort of Canadian presence will claim they have Canada's top car. This is caused mainly to how the success of the car is measured, whether its; units sold, units owned to date, annual revenues for a particular car, and to make things more difficult it can even be broke down further into car class (sports, compact, crossover, etc.).

I decided to take a modest and least judgemental approach as possible and came up with two reasonable top contenders for 2013 being the Honda Civic and the Hyundai Elantra. Both being compact cars, that offer similar features and are without a doubt the most popular cars on the road, so popular that I bet if you look out your window, or walk through a parking lot you will spot both these vehicles within seconds in almost all areas of Canada.

The Elantra is a fairly new model to Canada coming from the Korean manufacturer and has really increased and changed Hyundai's appearance to many Canadians from not being a manufacturer or quality in the 70's 80's and into the 90's to being comparative in terms of reliability against Japanese manufacturers such as Honda, and Nissan. Hyundai experienced 36.1% increase in 2013 Elantra sales and sold just below 60,000 units across Canada which may sound low but in the current economy state it is a respectable number. In June, July, and August there were multiple articles written by the Globe and Mail reporting that Hyundai had the highest number of sales throughout the year up to that point and projections stating the Elantra will likely become Canada's top car of 2013, Honda seemed to have different thoughts about this as the year progressed.

The Honda Civic is a very popular car that has been well known for quality, reliability, and affordability among Canadians for many years now, dating back to the late 80's. Prior to 2013's year end, the Civic had claimed Canada's number one selling car for the previous 15 years, each year outselling any other competing vehicle offered on the market. The Civic to date has been through three "generations" or improvement phases in the last 9 years alone, truly showing Honda's ability to utilise core competencies and innovation. One huge advantage the Civic has when compared to the Elantra is the simple ability to be upgraded and as a result appeals to many different segments. Civics come in 4 different packages that all have different aspects from the DX being the base model with no features, to the LX being slightly more fun higher quality interior and a sunroof, the EX which is an upgrade of leather seats, power everything, sunroof, and upgraded audio package, and the Si which is Honda's famous DOHC VTec 2.1l engine offering performance capabilities out of the Civic. In addition to all this the Civic is offered in Coupes and Sedans making them that much more appealing to the Elantras.

With all this said, I'm sure you can image who Canada's best selling car goes to... Of course its the Honda Civic for the 16th consecutive year that takes the cake for 2013. Honda sold a grand total of 66,063 Civics in total last year, surpassing their closest competitor by 9,303 units by year end, and has even introduced a new generation of Civics for 2014, Hyundai has their work cut out for them this year... Go Honda!