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What we know about Audi Q7 2022
What we know about #Audi #Q7 #2022 Is there a new Audi Q7 coming out 2022 ? . Highs Agile handling, high-tech cabin features ...
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Wickens vs. Hamilton: I can tell you which one is the winner

This weekend, Guelph’s Robert Wickens will be resuming his auto racing career in a professional class far below his talent level. Primarily an open-wheel driver with the talent to race in Formula One, Wickens took the IndyCar world by storm in 2018 and if fate hadn’t stepped in to block his progress, he would have been racing for Roger Penske by now. Yes, he was that good.

But as the result of a horrible accident at the Pocono Raceway in July 2018, Wickens lost the use of his legs. He suffered other grievous injuries, but bones and psyches heal. Despite more than three years of physical and psychological therapy, his recovery has plateaued. Wickens is no longer gaining muscle function and, barring a miracle, he won’t be able to walk again.

Like others, such as Alex Zanardi and IMSA driver Michael Johnson – who also lost the use of their legs and made a return to the cockpit – Wickens was determined to race a car again using hand controls. And that happened this weekend at Daytona when he teamed with fellow Canadian Mark Wilkins of Toronto to co-drive a Hyundai Elantra in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

To recap: a man with all the talent in the world had much of it taken away from him. He was determined to race again and worked doggedly to make it happen. At a certain point, he realized that what had happened to him was part of the game he was playing, so he set out to do the best he could with what he had left.

He does not feel sorry for himself.

There is another talented race driver out there these days who has the world by the tail. He is so good that he’s been able to win seven F1 world championships. He is paid an ungodly $55 (U.S.) million a year. He flies around the world on private jets, attends all the big Hollywood-type parties and he has a bevy of beautiful women on his arm everywhere he goes.

Lewis Hamilton – now Sir Lewis – has won and lost several of his championships under questionable circumstances. In 2008, he ran down Timo Glock in the rain on the last lap to win the championship by one point over Felipe Massa and more than one critic suggested Glock could have been trying a little harder at the finish, considering what was at stake. When he lost the title to his teammate, Nico Rosberg, in 2016, he was leading on the last lap. Rosberg was afraid that if he tried to pass his rival, Hamilton would wreck him. So Lewis slowed down in an attempt to force Rosberg back into the pack so that another driver would pass him, robbing him of the points to beat him. But nobody else bit and Rosberg took the checkers as champion. He promptly retired. Sebastian Vettel should have won Canada but was penalized by the stewards for cutting a corner and his season went downhill after that, handing Hamilton yet another championship. And then came Abu Dhabi in 2021.

The questionable circumstances took place at the last race of that ‘21 season. Hamilton and Max Verstappen went into that last race tied in points and as the Grand Prix wound down, Hamilton was winning. But a late-race caution, involving our own Nicholas Latifi, forced F1 race director Michael Masi to make a ruling that resulted in a one-lap shootout between the two front-runners: Verstappen (on fresh rubber) and Hamilton. Halfway through the last lap, Max made the season-ending pass that gave him the championship and triggered investigations and debates between F1, other drivers, officials and fans that continue till this day.

But rather than taking it on the chin, as all good losers do (Massa, when he lost the title to Hamilton by a point; Vettel after being screwed by the stewards), Hamilton went into a funk. Four days after the season ended, he refused to attend the Champion’s Dinner and has been the subject ever since of non-stop speculation about whether or not he will retire. He is said to be angry and disillusioned (although he gathered himself up enough to drive out to Windsor Castle to be knighted by Prince Charles).

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile has launched an investigation of what went on at that last race and Hamilton has reportedly said he will make a decision about his future based on that report. But it won’t – they say – be filed until the Thursday before first practice in Bahrain on Friday, March 18 (although, at time of writing, there are reports of ongoing meetings between F1 and the FIA).

The FIA and Mercedes are in a real pickle. It’s obvious that Hamilton has told the people who count that it’s either him or Michael Masi. If Masi stays, he’ll leave. If Masi goes, what does that tell F1 racing fans around the world about who’s in charge? The FIA has a new president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and you can bet the last thing he wants is to begin his tenure by being pushed around by a driver. And maybe Masi is the best race director out there and to do Hamilton’s bidding could put the sport in jeopardy.

So there you have it, a tale of two drivers. One who can’t walk but has the desire to go racing by using hand controls and not feel too badly about it and another whose world is his oyster but who can’t stand losing.

Guess which one is pouting?

Poor baby.

Norris McDonald, a past Wheels editor in chief, covers the Canadian automotive and global racing scene for the Star. He is a member of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.  nmcdonald@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter @NorrisMcDonald2.

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Forgotten and found

For many Canadians, the northern parts of the Prairie provinces and British Columbia are a vast and mysterious land of forest, marshes and snow. For Matt Sager it’s a place filled with classic and antique cars just waiting to be rediscovered.

On “Lost Car Rescue,” now airing on History Canada, Sager and his team look for classic and antique cars and trucks in some of the most remote regions of the country. But instead of driving around and hoping for the best, they’ve taken a different approach to spotting these hidden gems. They take to the air.

Behind the yoke of his 1948 Stinson airplane, Sager and fellow pilot Jessica James come in low over fields, forests and marshes, looking for a glint of chrome or the patina of rusted sheet metal that marks a lost car in need of rescue.

“The vantage point of a bird’s eye view was something that no one really had done before,” said Sager. “It was a bit of a labour of passion just to fly, then the cars just started presenting themselves.

“We probably see a hundred cars before we see one that really catches our eye, or is really rare, or rare to the automotive world,” said Sager. “But there are thousands of cars out there. It’s really hard to believe for anybody who doesn’t see it.”

Bodywork expert Dave Mischuk, who also appears on the series, said that while the land they are searching may be sparsely populated today, that wasn’t always the case.

“In Saskatchewan, for example,” he said, “at one point there was a farmer (and a family) on every quarter (160 acres) of land.”

While many of those farms were later bought up or closed down, “that’s where you find the cars,” Mischuk said. “We had a rich resource of families living in the areas that we hunt now.”

For many, storing an old car on the property — with the rest of the retired farm fleet — made more sense than transporting it to the nearest scrapyard, which could be hundreds of kilometres away.

“We’re hunting lineage or family,” Sager said. “We’re going after those families because it’s the families that left the cars behind. So, it’s where people lived that we’re actually hunting for.”

A west coaster, Sager said he’s had “that bug to unearth relics” since he was around 10 years old, while Mischuk did autobody work in Saskatchewan for 42 years.

“My mom claims that I was born with a toy car in my hand,” Mischuk said.

The two started working together six years ago, after Sager found Mischuk while he was looking for vehicles to restore.

“I was out hunting cars. I had two days off from work,” Sager said. “We were hours and hours on a country road driving to one of these remote towns that we had researched. We ended up sleeping on the side of the road. We woke up in the morning and the sun’s just cresting. We’re driving by Dave’s place, and it was like a satellite dish shining.

“It was actually a car that Dave has up on a hill, and the chrome on the car was just shining in the morning sun and it was so cool,” he said. “We ended up hitting it off. First go and it was one of those things where you knew that it was going to be something more.”

Spotting cars

What do you do when you spot a vehicle from your plane? The perk of light aircraft is that you can just land and have a look. Driveway? Field? No problem for Sager and James. But it’s not always that simple.

“I always approach it with the utmost amount of respect. You don’t want to scare animals and you don’t want to go too low,” Sager said.

“There’s a way of approaching being over someone’s farm or dwelling, and I’ve never had a bad scenario. It’s always been met with sheer wonder of what just happened,” he said. “‘Why is there a plane landing on my driveway?’ ‘Oh, that was you buzzing the farm?’ Sometimes people will joke about shooting at us or something. (The joking) is not uncommon. But it’s always been met with people (who) just love that we’re out there doing something that we’re passionate about.”

Sager said the people they meet in northern British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta are usually old souls who are generous, as well as family and community oriented.

“So, if you’re approaching them with that respect, they welcome you to the family almost instantly,” he said.

Mischuk said car spotting and rescue season starts early in the year, with spring being the best time to go as there are no leaves on the trees and the view of the ground from the air is wide open.

While some vehicles may be in a backyard or even a barn, others need to be extracted from decades of neglect. That’s where the rest of the “Lost Car Rescue” team, including crane operator Lee Brandt and and Sager’s brother, Steve, a mechanic, come into the picture. They also use a number of custom tools and vehicles to deal with the unique geography. “My brothers and I rebuild them all. There’s a passion there for saving anything,” said Sager.

“People are just getting a window into our lives. So, I’m excited for everybody to watch it, I think,” he said. “And, yeah, I think people will hopefully get inspired by what they see.”

“Lost Car Rescue” airs Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET on History Canada. It’s also available to stream live or on-demand on StackTV or the Global TV app.

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Helio discovers his second childhood

Helio Castroneves is suddenly 25 again. A year ago he won the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Then, last May, he won the Indianapolis 500 for the fourth time and Sunday in Daytona he, and others, drove to victory – again – in the Rolex 24. He celebrated, as he did a year ago, last May, three other times at Indy and numerous times along the IndyCar championship trail and now the Rolex again by Climbing the fence and waving to the crowd and TV cameras.

There is nobody as exciting to watch, and be watched, as Helio after he wins a race.

He’s from Brazil, of course. Here’s how Canadians did Sunday:

Devlin Defrancesco of Toronto (and Fort Lauderdale) finished first in LMP2

Pfaff Motorsport of Toronto finished first in GTD PRO

Zach Robichon of Ottawa finished first in GTD

The rest of this report on the Rolex 24 was provided by the IMSA communications department: 

Castroneves kept the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 ahead of the field during the final 30 minutes to lift MSR and co-drivers Tom Blomqvist, Oliver Jarvis and Simon Pagenaud to victory. “It sounds cliché, but it’s all about believing,” Castroneves said. “I believe in them; they believe in me. This is exactly what is happening with this group here. With Simon, with Tom and with Oliver – we all believed that we could do it.”

It was Castroneves’ second consecutive Rolex 24 victory. Last year, he won the race as part of Wayne Taylor Racing, then climbed a fence in Victory Lane. This time, Castroneves fought off the No. 10 WTR Acura and driver Ricky Taylor to win, then stopped at the start-finish line and climbed the catch fence.

“That was absolutely incredible,” he said. “I’m so happy for the entire group. Everyone did their job. At the end, I said, ‘Put me in, Coach.’ It was great.”

The victory ended Wayne Taylor Racing’s bid to win the race for a record fourth consecutive time. As the Meyer Shank Racing celebration moved from the fence to the pits, Wayne Taylor was among the first to congratulate his former driver.

The trip to the top of the podium continued the resurgence of the career of Castroneves, 46. After winning last year’s Rolex 24 with WTR, Castroneves went on to win the Indy 500 with MSR, tying A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears for most Indy 500 wins in a career.

“It’s priceless,” Castroneves said. “In my case, I’m still very passionate about it and learning every day … and improving my driving skills. That’s what makes me a better driver. That’s why I enjoy it. That’s why when I go out there I push as hard as I can.”    

Ricky Taylor finished 3.028 seconds behind Castroneves for WTR teammates Filipe Albuquerque, Will Stevens and Alexander Rossi. The 1-2 Acura sweep came 18 hours after both cars fell off the lead lap and trailed the five Cadillacs in the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class.

Loic Duval brought the No. 5 JDC Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi-V.R in third place with teammates Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook and Ben Keating.

 DragonSpeed USA Flies to LMP2 Victory

In one of the most all-around dramatic Rolex 24 At Daytona races in history, the No. 81 DragonSpeed USA ORECA LMP2 rallied from five laps down to win the LMP2 class of the twice-around-the-clock race. Despite freezing cold conditions overnight at Daytona International Speedway, the group of highly inspired young drivers were blazing fast come Sunday sunrise.

Armed with youthful enthusiasm and great racing talent, DragonSpeed’s roster of longtime friends overcame fast competition, pit road challenges and uncharacteristically cold weather to claim the team’s first ever victory in the season-opening IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race.

DragsonSpeed experienced problems right away – a technical glitch hampered pit road visits resulting in multiple speeding penalties that put it behind early. But the team finally got the system righted and it was go-time by nightfall.

Sports car veteran Eric Lux and IndyCar Series stars Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward and Devlin DeFrancesco kept making up ground in the class before ultimately handing over the car to Herta in the closing laps to bring home the victory.

Ultimately, DragonSpeed claimed a 7.089-second victory over the No. 29 Racing Team Nederland car co-driven by Frits van Eerd, Giedo van der Garde, Dylan Murry and another IndyCar driver, Rinus VeeKay.

Riley Motorsports Cruises to LMP3 Victory

The No. 74 Riley Motorsports team continues to own the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship LMP3 class. Gar Robinson, who was last year’s LMP3 driver champion, joined Felipe Fraga, Kay van Berlo and Michael Cooper to claim class honors once again.

Pfaff Victorious in Slam-Bang Porsche GTD PRO Finish  

The new GTD PRO class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship got off to the most spectacular start possible.

Mathieu Jaminet and the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports of Toronto Porsche 911 GT3 R emerged from a door-banging clash Sunday afternoon with the similar No. 2 KCMG Porsche driven by Laurens Vanthoor through Daytona International Speedway’s Le Mans Chicane on the very last lap of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The two factory Porsche drivers waged an intense duel over the final two hours of the 60th running of North America’s most iconic endurance race. The action jumped off the chart in the closing five minutes, as Vanthoor’s constant pressure finally paid off and he gained the lead and held it for three intense laps leading to the white flag.

But Jaminet fought back. The Pfaff driver repeated Vanthoor’s pass around the International Horseshoe hairpin to regain the lead on the final lap before vigorously defending the position into the newly renamed Le Mans Chicane on the backstretch of the Daytona oval. The two Porsches negotiated the initial left-hander side-by-side before coming together as they entered the next right-hander. Both skirted the grass to the inside in a synchronized drift; Jaminet maintained control while Vanthoor skidded to a stop before quickly resuming.

By the time they reached the finish line of the 3.56-mile road course less than a minute later, Jaminet had a 2.185-second advantage over the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi. Vanthoor claimed third place, 4.687 seconds behind the winner.

“This was crazy!” marveled Jaminet, a 37-year-old Frenchman who was a GT Le Mans class winner with Porsche last year at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts and Motul Petit Le Mans. “It was difficult to realize what happened on the last lap – actually the last two hours. I was just driving for my life for these two hours.

“Even when he passed me, I thought, ‘I’m not going to give this thing,” Jaminet added. “It was too much hard work for one hour and 55 (minutes) to let it go in the last few laps. I had to give it everything and just go for it.”

Jaminet shared the winning car with Matt Campbell and two-time Daytona Prototype international (DPi) champion Felipe Nasr, who made a victorious debut as a Porsche factory driver.

Eight of the 13 GTD PRO entries led laps over the course of the 24 hours, and it wasn’t until the final quarter of the race that the Porsches truly separated themselves from the field.

It was a difficult GTD PRO debut for two-time defending GT Le Mans class champions Corvette Racing. The Nos. 3 and No. 4 Corvette C8.R GTDs encountered delays and finished sixth and 10th in class. Similarly, the first race for BMW Team RLL’s new M4 GT3 model was not trouble-free, resulting in a seventh-place finish for the No. 25 car and ninth place for the No. 24.

No. 16 Porsche Finds Wright Way to Win GTD Class 

Ryan Hardwick watched his Wright Motorsports Porsche race in last year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona from a hospital bed, sidelined with a concussion. The view was much more rewarding this year.

The No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R owned the last hours of GT Daytona (GTD) action at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, winning by 12.542 seconds over the No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Veteran driver Jan Heylen drove the lengthy final stint, warding off bids from the Aston Martin and the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3.

Heylen held strong and pulled away to deliver the first Rolex 24 win for himself, Hardwick, endurance driver Zacharie Robichon, and Wright Motorsports Porsche driver Richard Lietz earned his third Rolex 24 watch, coming after a 2012 GT win and 2014 GT Le Mans triumph.

“It’s just so hard to win any race, let alone a 24-hour race,” Heylen said. “At the end with two or three hours to go, we had a good lead and I was sure in my mind that it wasn’t going to be that easy. We had good speed in the car and we just had to control our race and not worry about the GTD PRO cars. We’ve come here many times and tried, so to finally be on the top step is an amazing result.”

The No. 16 drivers methodically worked their way to the front from the 11th starting position in GTD. They didn’t lead until more than four hours into the 24-hour race. The car came alive overnight and controlled the late stages, leading 120 of the last 125 laps.

A critical strategy decision saw the No. 16 crew call the car in for its final pit stop with 52 minutes left in the race, just before a full-course caution for the No. 19 TR3 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 stopped on track. The No. 44 Aston Martin and No. 21 Ferrari had to pit under yellow and were unable to threaten the Porsche the rest of the way, much to the happiness of Hardwick.

“For me, it was a little bit of redemption coming back to this track and not only competing at a high level but ultimately winning,” Hardwick said. “Just blessed to be a part of a great team and exceptional driving by all of these guys, especially through the night and at the end of the race with Zach and Jan really pushing hard when the game was on.”

The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, March 16-19 at Sebring International Raceway.

HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE . . . 

The Rolex 24 had not one Grand Marshal but six: Mario Andretti, Hurley Heywood, Scott Pruett, Bobby Rahal, Jack Roush and Wayne Taylor all gave the command to start engines for the 60^th annual championship . . . Tanner Thorson won the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals indoors at Tulsa. NASCAR driver Christopher Bell was second and Rico Abreu was third. I am going to make it to that race someday . . . Time flies. The NASCAR season opens next weekend at the Coliseum in Los Angeles with the exhibition Busch Clash. Where, again? The Coliseum, where the UCLA Bruins play football and daredevil Evel Knievel used to jump trucks on his motorcycle. Not to forget the Rams and the Raiders. They have laid down a half-mile paved track and will turn 40 Cup cars loose. After that, they go to Daytona for the 500 . . .  Tony Stewart will join the NBC announcing team for the Clash and the 500 . . . Brad Moran, who started his motor racing administrative career as a steward in the Canadian NASCAR (nee CASCAR) Series, is the new NASCAR Cup race director. That is what you call a meteoric rise. If he keeps that up, he should soon be race director of Formula One . . . This is how screwed up F1 is (and need all the help they can get). In an interview with Autosport magazine, Senior FIA official Peter Bayer (he’s been secretary general for sport since 2017) said that race director Michael Masi did a terrific job in 2021 but could be replaced anyway. Or the race director could be part of a team. The FIA has to do something, though. Otherwise, they risk losing their biggest star. Meantime, Alain Prost has left his advisory post with Alpine. Ex-Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer replace him . . . The Formula Electric season started in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia at the weekend. Nyck de Vries in a Mercedxes-EQ won the first race of the weekend while ROKIT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara won the second . . . Montana Brand and Rocky Mountain Twist will sponsor Austin Prock’s NHRA Top Fuel dragster this season. Prock will drive for John Force Racing . . . The Canadian Touring Car Championship (CTCC) will kick off its season June 4-5 at Shannonville Motorsport Park. They will race July 9-10 at ICAR Mirabel and Aug. 5-7 at the Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres. Two dates are open – Sept. 7 and 8^th and Oct. 9-10. I suspect negotiations with U.S. tracks are under way. The rival touring car championship, FEL Motorsports, is racing at CTMP in May and September. Other dates and locations TBA (they sent the schedule; I just can’t find it . . . Pirelli celebrated its 150^thbirthday this weekend . . . Stouffville’s Dalton Kellett has re-signed to drive in IndyCar for AJ Foyt Racingagain this season. More about him as the season draws near. Tatiana Calderson will also race for Foyt this season. And Conor Daly has a full-time ride with Ed Carpenter Racing . . . Porsche racing expert Pascal Zurlinden has joined Multimatic as Director of Performance Engineering. Speaking of Multimatic, they are beginning their 30^th year of competition in 2022 . . . Timmy Hill of Ohsweken, Ont., will enter run a second truck in the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series this season. He’ll run one and brother Tyler Hill will pilot the other . . . The trucks won’t be running at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – again. According to CTMP spokesman Sam Fellows, “this revolves around the uncertainties over travel across the border. NASCAR wants to build a schedule they can executive and avoid cancellations and schedule changes during the racing year. The relationship with NASCAR is still strong.” He quoted Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice-president of strategy and innovation as saying that, ‘It always amazes me when we go to Canadian Tire and see the number of fans that come out for the event every year. The biggest reason (for not going) is just the unknowns and uncertainties. There’s a lot of logistics that go into planning a lot of these races and a lot of lead time, especially for international events. But they’ve been great partners and we look forward to continuing to stay in touch with them.’ . . . Other race weekends at CTMP: Castrol Victoria Day Speedfest, May 20-22; VARAC Vintage Racing Festival, June 17-19; IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix, July 1-3; Superbike Doubleheader, Aug. 12-14; Labour Day Sprints, Sep. 2-4 . . . Motorcycle racing legends Eddie Mulder and Terry Vance are the latest inductees into the 2022 edition of the “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame and were honored in the second annual “Hot Shoe” Motorcycle Industry Celebration in Las Vegas on Saturday . . .  Earlier in the month, Dave Earnhardt Jr., Mike Stefanic and Red Farmer were inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame . . . Maury Gallagher, owner of GMS Racing and majority owner of Richard Petty Motorsports, along with motorsports icon Richard Petty, have announced the creation of Petty GMS Motorsports. The organization will field two full-time NASCAR Cup Series entries in 2022 with drivers Ty Dillon and Erik Jones . . . IndyCar is considering knockout qualifying this season because so many cars are expected to show up for some races and the number of pit stalls wouldn’t be enough to accommodate them all. Toronto, for instance. Back in the Sixties and some of the Seventies, when they had the same problem, they held preliminary races to eliminate cars . . . Eli Tomac won the Monster Energy AMA Supercross at Angels Stadium in California Saturday night . . . I am astounded that a few months short of 30 years after sprint car great Doug Wolfgang crashed and was badly burned that the World of Outlaws has just – just – made it mandatory for sprint-car racers to carry onboard fire-suppression systems as of the 2023 season. Better late than never, I guess . . . The Ontario Sportsman Series will race twice at Flamboro Speedway in 2022, first on May 21 and again on Sept. 10 . . . Jacques Villeneuve and his wife have welcomed a new baby boy to their family. They named him Gilles . . . NASCAR says it is going to get tough on rough driving and one of the penalties might be loss of eligibility for the playoffs. Ho, ho, ho . . . The CASC-OR ice racing season gets under way at Minden Feb. 5. The Kinsmen up there take care of the track, collect admission and run the snack bar. Coffee and hot chocolate are the big sellers. It gets cold in Minden. Ted Michalos was acclaimed chairman of the border of directors of the racing organization. It will be for a one-year term . . . The last of the Granatelli Indianapolis racing family has died. Vince, son of Andy and nephew of Vince and Joe, was 78. He was a team owner during the CART years and employed drivers Robert Guerrero, Arie Luyendyk and Gordon Johncock, among others . . . 22 Racing of the NASCAR Canada Pinty’s Series announced that it and driver Kyle Steckly had teamed up with APC Auto Parts Centres/Canusa for the 2022 season . . .

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Weekly News Roundup: Record Tesla Deliveries, Jeep 4xe, Electric Original Minis, More

Tesla’s earnings call showed positive financial results for the company last year, but a delay in new models, including the automaker’s planned electric pickup. Tesla reported nearly one million vehicles delivered globally last year, up 87 per cent from the prior year. The Model 3 and Model Y made up 97 per cent of those sales. Company CEO Elon Musk said he expects to exceed 50 percent growth again in 2022, but said that supply issues will see its factories run below capacity for the year. The Cybertruck, Semi, and Roadster are now expected “hopefully next year” said Musk, and added the company was focusing its resources on existing production. Musk also announced that the company has stopped working on the entry-level model he had announced in 2020.

Jeep announced pricing for its plug-in hybrid Grand Cherokee. The Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe will start from $74,995 and offer a 2.0-litre turbo-four paired with two electric motors to deliver a 40 km EV range, 4.1 Le/100 km, 375 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque. That’s more power than its optional 5.7-litre V8. The 4xe will be offered in base, Trailhawk, Overland, Summit, and Summit Reserve trims. All will have 4×4 with low-range and can tow up to 6,000 lbs. The 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe will arrive at dealers in the spring.

Land Rover’s 2023 Range Rover Extended-Range PHEV is now available to order in Canada. The plug-in Range Rover will offer an electric range estimated to be 77 km, putting it near the top of all PHEV offerings. Pricing for the P440e model will start from $131,100 in Canada, with deliveries expected to start later in the year. In addition to the 77 km range, the PHEV will allow 50 kW Level 3 charging, one of just a few plug-in hybrids to offer that fast charging. The company says a fully electric model is expected to follow in 2024. A new Range Rover SV ultra-luxury model will also be available. From $213,800, it will have exclusive materials including ceramics and sustainably sourced wood, with two-tone interior options.

Mercedes-Benz said that the EQS 580 4Matic is now available in Canada. The all-electric four-door coupe is the flagship of Merc’s EQ brand, boasting features like a massive display dubbed Hyperscreen. Pricing starts from $144,200, $1,300 more than a gas-powered S-Class sedan, and has begun arriving at dealers this month. The EV offers a 547 km estimated range and fast charging at up to 200 kW for a 10-80 per cent charge in as little as 31 minutes. It also includes Mercedes me Charge access, which combines access to public charge points with access to semi-public ports. Think chargers at offices, shopping malls, and hotels, which would otherwise be limited to employees and customers.

Mini has announced that it will begin converting classic versions of its cars to electric, a factory-endorsed upgrade. Mini Recharged adds a 121 hp electric motor in place of the original tiny gas engines, with zero-100 km/h in around nine seconds. A 6.6 kWh battery gives these Minis an estimated 160 km range. Interior changes will include a new electric instrument cluster that adds EV info to the look of the original. The cars will initially be offered in the UK, where Mini points out that the cars will have access to parts of London where gas models are banned or fined. We expect similar electric conversions to become more commonplace as electric vehicles become more commonplace, offering a way to have classic style and handling without classic powertrain woes.

The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada announced three finalists each in 13 categories in the running for the 2022 Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Utility of the Year. Category winners will be announced next month, with the overall winners February 28th.

Best Small Car in Canada for 2022

Honda Civic

Mazda3

Nissan Sentra

Best Large Car in Canada for 2022

Honda Accord

Kia K5

Toyota Camry

Best Small Premium Car in Canada for 2022

BMW 3 Series/4 Series

Genesis G70

Lexus IS

Best Sports/Performance Car in Canada for 2022

Mazda MX-5

Toyota 86

Toyota Supra

Best Small Utility Vehicle in Canada for 2022

Hyundai Kona

Mazda CX-30

Toyota Corolla Cross

Best Mid-size Utility Vehicle in Canada for 2022

Hyundai Santa Fe

Hyundai Tucson

Mitsubishi Outlander

Best Large Utility Vehicle in Canada for 2022

Kia Sorento

Nissan Pathfinder

Toyota Highlander

Best Mid-size Premium Utility Vehicle in Canada for 2022

Genesis GV70

Jaguar F-PACE

Lexus NX

Best Large Premium Utility Vehicle in Canada for 2022

Cadillac Escalade

Genesis GV80

Jeep Grand Wagoneer

Best Off-Road Vehicle in Canada for 2022

Ford Bronco

Jeep Wrangler

Best Minivan in Canada for 2022

Chrysler Pacifica

Kia Carnival

Toyota Sienna

Best Small Pick-up Truck in Canada for 2022

Hyundai Santa Cruz

Nissan Frontier

Toyota Tacoma

Best EV in Canada for 2022

Ford Mustang Mach-E

Hyundai Kona Electric

Kia Niro EV

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Muscle cars…One last gasp?

Without question, the year 2021 was proof that electric vehicles are both here to stay and are the way of the future. Seemingly every automaker announced new electrification plans.

But that does not mean the venerable internal combustion engine is going quietly into that good night. While EVs dominated the 2021 headlines, Detroit’s Big Three automakers were partying like it was 1969, at least in terms of their muscle cars. We mark the new year with a Greatest Hits of 2022, Motown Muscle Edition.

Dodge Charger and Challenger

The Charger and Challenger, both of which are built at parent company Stellantis’ manufacturing facility in Brampton, Ont., are the muscle-car equivalent of an active octogenarian: simultaneously elderly yet somehow remarkably ageless and still relevant. These are among the oldest platforms sold in North America — dating back more than 15 years — and still Dodge continually finds a way to keep them fresh and interesting. The best way seems to be with more power.

For the 2022 model year, the new twists are the Charger and Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Jailbreak models. At first blush, the big news appears to be that, through the wizardry of computer calibrations and engine tuning, the Jailbreak variants produce a pavement-melting 807 horsepower. The regular Hellcat models are rated at 100 horsepower less.

But the coolest aspect of the Jailbreak models is that owners can create their own bespoke muscle car. Jailbreak buyers can choose from: seven options each for seats, stripes and wheels; six different brake caliper colours;

five exterior badge packages; and four choices each for steering wheels, seatbelt colours and floor mats.

In all, there are also more than 20 different categories of options to choose from. This huge choice virtually ensures that each buyer will get a truly unique vehicle. More than that, though, it’s a throwback to the 1960s, when buyers could walk into any Big Three dealership and order up a car with a crazy combination of options. This, quite simply, is brilliant marketing.

Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

For fans of the Blue Oval brand, the 5.2-litre 760-horsepower Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 moves into 2022 without major mechanical changes, and that’s not a bad thing. The most powerful production Ford model ever sold to the public, the Shelby GT500 offers a great blend of straight-line acceleration with wonderfully balanced handling and braking.

New for the 2022 model year is a limited-run Heritage Edition GT500, trimmed in Ford’s iconic Brittany Blue, with a choice of painted or taped Wimbledon White stripes (black painted stripes are also an option). Painted stripes in either colour will set buyers back a pretty penny compared to the cost of the tape stripes. In the United States, they’re $10,000, although there’s no word on the cost to Canadian buyers.

The colour scheme harkens back to Carroll Shelby’s first Mustang GT500, which debuted in those colours for 1967.

Preproduction model shown. Available spring 2022. GT500 and Shelby are registered trademarks of the Carroll Hall Shelby Trust.

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Chevrolet’s weapon of choice in the muscle-car wars is something of an enigma, given that it’s rumoured to be going out of production, perhaps as early as 2023. Parent company General Motors is moving heavily toward an all-EV future and its unclear if the Camaro will be a part of that future.

That said, Chevrolet still races the Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR series, where it has won consecutive championships. And Chevrolet is still selling the ZL1, although the lion’s share of the automaker’s performance marketing certainly seems focused on eighth-generation Corvette.

Although Chevrolet does not mention the 2022 ZL1 specs on either its U.S. or Canadian websites (at the time of writing this), the model is still for sale and is still powered by a 650-horsepower supercharged 6.2-litre V-8 engine. While that seems low when compared with the 760-horse Shelby GT500 or the 807 ponies in the Hellcat Jailbreak models, the ZL1 is plenty potent, especially in the handling department. The Camaro has morphed from muscle machine into a sports car. Best of all, unlike the Shelby and the Hellcat models, you can still order a ZL1 with a manual transmission.

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2023 Acura Integra's Interior Spotted Looking Similar to the Civic's

The Integra prototype was revealed without an interior, but the car on display at the 24 Hours of Daytona had one.

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Our 2022 BMW M3 Is the Perfect Spec

But will the luster fade over a 40,000-mile long-term test?

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History.. Learning to network

At the onset of the automobile era in the early 1900s, gas stations were few and far between. General stores and pharmacies often had a bucket of gasoline on standby, but drivers would funnel the gas into their own vehicle. And they typically had to plan a route based on these locations—without, of course, the assistance of smartphones and mobile apps.

Entrepreneurs started to buy gas from wholesalers and set up pumps with nozzles that fit Ford’s Model T, the first widely available automobile. This eventually led to the standardization of tanks and nozzles. Canada’s first “official” gas station opened in 1907, at a local Imperial Oil office in Vancouver. This station sported a pump created from a kitchen hot-water tank, and a length of garden hose in an open-sided corrugated tin shed. Eventually, large oil companies got involved and started building out national chains of gas stations that we still have in place today.

The history of gas stations in Canada holds a few lessons for the creation of a public electric vehicle (EV) charging network — though there are some key differences.

“Despite all the excitement around electrification, the fact is only four per cent of new vehicle sales are zero-emission vehicles right now, which is a long way off from the 100 per cent we’re trying to get to by 2035,” said Brian Kingston, president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association.

The Canadian government has committed to spending $880 million for an additional 65,000 charging stations over the next four years.

“We would argue you’re going to need a lot more than that,” said Kingston.

To meet its EV objectives, California estimates a ratio of one charger for every seven EVs on the road. In the European Union, that ratio is one to 10.

“We’re anticipating a total light duty vehicle (sedans, SUVs, pickups) fleet of nearly 40 million vehicles by 2050,” said Kingston. “If you take the ratio that the European Union is recommending, you would need approximately four million chargers (in Canada) by 2050.”

Today’s EV charging infrastructure is, in some ways, like the early days of gas stations. Charging stations are scattered about, and if you’re travelling over long distances, you need to map your route to ensure you can recharge your car (albeit with the use of mobile apps rather than paper maps). And while recharging doesn’t involve tinkering with funnels, it’s still an inconvenient, time-consuming process.

Building out a network of public EV chargers will require input from infrastructure planners to strategically locate stations based on demand, said Carolyn Kim, transportation director with the Pembina Institute, a clean energy think tank.

“It does make sense that there are key nodes along highway routes where charging stations can be built out, but there’s a need for on-street charging, as well as charging at public or private parking lots and certain mobility nodes or destination points,” she said.

In the early 1900s, when shop owners offered buckets of gasoline to passing vehicles, there was no such thing as standardization. That came later, with the involvement of oil companies.

With EVs, there’s also need for standardization of hardware, “so these charging stations can benefit a wide range of users and we’re not creating a patchy network that can only be used by certain users,” said Kim. Tesla, for example, has built out a network of Supercharger stations on well-travelled routes, but they’re only compatible with Tesla EVs.

“Right now, you have to overbuild and that’s the role of government,” said Kingston. “Then, in time, there will be a very, very strong private sector.” Overbuilding could help to gain the confidence of consumers who are on the fence about EVs because of charging concerns. And once we’re at a tipping point, things could get interesting, “which I think will result in a very different landscape of charging as opposed to gas,” he said.

Gas stations are starting to offer EV chargers alongside their gas pumps – including Petro-Canada’s Electric Highway and Canadian Tire’s charging network — in partnership with FLO, Electrify Canada and Natural Resources Canada.

However, it’s not just a matter of converting the current footprint of gas stations in Canada. “We’re going to require a much bigger network than that because you’ve got the time associated with charging,” said Kingston. Charging times will get faster, but at this point the average person typically waits 30 to 45 minutes for a charge.

Rather than general stores and pharmacies providing buckets of gasoline, we could eventually find EV chargers at shops, restaurants, coffee chains, shopping malls and hospitality-based businesses—where charging is offered alongside amenities. This is already happening: IKEA, for example, has started offering EV chargers in its retail parking lots.

In the early 1900s, a national network of gas stations was needed to grow the automobile industry. Today, a national network of standardized EV charging stations could help incentivize EV ownership to meet Canada’s net-zero goals by 2035.

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Published on YouTube: What we know about BMW M3 2022

What we know about BMW M3 2022
What we know about #BMW #M3 #2022 Is there a new BMW M3 coming out? Image result for bmw m3 2022 MSRP starting at ...
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EV Advice

After testing the Volkswagen ID.4 EV for a week, I discovered I would never buy one for a silly-yet-real reason: the location of its charge port. It is just behind the rear passenger side door, which is difficult to access in our tight, single car garage. I’d have to expand my garage to make it work. Or buy a new house.

We never realized when we installed our Level 2 (L2) home charger that its placement and cord length could affect our future EV choices. We need to park closer to our garage’s right wall to easily open the driver’s door, and our charger is hardwired to the wall in front of the vehicle. The location works perfectly for plug-ins with ports on the nose or driver’s side, but awfully if it’s on the passenger side. And, no, reversing the car into the garage won’t help.

Along with carefully considering where to place your charger (called an EVSE), there are other things to keep in mind. L2 chargers generally cost between $400 and $1,300, with prices increasing with charging speeds, length of cable and warranty levels. It should be installed by a licensed professional, who can help match your EVSE to your home’s panel and electric capacity. The charger should be UL or CSA certified. You’ll also want to decide if you want a smart charger, which use apps to control and communicate what’s happening with your vehicle. It can show you much electricity is used, allow for Google Home or Alexa integration, remotely start or stop a charging session, or ping you with notifications.

Those notifications would be especially helpful with my next EVSE purchase so I can fully charge the plug-in cars I am testing, followed by my own EV. Or maybe it’s time to invest in a dual-head charger, so I can charge two EVs at the same time (which is slower) or set it to charge one after the other is done. Or one with a cord long enough that I can charge an EV with a passenger side charge port in my driveway instead of my garage.

Michael Bettencourt bought his first EV in late 2011 and has followed the Canadian EV scene ever since. Follow him on Twitter @MCBet10court

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2023 Chevy Corvette Z06 VIN 001 Sells at $3.6 Million for Veterans' Charity

The first Z06 off the line was a sale for charity at the massive Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction.

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Couples Who Baja 1000 Together, Stay Together: Meet the Matlocks

Married for 17 years, Kristen and Wayne Matlock race against each other in a more than 30-hour off-road race.

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Published on YouTube: What we know about Toyota Hilux 2022.

What we know about Toyota Hilux 2022.
What we know about #Toyota #Hilux #2022. Will there be a 2022 Toyota Hilux? The new 2022 Toyota Hilux GR Sport will arrive at ...
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Ford Blue Advantage Used-Car Site to Add 14-Day Home Test Drives

With growing competition among used-car sellers online—including GM—Ford sweetens the deal for its shoppers, starting in February.

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Henrik Fisker Takes Another Swing at Luxury Car-Building

Henrik Fisker tells us why his goals have adjusted from sporty sedans to affordable electric SUVs, like the upcoming all-electric Fisker Ocean.

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A Recent Op-Ed Suggests EVs are Ill Equipped to Handle a Winter Stranding. We Check the Facts

An opinion piece suggests you’ll freeze if stuck in an electric car in a blizzard for hours, while gasoline drivers won’t. Like a lot of anti-EV tropes, this one’s not backed up by facts.

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Polaris Is Great on a Battlefield and the Back 40; Here's How to Get Your Own

Polaris and Battlefield 2042 have teamed up to showcase a new in-game ATV and real-life off-roading experience.

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Published on YouTube: What we know about Kia Stinger 2022

What we know about Kia Stinger 2022
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Tested: 2022 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT Defines the Performance SUV

Porsche's hot-rod SUV isn't just the quickest SUV we've ever tested, it's the complete package.

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Deal Spotlight: Save $180 on This Power Washer Today at Walmart

Normally $300, pick up this 2200-psi pressure washer—with four directional tips—for just $120.

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Future Electric Lotus Sports Car Might Look Like the Esprit

Lotus has announced a new battery partnership and revealed a sketch of an upcoming electric sports car, with a design akin to the classic Esprit.

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2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Hybrid Commands a Hefty Price Premium

Starting at $59,495, the plug-in-hybrid model is between $8250 and $9980 more costly than equivalent nonhybrid models.

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Tested: 2021 Lincoln Corsair Plug-In Hybrid Brings Efficiency at a Cost

The Grand Touring model trades performance and affordability for 28 miles of electric range.

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Published on YouTube: What we know about Audi A6 2022

What we know about Audi A6 2022
What we know about #Audi #A6 #2022 2022 A6 Sedan Starting at $65300 MSRP. 2022 A6 Sedan Starting at $65300 MSRP.
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2021 Mazda 3

Review, Pricing, and Specs

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Does the Ford Bronco Raptor Have Too Much Flare?

Ezra Dyer examines just what is going on with the Rubbermaid Raptor's fenders.

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Gordon Murray's T.33 Supercar Revealed with 607-HP V-12 and a Manual

This less expensive and more accessible version of the T.50 has a naturally aspirated 4.0-liter V-12 that revs to over 11,000 rpm.

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Nearly 700,000 Nissan Rogue SUVs Recalled for Dashboard Fire Risk

2014–2016 Rogues could experience corrosion in an under-dash electrical connector, which could lead to problems from power-window-control failure to a fire.

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2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness Gets a Mud Treatment

Can a lifted wagon based on a lifted wagon actually do serious off-road things? There's only one way to find out.

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Published on YouTube: What we know about Kia Carnival 2022

What we know about Kia Carnival 2022
What we know about #Kia #Carnival #2022 How much will the 2022 Kia Carnival cost? 2022 Kia Carnival Pricing The 2022 ...
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That's a Wrap on Our 2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid

After 40,000 miles with our long-term CR-V, we can't wait to see what the 2023 has in store.

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2023 BMW 8-Series and M8 Gain Illuminated Grille and Fresh Colors

A minor refresh for the 8-series and high-performance M8 brings a larger infotainment screen, small exterior tweaks, and several new paint hues.

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Maserati Grecale Prototype Shows Compact and Athletic Shape

The upcoming little sibling to the Levante SUV will debut in 2022 and may start under $50,000.

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2023 Toyota Sequoia Goes All-Hybrid, Shares Tundra Upgrades

It’s been well over a decade since Toyota’s three-row Sequoia was all new. That changes now, with Toyota’s reveal of the 2023 Sequoia, a full-size SUV with standard hybrid power along with more capability, luxury, and tech designed to help you use all of it.

Sequoia starts with an all-new frame. Sharing its architecture with the Tundra pickup, the 2023 Sequoia uses clever laser welding that lets Toyota make certain parts of the frame thicker and others thinner, improving overall strength and cutting weight. This new frame helps Toyota give the new Sequoia a tow rating of up to 9,000 lbs, 22 per cent more than the outgoing model and putting it firmly among the class leaders in that measure.

Also helping the Sequoia tow is the all-new i-Force Max powertrain. While the Tundra offers the i-Force Max as an option, it’s standard here, with a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 and a motor-generator between that engine and the 10-speed automatic. The result is 437 hp and 583 lb-ft of torque, with heaps of torque offered from low RPM. No fuel economy estimates yet, but Toyota calls it a “huge improvement” over the outgoing Sequoia.

Adaptive suspension is on Sequoia’s options list for ride comfort, while there is also an available load-levelling rear air suspension. Drive modes for the variable suspension include Comfort, Sport, Sport S+, and Custom, all of which change damping and engine behaviour.

The three-row’s cabin features a bench or captain’s chairs in the second row, depending on trim. The third row has a power-fold option, it also comes with 150 mm of fore and aft sliding as standard. The sliding combines with a new adjustable cargo shelf to help owners store their cargo both human and otherwise.

Toyota’s latest infotainment system will come in all new Sequoias. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, “Hey Toyota” natural speech commands, and Google POI data, are included, all on an 8.0-inch or 14.0-inch screen. Other tech includes the optional trailer backup guide and straight path assist, along with a wide range of camera options, with power-retracting tow mirrors also on the list.

Toyota Safety Sense 2.5 is standard, giving the 2023 Sequoia a variety of collision detection systems including pedestrian and cyclist spotting. It also has auto high beams and radar cruise control with steering assist and lane tracing. They’re not part of TSS, but blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alerts, and parking sensors are included.

The 2023 Toyota Sequoia is set to arrive in the summer in five trims. An all-new TRD Off Road with bits like a locking differential and Bilstein dampers is the base model, with Limited a more luxurious step-up, and Platinum adding goodies like ventilated front and second-row seats. TRD Pro gets a roof rack, skid plate, and Fox shocks, but Capstone is the new top trim. This has 22-inch wheels, special two-tone semi-aniline leather seats, and acoustic glass, among other ways to coddle the driver.

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Toyota Tundra TRD Desert Racer May Preview a Future Raptor Fighter

Then again, this Baja-inspired SEMA truck may be little more than a cool custom truck.

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Published on YouTube: What we know about Audi Q5 2022

What we know about Audi Q5 2022
What we know about #Audi #Q5 #2022 Is there a new Audi Q5 coming out? While they aren't the most engaging SUVs to drive, ...
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2023 Kia Niro Hybrid Specs Revealed, Plug-In and EV Models Confirmed

Larger than before but with a similar gas-electric powertrain, the second-generation Niro will arrive in the U.S. later this year.

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2022 Kia EV6 Is More Expensive Than Hyundai Ioniq 5

Available in Light, Wind, and GT-Line trim levels, the EV6 starts at $42,115 and ranges up to $57,115 for a 320-hp AWD dual-motor model.

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Volkswagen Passat Reaches the End of the Line

The last U.S.-market VW Passat has come off the assembly line, and the long-serving sedan bows out.

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2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

What We Know So Far

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2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Pricing and Trims Detailed

The new C300 sedan starts at $44,600, $1950 more than before, and now offers Premium, Exclusive, and Pinnacle trim levels.

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Published on YouTube: What we know about Chevrolet Camaro 2022

What we know about Chevrolet Camaro 2022
What we know about #Chevrolet #Camaro #2022 Is there going to be a 2022 Camaro? 2022 Chevrolet Camaro Features The ...
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The Racing Legacy of Paul Newman

The call at home would have been considered an unusual one if you didn’t know the guy as well as the person who answered the phone did.

“Dave? I’ve got a deal from a guy in Maine,” the familiar voice on the other end said.

“It’s a custom Volvo 960 station wagon, OK? But it’s different. He’s going to take a small-block Ford V-8 racing engine, strip out the transmission and suspension, then supercharge it. My guy’s gonna make it for me. Would you like one?”

David Letterman was stunned.

“Well yeah, Paul,” Letterman told the caller. “Wouldn’t we all?”

So, Letterman, one of America’s most famous talk-show personalities and a car nut, told Paul Newman, one of America’s most famous actors and a car nut, to go for it.

Supercharge the Volvo. Swedish safety be damned! Go nuts!

“So, Paul eventually brings the car over, drops the car off and this is the kind of car that people would stare at streetlights,” Letterman told his TV audience after Newman’s death in 2008. “It was like an atomic furnace under the hood. I used to love driving it. It would go 170 miles per hour (270 km/h) and underneath the exhaust system would glow bright orange.”

Then one day Letterman was in the Volvo on a New York Interstate with his girlfriend when she asked: “What’s that smell?”

Letterman turned to her and said, “Raw power and speed, baby.”

Wrong. The Volvo was on fire.

“We had to pull over, the car was shooting flames everywhere. It couldn’t handle the power,” Letterman said. “I call Paul and say ‘ . . . Everything is on fire.’ But, wow, what a car. Paul Newman and I were the only ones with this car.”

Unique and Newman usually ended up in the same sentence.

He’s remembered as an actor, a colleague, a friend, and most importantly, perhaps, a towering philanthropist. But leave it to Letterman to pay the most respect to the car legend.

“A guy who knew how to live life.”

In a 1991 interview with the New York Daily News, Newman said: “I had no natural gift to be anything, not an athlete, not an actor, not a writer, not a director, a painter of garden porches, not anything. So, I’ve worked really hard, because nothing ever came easily to me.”

Newman, however, was the real thing.

He died on Sept. 26, 2008, at age 83 in his Connecticut home, fittingly close to Lime Rock Raceway.

His career in acting could fill one end of the internet to the other; more than 100 movies, TV shows and stage plays. But what most people wouldn’t know is that he lived cars. He breathed cars. He could have only done cars and would have been happy.

He was a world-class race-car driver as well as one of the most successful team owners in the sport’s history. Historians said that had he never acted, his racing career alone would have garnered him great fame and fortune.

Those who knew him remember that he was always easy to spot in the garage. Shorter than expected. Movie star thin. Blue eyes searing the darkness of the garage. And always accessible.

Newman began racing after starring in “Winning,” a 1969 movie about Indy-style oval-track, open-wheel competition. He loved the taste of a racecourse and the smell of ethanol. He took to road racing on long tracks where he could use his skill on left and right turns.

He began racing professionally in 1972 at age 47 and would continue for another 30 years, first with Datsun (later Nissan), and was a regular in Victory Lane. Newman as a racer was affiliated with Bob Sharp Racing (Datsun and Nissan) and Dick Barbour Racing (Porsche). He finished second in 1979 at the 24 Hours of LeMans endurance race in France, in a Porsche. He won his class at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona, Fla., endurance race, at age 70. He was the oldest driver to win a major professional racing event.

But most of Newman’s success came as a co-owner with Carl Haas, a sports-car driver, team owner and Lola racecar and parts importer. In 1983, they formed Newman-Haas Racing on the open-wheel circuits and enjoyed enormous success in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) open-wheel series.

Newman and Haas signed two ex-Formula One World Champions — Nigel Mansell and Mario Andretti — and compiled 107 Indy car race wins.

Newman was also a partner in the Formula Atlantic Championship team Newman Wachs Racing and owned a NASCAR Winston Cup (now called the NASCAR Cup Series) car before selling it to Penske Racing.

His movie bosses were never happy with his racing so he would enter events with a pseudonym or as PL Newman. But he was always afforded privacy and respect at the racetrack, usually walking or riding a mini motorcycle alone with no security.

Personally, I will never forget the day some years ago when I met him in Cleveland, Ohio, 24 hours before a race.

I was walking through the pit area, a young reporter in search of a story, and there he was.

In the moment, I asked for an interview.

“Sure, kid,” he said. “I’ve got two minutes, but you probably have 20 questions. Give me your best question and I’ll answer it.”

What’s your greatest moment in racing, I asked?

“Tomorrow,” he said. “And, if not then, next week.”

 

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Taking the fun out of living for everyone else

At this time of year – sometimes earlier, often later – we go to Naples, Fla. for a week or 10 days of sunshine and warmth. Nothing beats walking in the sands of the Gulf of Mexico, out on the 134-year-old Naples Pier and through the streets of the old southeast city that’s primarily famous for golf, tennis and swamp buggy races.

Many well-known athletes and artists live in Naples. Singer Donna Summer died at her home there a few years ago. Members of the band Sly and the Family Stone live just up the line, in Ft. Myers.

The last time we were in Naples, we walked to a part of town that was new to us. It was near the harbour and there was a small mall there with all the stores pretty much selling the same stuff: men’s and women’s summer shirts and shorts, black-and-white photos of “old” Naples, and the like. There was one small restaurant, specializing in – surprise! – seafood. It’s name: Schitt’s Creek (now closed).

But that was then and this is now. We crossed back into Canada in March 2020, about a minute before they closed the border. We’ve been wearing masks and getting vaccinated ever since, it seems. Our mid-winter-vacations now consist of staying home, reading books and newspapers, debating the topics of the day and watching TV news, movies and documentaries.

One night, I was watching a panel discussion on TV in which the topic was plant-based “meat” and “chicken.” I like drumsticks and I like steak. I am not a fan of cardboard, which is what a lot of this “food” tastes like. One of the panelists noted that former U.S. vice-president Al Gore had gone vegan, was an investor in a meatless breakfast-patty company, and had said recently that eating vegan burgers can help to reverse climate change. I heard this and I thought to myself:

“Why do some people just want to take the fun out of living for everybody else?”

This reminds me of Leonardo DiCaprio and when he won an Oscar. It was 2016 and when he went up to give his acceptance speech, we got a lecture about climate change. The fact that many of his personal cars are not electric (OK, they’re hybrids) and that he flits around the Mediterranean in a yacht that burns diesel fuel doesn’t seem to matter – although I’m sure he buys lots of carbon credits to salve his conscience.

But his passion had a great effect on a young editor at the Star, whose every second word then became “transit.” We’d go into a story meeting and one suggestion would be to find out how much money it was going to cost to repair the Gardiner and you’d hear her muttering, “transit,” or “people should be riding transit,” or “people should start taking transit.” And then she would leave work and get into her Chrysler Crossfire and drive home on the Gardiner.

When I heard her going on and on about all this, you know what I started thinking, don’t you?

“Why do some people just want to take the fun out of living for everybody else?”

There is nothing wrong with transit; I use it myself. But when you’re packed in like cattle, as I was on a Mississauga bus just last week, and it’s winter and the snow on your coat melts and you’re damp and the guy next to you is breathing directly into your face and you know you’re going to catch a cold, you start thinking to yourself that there are probably more pleasant ways to get to work – like in a car that’s toasty warm. Which brings me to this.

I’m not happy with the prime minister these days. Most of the provincial premiers aren’t near the top of my hit parade either. Not because of COVID-19 – nobody in the world knows how to get a handle on that – but the procrastinating that’s going on so far as electric vehicles are concerned.

In April of 2021 – a little less than a year ago now – Trudeau committed Canada to reducing emissions by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. Two provinces, Quebec and B.C., signed on immediately while the remainder were, and remain, lukewarm.

Since then, I have not seen much happening. Yes, we have electric cars coming out of our ears. Auto manufacturers are churning them out, automotive writers review them with regularity; newspaper and TV commercials promote them. But, as you may have noticed, not that many of them are being sold. Why? Because most people aren’t stupid.

Until the feds and the provinces stop talking and start doing things like installing charging stations in large numbers at service stations or on city streets, nothing is ever going to happen. Right now, I can pull into a filling station and be gassed up and on my way within five minutes. Until that happens with electricity, Trudeau and the rest can forget about it.

Of course, maybe it’s just been a case of some people trying to take the fun out of living for everybody else. And where have we heard that before?

Norris McDonald, a past Wheels editor in chief, covers the Canadian automotive and global racing scene for the Star. He is a member of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.  nmcdonald@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter @NorrisMcDonald2.

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Autophile: Barry Davis

Five years after leaving a broadcasting career stretching almost three decades, Barry Davis has re-invented himself as a car salesman and is fronting several tribute bands.

It’s been an interesting transition for Davis, who worked for more than 14 years for Rogers Sportsnet as part of its coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays. He was the in-game reporter and became known for his player interviews, including one instance when he did so while wearing goggles during the team’s wild champagne celebrations after clinching a wild card berth in 2016. He and the company parted ways in 2017 and he’s been selling cars since January of last year.

A colleague at the dealership suggested he set up his desk with photos to reveal a little about himself to customers. Davis then put up a digital display with many images from his Blue Jays broadcast days and it has resonated with potential clients.

“It is pretty cool because it gives us a bit of a talking point, especially if it’s a sports fan,” Davis said. “It’s a nice ice-breaker with customers, at least the ones who are sports fans. I’d like to think the cars and the job that I do as a salesperson are what close the deals.”

Davis began doing sports and music podcasts but struggled financially to make it work. In November 2019 he took a warehouse job at Bass Pro. However, he was laid off two weeks before Christmas in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Davis then thought about working in the automotive industry, which was allowed to stay open by the province. He contacted Toronto Raptors’ superfan Nav Bhatia – whom he knew from having worked on Rogers’ basketball broadcasts – asking him for some advice about working as a car salesperson.

Bhatia, who owns three dealerships, offered Davis a job. Davis got his Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council licence and began working for commission as a sales and leasing consultant at Rexdale Hyundai in January 2021.

Three months later, Davis switched to Georgetown Honda because he was looking for something closer to home and liked the brand, as he’s been a loyal customer for many years. He was told about the Honda job by Joe Pinto, who does the sound for Davis’ music gigs at Spot 1 Grill & Music in Brampton and also works at the dealership.

He was feeling good about his new job, but COVID-19 impacted him again. Dealerships are operating with few new vehicles because some factories that produce semiconductors, which are a major component in building cars, shut down during the early stages of the pandemic in 2020.

A second wave of closures in the fall further exacerbated the problem, even though there is strong consumer demand for new cars. Customers seeking to make purchases are being told it can take several weeks or months for the cars to be delivered. Normally they are available for pickup in just a few days or a couple weeks.

“It’s becoming much harder for the consumer and becomes a much bigger challenge for the salesperson, especially when you are working in a commission business, where you don’t get paid until the car is delivered,” said Davis, adding he does receive a small-guaranteed salary.

Musical tributes

Davis has also been working hard in his spare time as a musician, something he did before he entered the broadcast business. After seeing a documentary about Tom Petty, he put together a tribute band called We Ain’t Petty and soon began receiving gigs. He then developed a tribute band for The Cars, an idea he first had in 1984. He dresses up like the band’s lead singer, the late Rik Ocasek. A friend, Ed Sousa— who manages Classic Bowl in Mississauga – suggested the name Driven, and soon started booking him.

Along with Tom Forth, who is a member of Driven, Davis has also put together a John Lennon and Paul McCartney tribute duo called Nowhere Man. Just when he was starting to receive engagements for all his bands, the fast-spreading Omicron variant led to another closure of businesses. While he’s been challenged significantly in his full-time job and part-time career, Davis is trying to look at everything positively.

“The most beautiful, amazing thing that has come out of me leaving Sportsnet is the number of people I have met and have gotten to know and who have become really close friends since I left, not to mention being able to open my doors to music,” he said. “I hadn’t performed in almost 30 years before I went back on stage again and performed in a band (after leaving Sportsnet). I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I got back on stage and began performing.

“I’ve been able to find happiness in other ways. It’s not necessarily all about what I’m doing for a living that makes me happy now. I just do what I think is the best thing for me.”

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Pfaff Motorsports moves up to IMSA pro class

There are two top-calibre sports car racing teams in Canada – Multimatic Motorsports of Markham and Pfaff Motorsports of Vaughan. Both adhere to the motto of the famous Roger Penske American racing team: effort equals results.

Today’s story is about Pfaff, which won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD class a year ago and announced this week that it was moving up to the IMSA GTD Pro division with pretty much the same team but an all-new driver lineup.

Porsche works drivers Matt Campbell of Australia and Mathieu Jaminet of France will drive for the full season; two-time IMSA DPi champion Felipe Nasr of Brazil will fill out the team for the four endurance races, one of which – the Rolex 24 at Daytona – will go to the post a week from this weekend.

Campbell, Jaminet and Nasr (on occasion) will be racing the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R, which will once again be decked out in plaid livery.  (It gets cold in Canada; hence the plaid.)

Considered one of the strongest driver lineups in the series, Campbell and Jaminet have an extensive history of working together and Formula One/GP2 veteran Nasr boasts one of the finest resumes of any driver in the championship. All have won WeatherTech races or IMSA classics in the past and Nasr won the DPi drivers’ championship in 2019 and ’20.

Moving up to the GTD Pro class, a big step, means they are in it to win it, said Pfaff general manager Steve Bortolotti, in an interview. “We’ve got a great team and a great driver lineup and amazing support from Porsche.  Obviously, to have to compete against two-car teams that have the ability to split strategies is going to be a new challenge for us but at the same time we’re very confident in ourselves as a team.

“Our move to GTD Pro signals Pfaff Motorsports’ commitment to become an elite privateer effort, worthy of factory consideration for future opportunities. We are appreciative of Porsche’s support with factory drivers Matt, Mathieu, and Felipe. They have a proven track record of success individually, and we look forward to working with them and seeing how they gel this season.

“I don’t like to be too bullish because, in racing, anything can happen but I certainly think we have as good a shot as anybody at winning a championship.”

Bortolotti said that Pfaff decided last June or July to run the Plaid Porsche in the Pro series. As well as the challenge of moving up, they didn’t want to leave their GTD-class championship driver, Zach Robichon of Ottawa, in the lurch.  (Robichon shared the trophy with co-driver Laurens Vanthoor.)

“We have a great relationship with Zach Robichon so we wanted to give him as much notice as we could so he could make plans for his future. So while we were running and winning the GTD title, we were planning and preparing as best we could for the move up to GTD Pro.

“At the time we were winning one championship and thinking about the move up to Pro, we decided not to defend the GTD championship. We looked at the possibility of running two cars, one in GTD and the other in GTD Pro but, to be blunt, it would have been too expensive.

“The cost of equipment like trailers, pit equipment, that sort of stuff is just so high right now because racing has got a bit of a renaissance going on – cars counts are really high, so demands for the stuff is so high that we didn’t want to pay that kind of money to field a second car. It just didn’t make financial sense. We do a good job doing one thing and doing it really well so we just decided to leave it at that.”

Bortolotti was quick to point out that Porsche didn’t desert Robichon and arranged a ride for him with Wright Motorsports as the third driver in the four endurance races scheduled in the GTD class. “Porsche is keen to keep him in the fold; they’d rather race with him than against him. But he has a full-time job – he runs his own business – so he’s busy and to race in a higher category would mean a greater time commitment.”

Auto racing at the upper level is enormously expensive. Motul, for instance, will return as a major partner. The French lubricants manufacturer supplies its 300V motor oil, RBF 700 brake fluid, and other lubricants. Pfaff will continue to offer Motul products over the counter at select dealerships. The insurance company Hagerty also returns to the Plaid Porsche, as will Orlando Corp. and the Pfaff Porsche and Porsche Markham dealerships.

Bortolotti has his fingers crossed that IMSA will be able to run a race in Canada this season after being kept out the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be a big problem, if we can’t (race),” he said.

“Sponsorship often depends on where the races are held,” he said. “Nobody will ask for their money back but it might be harder to get in the future. And that’s what we’re concerned about. In 2020, everybody was understanding, and they were still understanding in 2021. Now, with the border being open – and the health and safety of Canadians is very important to all of us – but we really hope that we’ll be able to run a race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.”

The owner is excited about the upcoming season. Said Chris Pfaff, President & CEO: “2022 will be just our third full season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and in that short time, I’m incredibly proud of what the whole Pfaff Motorsports team has accomplished, winning four races and the GTD championship in 2021. We’re excited to be taking the next big step, and are grateful for the confidence that Porsche has shown in us. With an amazing driver lineup and a great team behind them, all of the ingredients are in place for a successful season.”

All three drivers expressed their enthusiasm for their ’22 rides. Driver Campbell, for instance, said that the team will be a force to be reckoned with in 2022. “Having driven with the team previously, it will be an easy step already knowing the majority of them, which has a great group of characters. Mathieu (Jaminet) and I have been driving together for two years now in most championships we compete in – we like the same things in the car and have the same feedback, so I expect our partnership to only grow further with the team.”

Added Nasr: “The prototypes have a special place in my heart, having won two IMSA championships, (but) as a racer, I’m always up for a new challenge.”

The Pfaff team is in Daytona now (the transporter drove through that East Coast storm that hit us early this week; everybody else flew down Wednesday night). Now they’re hard at work preparing for the WeatherTech season, which starts at the Roar before the 24 preseason test at Daytona International Speedway this weekend.

Round one, which is also the biggest race of the season, gets under way a week later when the Rolex 24 gets the green flag on Sat., Jan. 29.

For news and behind-the-scenes content, follow @PfaffMotorsports, @Pfaff_Porsche, @Porsche_Markham, and @PfaffAuto on Instagram and Facebook.

 

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