Picture Gallery: 2010 Testfest Gallery     | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Discuss

Day 1:

Click Image to Enlarge Testfest photo by Greg Wilson

This week I am not driving just one car, I am going to sample at least 14 vehicles and perhaps even more, as I attend my first ever Testfest, in Niagara-on-the-lake Ontario. What is Testfest exactly? To summarize quickly: it is the one week every year where all AJAC (Automobile Journalists Association of Canada) members who do regular test drives congregate and test every new or substantially redesigned vehicle back-to-back, in order to name one the Canadian Car of The Year.

This is my first time attending the event, so you will get to learn along with me about the process and some of the vehicles competing here in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

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There is quite a large list of vehicles to test (53, to be exact) in 12 categories. Obviously, there just is not enough time for everyone to test every car, so we have been assigned vehicles and categories which we must evaluate before 5pm on Wednesday. Once we have tested all of our assigned vehicles, we are free to test other cars if we desire and if time permits.

I am assigned to Prestige (over $75k) which includes: Audi R8 5.2FSI, BMW 750i, Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid and the Porsche Panamera. Not a bad list of dream cars, if I do say so myself. I am also responsible for Sports/Performance (under $50k) which includes: Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Taurus SHO, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Mazdaspeed3, Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart and the Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Last, but not least, I’ll need to tackle Convertibles on a sunny day. This category includes: Audi A5 Cabriolet, BMW Z4 Roadster, Lexus IS350C and the Nissan 370Z Roadster.

The full list of eligible vehicles is available on AJAC’s website.

Visit this blog daily for updates — this should be an exciting week!

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Some very interesting cars, trucks and SUVs cycled in and out of my driveway in 2008. I have gone through the list of Day-by-Day Reviews from November 2007 to November 2008 and compiled my list of Top 10 vehicles from the past year (in no particular order). More…

2009 Pontiac Vibes.

Well it is a wrap up for me in Montreal, I have made it back to Ottawa a little tired but I had a complete blast the catchthevibe event. I was there to witness the cars hit the truck once again for their trek to Toronto where Chris Chase will be embarking in his challenge as part of Team Traction on April 1st. More…

Picture Gallery: 2008 Chrysler Town & Country Limited     | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4| Discuss

Day 1:

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Out of a sporty coupé and into something pretty much the polar opposite of sporty this week. I’ll be cruising in style in the Chrysler Town & Country Limited — Chrysler’s upscale minivan. This is the all-new minivan from the company that started the craze, and with new innovations such as the Swivel N Go seating, they are attempting to be a leader and not a follower. More…

Moscow to Mongolia race starts from Red Square!

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It’s a 7,100-km race from Moscow to Mongolia, with a route that cuts across some of the most varied geography in the world. A rally that passes through old cities, mountain ranges and skirts along the Gobi desert before the end, 14 days later, in Ulaanbaatar. It’s the Rally Transsyberia, a challenge for man, woman and machine and one of the most grueling long-distance events you can participate in. More…

Picture Gallery: 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer DE

Day 1:

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Well, lucky me: two back-to-back sedans in the $20,000 range, the last one being the Chevrolet Cobalt I reviewed about a week and a half ago. I can’t ask for anything better than having two similarly equipped cars in the same price range to compare back-to-back; it really makes my job much easier than trying to remember what the last car was like from my notes. More…

Picture Gallery: 2007 BMW 335i Coupé

Day 1:

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Hopefully today was the last day I’ll have to scrape my windshield for a good while. The weather outlook for Thursday is 16 degrees and even better for the weekend. In other words, perfect driving weather to put some miles on the ultimate driving machine: the new BMW 335i Coupé. More…

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They go together like peanut butter and Jelly…
Girls and Cars that is, what would an auto show be without girls? Unlike the SEMA and SCN the Girls at the NAIAS are more sophisticated and are draped over cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati are the only manufacturers with girls hanging onto their cars in Detroit.

Sometimes these girls get in the way of a clean shot of the car but who are we to complain?
Photo Gallery

Click Image to Enlarge Mitsubishi Unveils EVO X Prototype Mitsubishi unveiled the EVO X Prototype concept, a vehicle that is not far off from the production EVO X to be released in 2008 in Canada. This EVO will feature a six-speed automatic gear box with manual shift mode that will hopefully be as good as VW/Audi groups DSG box. Photo Gallery

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CarTalkCanada was at the Toronto AutoShow on Friday, along with a bunch of Forum Members, good times were had by all and lots of pictures were taken. Read on for more pictures, beware there are many!
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