Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Mercedes me Charge will offer access to more than 7,000 Canadian charge points

Mercedes-Benz has just announced new charging infrastructure plans for Canadian buyers and drivers of its upcoming Mercedes-EQ models. The automaker is partnering with ChargePoint and creating the Mercedes me Charge system. There will be new home charging options as well.

At launch, the new Mercedes me Charge system will give customers access to more than 4,900 public charging stations across the country. The company says that’s more than half of all networked charging points in Canada. Thanks to the ChargePoint partnership, customers will be able to use the charge stations of that company as well as those of Flo and other networks.

Access to more than 2,400 “semi-public” charge ports will also be part of the program. These are chargers located at workplaces and other locations like hotels that would normally be access-controlled to only those who work there or to hotel guests.

To help keep its charging green, Mercedes-Benz said that it would use a program that ensures that all power put into one of its EVs will see an equivalent amount of renewable energy put into the grid. Mercedes says this helps reduce CO2 footprint, but that it also increases green energy demand and helps develop new green power sources.

Starting at the end of the year, Mercedes-EQ will add Plug & Charge. This is a new vehicle feature that skips most of the steps of starting a charge session, signing into the right account, and needing multiple billing accounts. With Plug & Charge, you plug in and you charge. The car and charging station bill your car’s account automatically.

Lastly, a partnership with Flo and Qmerit will offer a Flo Home X5 smart charger with four-year warranty and Qmerit installation. Customers will be able to finance their home charging station, through this partnership, using Mercedes-Benz Financial Services just like their vehicle purchase or lease.

“Canada is a significant and highly anticipated market for Mercedes-Benz when it comes to the new Mercedes-EQ sub-brand,” said Mercedes global head of charging partnerships Nico Dettmer. “Mercedes-EQ drivers in Canada can look forward to a sizable and rapidly expanding public and semi-public charging station infrastructure that will allow them to travel easily across Canada.”

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OPINION: Start Saying Goodbye To The Manual Transmission

Only about 1.2 per cent of new cars sold in North American are equipped with a manual transmission.

No. I’m not happy about this. And yes, journalists have been sounding an alarm about the death of the manual transmission for over a decade now.

But as unfavourable as it is, and as alarmist as it sounds, it is time that we all start accepting just how little life is left in the manual transmission as a mass consumer product. The noble manual transmission now faces just too many threats to survive much longer.

Electric cars are one such threat. A big one.

Like the advent of electronically controlled fuel injection, auto manufacturing is about to see a massive shift in how it produces cars. And just as ‘enthusiasts’ complained about losing carburetors in favour of the more efficient fuel injection systems, so too is there a kind of automotive puritan uprising against EVs… because time is a flat circle, apparently.

However, one legitimate gripe to have against EVs is that it makes the inclusion of a manual transmission essentially impossible — or at the very least, completely unnecessary.

Electric vehicles don’t have gearboxes, because they don’t have a flywheel, because they don’t have an engine. The only kind of gearing you get in a Tesla, for example, is through a differential to deal with power distribution and cornering.

You could theoretically simulate a paddle shift automatic with an electric motor, but all you would really be doing is deliberately slowing down your acceleration while being less power efficient. And there would still be no clutch, so what would be the point, really?

No manufacturer will be untouched by electrification. Just this month, Dodge announced it will be making an “electric muscle car” and Aston Martin has said its planning an electric sports car and SUV for 2025.

But even outside of electric cars, the manual transmission is struggling to find an audience. And that’s because automatics are becoming really, really good.

As little as 10 years ago, if you were a serious performance enthusiast, you had to buy the manual variant of any car as the automatic “slush box” was simply too dimwitted to deliver power effectively.

And in fact, manual transmissions were almost three times as popular in North American in 2010 — about 3.4 per cent of cars sold that year had a manual transmission.

However, things started to change around that time as cars like the Nissan GT-R proved you could actually enhance performance and the all-selling 0-60 m.p.h. time if you removed the possibility for driver error presented with a manual transmission. Of course, performance staples like the Corvette and Toyota Supra have since ditched the manual transmission option entirely and become very, very fast in the process.

Even with nameplates which do still offer a manual, like the Ford Mustang and Porsche 911, the automatic variants are far quicker than their “standard” counterparts. Sometimes by up to half a second to 60 mph (that might as well be a year in car terms).

Granted, there is more to achieving those impressive times than simply removing driver error. Modern automatics are juiced by manufacturers with some gearing trickery to ensure they far outshine the manuals.

Why do manufacturers want the automatic transmission to win?

Firstly, it means that even useless drivers like you or me can hop in any car and feel like a super star driver. And hey, if you spend over $100,000 on your new Porsche, that desire is certainly understandable.

But moreover, manufacturers know that controlled gearing in automatics make greater fuel efficiencies possible. Additionally, because automatics are so much more popular than manuals, they’re much more cost effective to produce.

No accountant looks at 1.2 per cent of all car sales and says, “Yes, those are the buyers we should focus on.”

As a result, there simply isn’t any research and development money being spent on manual transmissions. And so, this performance and efficiency deficit isn’t likely to swing back in favour of the manual. It’s a death spiral for the manual and a “rich get richer” situation for the automatic. No one is buying manual transmissions because automatics are so good. And manuals can’t get any better because no one would sensibly invest in improving them, because demand is so low.

Consider that the familiar and well-travelled Tremec TR-6060 (an evolution of the beloved TR-56, which itself first arrived in the early ‘90s) first debuted in 2007 and is still being used, mostly unchanged today.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” simply won’t cut it when automatic transmissions are becoming faster, more efficient and more popular every year.

Then there’s all this new safety tech.

Driver-assist features like automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control are quickly becoming the norm. Automatic emergency braking, for example, will be available on most models by 2022 due to a voluntary 2019 agreement which was entered into by 20 automakers and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Is it impossible to adapt manual transmissions to this technology? No. But it is very, very costly. And giant corporations don’t like “costly”. If we’re being realistic, when it comes to a product which only accounts for 1.2 per cent of total sales, it’s a far more sensible decision to axe that product completely, rather than invest in improving it.

How soon will the manual transmission kick the bucket?

I reckon we could see the very last clutch pedal roll off the assembly line as early as 2025. If I were to place a bet on it, I’d wager we won’t see any new models announced after that date with a manual transmission option.

Again, this brings me no joy at all. And I sincerely hope I’m wrong.

I love driving a stick. I don’t think there’s anything quite like the experience of changing your own gears — you’re never quite more connected to a car than when you’re physically connecting the engine to the road. It feels like you’re directly translating energy into speed.

Moreover, a manual transmission has the magic ability to turn a boring car into a spectacular one. You truly don’t need a lot of horsepower when you have a clutch pedal as is evidenced by cars like the Subaru BRZ / Toyota 86 and Mazda MX-5. A Honda Civic Type R without a manual transmission holds no appeal for me whatsoever. It needs that crucial point of engagement to become alive in the way that it does.

But like it or not, commerce is a democracy and car enthusiasts are a very, very small voting bloc. Miniscule, even. And within that miniscule voting block is the even tinier, microscopic block of manual transmission enthusiasts, and we are a group which is growing smaller by the day.

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The Ectomobile Is Back and Better Than Ever in 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' Trailer

The newest installment in the Ghostbusters franchise will feature a hot-rodded, heavily modded specter-fighting ambulance. The movie is due out November 11.



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The Lexus LC 500 is The Best Car I’ve Ever Driven

This is not a review of the Lexus LC 500.

Which is just as well because I don’t think the LC 500 would fare too well in an objective piece of consumer advice.

Certainly, at its steep as-tested price tag of $120,000, there are many, many options one would consider as “better value” than the LC 500. The Porsche 911, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and Nissan GT-R are just a few other six-figure GT coupes which would not only provide a much higher level of brand recognition and excitement for the neighbour children, but which would simply annihilate the LC 500 in a drag race.

Sincerely, if you’re looking for a blisteringly fast sports coupe from Toyota, you should walk right past the LC 500 and spend around half the money on a new Toyota Supra. It’s faster than the LC 500. And it’s far more exciting around corners.

The Lexus LC 500 is not the fastest car I’ve ever driven. Nor is it the most technologically advanced. It’s not the most lavishly trimmed. It’s certainly not the most practical or fuel efficient. It’s not the most visually interesting or historically significant.

2021 Lexus LC500

But it is the best. By a far stretch.

What I love most about the LC 500 is that Lexus didn’t bother chasing lap times or funneling in race technology that could never be properly enjoyed on the street.

Instead, it seems that Lexus did what they do best — refine a concept. They focused on making the LC 500 a simply superb, long-legged GT coupe which elevates the simple task of driving to a destination into a sublime, even blissful experience.

The first thing you’ll notice about the LC 500 is its simple silhouette. The iconic, acid trip Lexus front grill aside, the LC 500 is fairly understated when compared next to the kinds of over-excited, desperate designs (read, “Corvette C8”) which are becoming more and more commonplace. The car’s sweeping, long side profile conjures up images of Toyota sports cars past such as the Toyota 2000GT, Lexus LFA and even the Toyota Supra A80.

2021 Lexus LC500

And despite the obvious homage to the magnificent (though doomed) LFA hypercar, what the LC 500 reminds me of most is an A80 Supra.

A lot of us think of an A80 as the fire-spitting supercar we see killing Lamborghinis to the tune of turbo whistles on YouTube. And they certainly can be that. But the truth is that the A80 is, at its core, a big, lumbering, 2 + 2, GT coupe. They’re floaty, soft, deliberate things.

In truth, the new A90 Supra is far closer to the idea of what most of us think a Supra is in our minds — a sharp, nimble, razor’s edge sports car. The A80 never truly was that. And neither is the LC 500.

At any rate, after you’re done soaking in the exterior and its various carbon fibre accents, you’ll want to get into the LC 500 for a drive, which is a bit like hopping into a velvet-lined X-Wing fighter. The suede, the leather, the brushed aluminum, every dial, everything you interact with feels absolutely exquisite. But somehow it doesn’t feel gotti or brash or overwhelming on the inside (*cough* Mercedes). Everything is simple, elegant and easy to find. Comfortable, too.

Then you hit the start button and the 471-horsepower 5.0-litre V8 roars to life, delivering you one of the most aggressively beautiful engine notes you or anyone on the planet has ever heard. It’s like if someone stuck a heavy metal band in the middle of a symphony orchestra. It’s thunderous and angry, yet melodic and soothingly rhythmic. It sounds like focused rage and feels like being in the middle of an EDM dance pit just before the beat drops.

2021 Lexus LC500

The engine note sounds like it was composed by Mick Gordon.

A beat later and your gauge cluster illuminates to life as the digital tachometer — another hangover from the LFA — presents itself and gives you a quick taste of what it’s like to watch the needle bounce off the rev limit.

With a dial on the upper right-hand side of the gauge cluster, you can select Sport + mode, which will turn all of your dials an aggressive white and red colour scheme. Your throttle stands ready to deliver all of the 471 horsepower on a dime and the steering feels sharp and precise in a way it’s beginning to seem only Toyota can dial in.

Of course, if during your drive you find yourself caught in a torrential thunderstorm on the highway (which I did several times during my time with the LC 500), simply flip the dial into Comfort mode and the LC 500 stays perfectly planted and unwavering at speed.

Whatever the opposite of white knuckles is, that’s what this car gives you.

Which is not to say it can’t put an enormous grin on your face. In fact, I challenge anyone to not be filled with pure joy when they bury their foot into the accelerator and listen to the 5.0-litre V8 sing.

You will accelerate hard through every underpass just to hear the engine note more clearly. Every. Single. One. And it will never, ever get old.

And while the LC 500 is no track monster, it’s not exactly a slouch either. Pinning the accelerator is a bit like punching a panda bear in the face. At first, you feel guilty for doing something so crude and barbaric to such a majestic creature. But then, you simply aren’t ready for the savagery of the response.

Every exhaust burble from the screaming V8 upon upshifts will restore your faith in humanity.

Here’s the best way I can describe the experience of driving an LC 500.

2021 Lexus LC500

Imagine a 5.0 Mustang GT, with roughly $80,000 worth of extra value put into every aspect of the car that wasn’t the raw performance. That’s $80,000 to improve the interior, the ride and the driving feel in ways in which the driver will immediately recognize and appreciate.

In a lot of cars with price tags over $100,000, it can be very difficult to work out exactly where all that money goes. In an LC 500, you get a keen sense of where every dollar is at work.

I said about the entry-level Lexus IS that what it did well was remove friction. “Refinement” is Lexus’ signature move and that is what’s on full display in the LC 500 — refinement of the GT coupe experience. But what that really means is that it makes every journey feel special and stress free.

If it helps, think of the LC 500 less like a lavish Supra and more like a bargain Aston Martin.

2021 Lexus LC500

Things I don’t like?

I suppose it is kind of hard to see out of the driver’s side blind spot. And the sound system is just okay. Also, I think Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires are all kinds of wrong for this car. They’re grippy, sure. But they’re also too noisy and ride too rough for a car which is, in every other way, unconcerned with raw performance at the expense of refinement. I never thought I would say this, but the tires actually communicate too much road feel for this car.

Also, on the subject of wheels, I don’t like the rims. Toyota seems to be one of the last holdouts to put chrome rims on their sports cars and it just looks horribly dated.

Knit picks aside, the LC 500 got under my skin in a way I didn’t think was possible. It felt like more than a car. It felt like a companion. And that is the absolute best (and most difficult) trick a car can pull off.

A Nissan GT-R, for example, when you start to drive it hard, communicates to you, “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” It communicates confidence to your brain.

But an LC 500 says, “Don’t worry. I’ve got you.” And that communicates companionship to your heart.

Admittedly, it is possible I’ve developed an emotional relationship to the LC 500 because it came into my life for a very memorable occasion, albeit a very sad one.

I had my LC 500 tester the same week my partner’s father passed away after a long and arduous fight with brain cancer. Not only did my forest green LC 500 allow me to urgently transport my partner from downtown Toronto to her grieving family in Kitchener with equal parts haste and comfort (through those nasty thunderstorms), it provided everyone with a little bit of joy on an otherwise dark day.

2021 Lexus LC500

We even had a good laugh about how the LC 500’s interior was the same colour as my father-in-law’s beloved 1981 Camaro Z/28 — a car he had owned since new.

And so beyond being a spectacular engineering achievement and an essentially faultless car to drive, the LC 500 became a friend because it was present for such a significant day.

There are plenty of other cars which have made an impression on me because of a significant memory. A 2018 Mustang GT took me on a tour of Hawaii’s big island and earned me my first speeding ticket in the USA. A 2012 Nissan GT-R savaged me around a race track and gave me a new appreciation for speed. A 2019 Honda Civic Type R ushered me through back country roads on cool fall days and was the first press car I ever reviewed for a publication. I still wonder what became of my 2004 Mazda RX-8 — the first stick shift and JDM car I ever owned.

And like those machines, I’ll always remember that green LC 500 and the small bit of joy it provided on an otherwise grim, rainy July day.

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Jeep Gladiator Gains the Wrangler’s Gecko Green Paint

The bold color, a limited-run option available on the Wrangler since the spring, can now be ordered on the Gladiator until October.



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Formula E Festival set for Vancouver

In 2017, Montreal held a round of the FIA Formula Electric championship, better known (and marketed) as Formula E, and it turned out to be a one-and-done proposition.

Instead of using a portion of the permanent Grand Prix circuit on Isle Notre-Dame, organizers insisted on carving out a track through city neighbourhoods near the downtown. This movie essentially trapped hundreds— if not thousands— of residents who couldn’t use their cars to come and go during the weekend. Some residents also couldn’t walk out of their front doors during certain hours of the day (unless they bought a ticket to the race, of course).

The city was cash-strapped, but money to promote and present what was called the Montreal ePrix was, apparently, no problem. Streets not scheduled to be repaved for years were paved anyway, and money for 24-7 security was easily available.

Promoters of the doubleheader – a race was held Saturday and another Sunday – were convinced they would have a crowd of 50,000 over the two days. They missed by 5,000 but more than one observer put that down to the popularity of the Formula One Grand Prix of Canada, which attracts more than 100,000 on race day when it’s held in Montreal each June.

After watching a large part of the centre of the city shut down and public money spent as if it was water, the people of Montreal rebelled that autumn by replacing the once-popular mayor Denis Coderre in favour of Valerie Plante, whose first decision in office was to cancel the remaining five years of the Formula E contract.

Formula E reacted by suing the new mayor for $16.5 million; they settled July 12 for $3 million.

That settlement announcement was made just days after press releases were sent out revealing an ePrix will be held in Vancouver next summer over the Canada Day weekend, June 30 to July 2. The promoters, a Montreal-based organization called OSS Group Inc., say they learned from the mistakes made at the first ePrix. They view “green” Vancouver is a better location for a race centred on sustainable development and promise that the event will be a prime summertime event in Vancouver in the years ahead.

According to the organizers, the Formula E festival will be three days of concerts, environmental business conferences and, of course, the race. The fun will be held in and around the downtown Vancouver neighbourhood of False Creek, where a highly successful Indy car race was held in the 1990s and early 2000s.  In the later years, the Indy cars found it harder and harder to race there because development company, Concord Pacific, kept building condos in the middle of the track and race sponsors started to squirrel away money in preparation for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Sponsor Molson decided to pull the plug over the Olympics, in particular – plans had the Olympic Village being built over the south end of the track – but also because some residents of those snazzy new condos started to complain about the noise. Formula E doesn’t have to worry about noise complaints as much since the electric cars only emit a noticeable whine, so you know when they’re coming.

To prepare to seek approval for the event from city council, and learning from the mistakes of Montreal, the ePrix promoters started meeting with False Creek residents more than a year ago. As a result, OSS Group have the residents and city council firmly on their side. Everyone is waiting with anticipation, however, for September when the promoters say they’ll announce the sponsors and explain how they came up with the estimate of $80 million in economic activity that will be generated by the race.

The OSS Group, incidentally, is made up of three veterans of the motorsports industry: Matthew Carter, who is president and CEO, Anne Roy and Phillip Smirnow. All have vast experience in Formula One, IndyCar and Formula E.

Formula E races are short by F1 and IndyCar standards –  the car batteries only last about 30 minutes or so – and so you don’t need the same amount of room.

Carter said OSS Group has a substantial budget and is prepared for any emergency. “We’re not relying on public funds,” he said. “With all of our backgrounds, we have contacts and good relations so far as sponsorship is concerned. Ticket sales and sponsorship will be our main sources of revenue.

“And we have contingency built into the budget. But we can’t think of anything that will come out of the woodwork.”

I teased Carter that he had about 10 months to rest up because hardly anything gets done until the last minute these days.

“But the real work starts now,” he said, adding that a race CEO had been hired and an office would soon be opened near the track.

“We really look forward to making this a marquee event on the Formula E calendar, while showcasing all that Vancouver and British Columbia have to offer.”

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Ours to Discover: Cobourg. An Ontario town with so much more than just its fantastic beach

About this series: With COVID-19 restrictions expected to ease over the next few months, Wheels wants to inspire you to get ready to explore – but only when it is safe to do so. This series of daytrips and weekend drives highlights great experiences you can have in the province once conditions allow and show you why Ontario is “Ours to Discover” this summer and beyond.

Located just east of Toronto, where Highway 401 and Northumberland County Road 2 meet, Cobourg is just far enough removed from the GTA to maintain its small-town charm. Even with its beautiful swath of beach and an abundance of activities, Cobourg remains low key. Here is how to make the most of a day trip to this picturesque community on Lake Ontario.

In the morning: A fair number of people commute into Toronto from Cobourg, but this town holds its own as a destination. Hit the road at 8 a.m. so you can enjoy a full day’s worth of exploring. Get on Hwy 401 heading east and it will take you about 90 minutes to reach Cobourg. If you’re day tripping on a weekend, make a quick pit stop by taking RR 34 to the Courtice Flea Market, about an hour into your journey. You can buy everything from crystals to refurbished yard tools, but the best scores are in the secondhand furniture stalls, where you can find gems like retro picnic baskets. After, get back onto Hwy 401 and head for another 30 minutes to Cobourg.

Park on King Street and walk to the Cobourg Farmers Market (it is only open on Saturdays) in Rotary Harbourfront Park. One of the oldest in Ontario – it was established in 1839 – the market has a balanced mix of vendors selling fresh produce and ready-to-eat goods, including the award-winning Doo Doo’s Bakery butter tarts (snap them up before exploring as they sell out early), and beverages from small-batch breweries Rice Lake Hard Cider and William Street Beer Co. If you’re not visiting the Cobourg on a Saturday when the market is open, head to Burnham Family Farm Market instead for a great selection of local cheese, baked goods and produce.

Cobourg

A busier than normal Cobourg Farmer’s Market. Cobourg’s annual Harvest Festival took place on King Street throughout downtown Cobourg on Saturday October 7, 2017 in Cobourg, Ont. The event was hosted by the Cobourg Downtown Business Improvement Area and featured a number of events including axe throwing, music, tractors, square dancing and a number of food vendors. Pete Fisher/Northumberland Today/Postmedia Network

Around noon: Drop your market purchases in the car before walking to The El. Once a tapas bar, the El’s new gastropub menu features comfort foods such as fried brussels sprouts and chicken wings, along with tacos and a paella generously filled with shrimp and chorizo. Save room for ice cream at Harbourfront Delights, where they have 24 flavours of soft serve, plus London Ice Cream Company favourites such as Toasted S’mores. Ice cream in hand, explore a few of the shops along King Street: you’ll find a treasure trove of toys and treats for your pets at All Creatures Great and Small, and outdoor-adventure toys for yourself at Green Canoe Outfitters.

In the afternoon: Take Division Street north to get to Legacy Vintage Building Materials and Antiques (open Wednesdays to Sundays until 4 p.m.). Regardless of whether you’re looking to buy a piece for your home, this historic warehouse—it’s formerly the site of the Canadian Pacific Railway Express Yard—offers a vast and fascinating range of vintage pieces, everything from bathtubs and doors to knobs and eclectic bric-a-brac, such as a taxidermied mongoose. It is well worth a visit even to just look around. Established in 1998, Legacy also provides prop rentals to numerous film and TV productions including “It,” “The Boys” and “Anne with an E.”

Cobourg

Next, choose your own adventure: From Monday to Friday, you can head to Victoria Park Beach if you’d like some rest and relaxation. Remember to bring some of the goodies you bought at the market earlier to nibble on. Alternatively, if you’re feeling like you’d rather keep moving, head for a hike. From Legacy Vintage head north on Division and onto County Road 45. This picturesque road winds its way northwest, with lush forest on either side of you. Park at the Woodland Trailhead and then make the easy 30-minute trek up to Lookout Mountain. At 356 metres above sea level, you’ll be rewarded with an impressive view of the forest below.

Cobourg

People on Cobourg beach enjoyed a unseasonably hot day. The hot, humid weather makes Cobourg beach seem more like a summer month then nearly October on Tuesday, September 26, 2017 in Cobourg, Ont. Pete Fisher/Northumberland Today/Postmedia Network

In the late afternoon: Take County Road 29 to Villa Conti Oak Heights Winery in Warkworth to enjoy a glass of wine before dinner. The rolling hills make for a beautiful pastoral backdrop to admire as you savour a sip from its wine menu. Be sure to visit the winery’s farm to say hello to the goats, llamas, bunnies, ducks, sheep and cows before you head out.

In the evening: Cobourg’s beachy vibes will have stirred up a craving for some Mediterranean. Take county roads 29 and 45 back to King Street for dinner at Corfu Grill. This Greek family restaurant serves juicy grilled souvlaki, delectably melty saganaki, and zesty tzatziki—and garlic breath won’t be a concern for the drive home since everyone will be in the same boat.

SIDEBAR: COVID-19 need to know

Cobourg is a part of Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge Health District (hkpr.ca) and is currently following provincial reopening guidelines. Some businesses or attractions may be closed or operating at reduced capacity. Contact individual businesses for details.

SIDEBAR: For the drive

The drive to Cobourg, with the less than inspiring scenery along Hwy 401, makes having something great to listen to essential. The 90-minute drive each way will fly by as you listen to “The Secret Diaries of Detective Murdoch.” This audio series is a 10-part companion to The CBC television show “Murdoch Mysteries” (Canada’s most watched drama), which is regularly filmed in Cobourg.

TIMELINE SIDEBAR: Drive Guide

  • 8 a.m. Leave Toronto
  • Drive east along Hwy. 401
  • Turn north on RR 34
  • Side trip: Courtice Flea Market
  • 10:30 a.m. Cobourg Farmers Market
  • Noon: Lunch at The El
  • 1:30 p.m. Ice cream at Harbourfront Delights and shopping on King Street
  • 2:15 p.m. Legacy Vintage Building Supplies and Antiques
  • 3:30 Victoria Park Beach or Hike to Lookout Mountain
  • 5 p.m. Villa Conti Oak Heights Winery
  • 6:30 p.m. Corfu Grill
  • 8 p.m. Drive back to Toronto

NOTE: Times are suggestions only

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