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April 2003
April 30, 2003 Mercedes-Benz Canada officially opened its newest location in Dollard-des-Ormeaux today, in the West Island of Montreal, making it the first factory-owned retail store operation in the Greater Montreal Area since the late 80's.
April 30, 2003 According to an analysis by Runzheimer International, a consulting firm that specializes in cost-of-living comparisons, consumers save considerable sums by moving to the outlying suburbs.
April 29, 2003 General Motors of Canada and the Toronto Blue Jays announced that GM, and all its brands, will become the Official Automotive Sponsor of the Toronto Blue Jays, and GM and the Blue Jays will support a grassroots community baseball program.
April 29, 2003 The 20 most skilled automotive students from high schools across British Columbia will be competing at the Ford, BCAA and BCIT Student Auto Skills Competition on Saturday, May 3. The annual competition, now in its 13th year, is aimed at encouraging careers in the automotive industry and raising awareness about the current and predicted shortage of qualified technicians in the automotive trade.
April 29, 2003 Belgian fighter pilot Rudi Thoelen bested competitors from 15 other nations to win the first Land Rover G4 Challenge. Thoelen, 31, rappelled, mountain biked, kayaked, navigated and drove a difficult off-road course to ultimately claim the grand prize, a $71,200 Range Rover in the unique competition.
April 29, 2003 Automotive designers at Audi, Ford and leading styling studios are adding headlamps to the growing list of automotive lighting components powered by LEDs, reflecting technology advances that have made light-emitting diodes bright enough to be incorporated in headlights for the first time.
April 28, 2003 A study released by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows the effectiveness of safety belt pretensioning devices, which pull safety belts snug as a crash begins, and load limiters, which allow belts to yield slightly during a crash to reduce the force on the wearer's chest.
April 28, 2003 General Motors is recalling about 570,000 model year 1997-98 Chevrolet and GMC Suburban truck wagons, 1997 Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Jimmy midsize SUVs, 1998 Chevrolet C/K and GMC Sierra pickups, and 1998 Chevrolet Astro and GMC Safari midsize vans all equipped with remote power adjustable mirrors. GM will repair a mirror control switch condition in the driver's door. Of the total, about 507,000 of the vehicles are in the U.S. and approximately 46,000 are in Canada. The rest are outside the U.S. and Canada
April 28, 2003 The Department of Transportation has these tire safety tips for consumers during the summertime vacation season. Tire care is especially critical in warm weather because long trips, heavy loads, higher speeds and higher temperatures all put additional stress on tires.
April 28, 2003 For the fourth time this year, the Pre-Safe anticipatory occupant protection system developed by Mercedes-Benz has picked up an award. At the New York International Auto Show, the World Traffic Symposium conferred its Traffic Safety Achievement Award on the Pre-Safe system.
April 28, 2003 GM Performance Parts is offering suspension kits and race suspension parts for enthusiasts.
April 28, 2003 The Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia will contribute joint funding of close to $7 million for a highway improvement project in British Columbia. The project involves realigning a 3.4 km section of the Trans-Canada Highway near Chilliwack, about 100 km from Vancouver.
April 28, 2003 Two 400-horsepower vintage Jaguar E-Type racecars are taking to the track as high-speed billboards for Jaguar's Select Edition Certified Pre-Owned vehicle program.
Subaru Canada has announced the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Pricing (MSRP) for the 2004 Impreza WRX STi, the most powerful Subaru ever offered in North America. Equipped with a standard six-speed manual transmission, the WRX STi will sell for $46,995.
A Ford concept car that uses LED lights to change body panel colours, intensity and frequency is being shown at the "National Design Triennial: Inside Design Now," a cutting-edge exhibit now on display at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in Detroit. April 25, 2003 The Bridgestone/Firestone Canadian Truck Hero Award is presented annually to a professional truck driver who has shown incredible courage, integrity, and quick thinking in an emergency situation. April 25, 2003 Mercedes-Benz has further-improved four-cylinder diesel engines with second-generation common-rail direct injection technology. The result is lower fuel consumption, smoother running and higher performance.
Occupants of the new Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class Cabriolet are just as well protected against lightning as passengers in cars with a rigid roof, according to an extensive series of tests commissioned by Mercedes-Benz and performed by the Institute for High Voltage and Power Engineering at Berlin's Technical University. April 24, 2003 For the second Tomb Raider movie, "Tomb Raider II: Lara Croft and the Cradle of Life," virtual game heroine Lara Croft, played by Angelina Jolie, will be switching from Land Rovers to a customized Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. April 24, 2003 The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that in 2002, an estimated 42,850 people died on the nation's highways, up from 42,116 in 2001. It was the highest number of fatalities since 1990. April 24, 2003 The site integrates the entire GM business - parts, service and more than 7,000 dealers - in one, easy-to-use web site. April 23, 2003 A recent research report by the U.S. National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals that more than a fifth of all children ages 5 to 9 killed in traffic crashes were pedestrians. The age group with the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities are those 70 and over. April 23, 2003 Significantly under-inflated tires can reduce gas mileage by one mile per gallon, reports Michelin Tires. Underinflation also reduces tire life and can affect vehicle performance and handling. April 23, 2003 This year, 89 grants of up to $1,000 each are being distributed to Canadian schools as part of the Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds program. In addition, 10 schools will receive an Award of Excellence worth $2,500 each. The schools receive the grants to start or expand school ground naturalization projects. April 23, 2003 To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the MG Club of Italy is inviting foreign MG clubs to its anniversary event in Tuscany. The event will take place June 28 and 29 in Mugello, Tuscany. April 23, 2003 Toyota Canada and TVA's Star Académie are pleased to announce that fans of Québec's popular talent-search program have awarded top prize in the "Clip Toyota" competition to Marie-Elaine Thibert.
GM showed a performance version of the Malibu Maxx production vehicle at the New York auto show. The Malibu Maxx SS concept car joins the production versions of the Silverado SS, Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS. April 22, 2003 Canadian consumers are up in arms over the car industry's practice of handing out secret warranty repairs under the guise of "goodwill," says Phil Edmonston, author of the Lemon-Aid Used Car and Minivan Guide 2004. April 22, 2003 Shanghai General Motors (Shanghai GM) unveiled the Buick Excelle at the Shanghai auto show. The launch of the new product represents the joint venture's entry into China's high-potential lower-medium sedan segment. April 22, 2003 Azure Dynamics Corporation, a British Columbia based developer of hybrid electric powertrains for commercial vehicles announced it has been awarded an engineering contract from the Department of National Defence ("DND"). April 22, 2003 The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has made an Initial Decision that NexL Sports Products' "Beanie DOT Motorcycle Helmets" (model 02), made by NexL Sports Products (NexL) of Watsonville, California, do not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 218, "Motorcycle Helmets." The agency also announced that it has reason to believe that NexL has not provided an adequate remedy for the noncompliance previously found to exist in its model 01 helmets, which were recalled in 2002.
Day two of the New York auto show media preview. Click the headline to read about concept and production vehicle debuts at the 2003 New York International Auto Show, including the 2004 Kia Amanti, 2004 Toyota Solara, Subaru Baja turbo, Chevy Malibu Maxx, Nissan Pathfinder Armada and Titan crew cab pickup, supercharged Lincoln Navigator K, and the 2005 Mercury Mariner. April 18, 2003 Barrett-Jackson Auction Company today announced it sold 159 cars, totaling nearly U.S.$6 million, at its inaugural Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction - Palm Beach, held April 11-13 at the South Florida Expo Centre in West Palm Beach, Florida. April 17, 2003 A recent series of six frontal offset crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety included three 2003 model SUVs (midsize Volvo XC90 and two small models, the Honda Element and Mitsubishi Outlander) plus three large luxury cars (2002 Acura RL, 2003 Cadillac CTS, and 2003 Infiniti Q45). April 17, 2003 The Automotive Hall of Fame has released the names of its 2003 class of inductees. They are: Andy Granatelli, Max Hoffman, Sir Alec Issigonis, Henry B. Joy, J. Edward Lundy, Harry A. Miller and Louis Renault. Formal induction ceremonies will take place in October in Dearborn, Michigan. April 17, 2003 Peter Horlock was 13 years old in 1940 when his dad, a Ford employee in England, told him the company had arranged safe haven for him in Canada. As he embarked from Liverpool, Peter joined scores of Ford "war children" sent to escape the war's perils in England. April 16, 2003 Jaguar Canada announced the MSRP of its new 2004 XJ sedans on Tuesday. The XJ8 is $87,500, the Vanden Plas $96,000, and the supercharged XJR $105,000. The cars go on sale June 6th.
Cadillac unveiled the most powerful production car ever in its lineup, the CTS-V on Tuesday. Production is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2003. April 16, 2003 Pierre Michaud, host of the television show AUTOSTOP and well-known automotive expert, disclosed the results of a survey paid for and conducted by his company, Info Ligne Auto Inc., on garages recommended by the Automobile Protection Association (APA). April 16, 2003 The Lincoln Navigation System has been improved to be even easier and more intuitive to use, and is now available on the entire Lincoln line - Navigator, Aviator, Town Car, and LS, says the company.
The 2004 Ford Ranger pickup is getting all-new seats, audio system and aggressive exterior styling. April 15, 2003 In the latest cross-Canada investigation of repair shops conducted by the Automobile Protection Association (APA), funded by Industry Canada's Office of Consumer Affairs, the APA found that the likelihood of paying for unnecessary repairs was fifty-one percent. April 15, 2003 The 2003 report on automotive repair shops by the Automobile Protection Association (APA) released on Friday is fundamentally flawed and should be considered only in that context, says Canadian Tire.
DaimlerChrysler Canada today announced prices for the Chrysler Crossfire. Arriving this summer, the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the six-speed manual version is $47,745. The MSRP for the five-speed automatic with AutoStick is $49,245. The destination charge is an additional $1,400. April 15, 2003 General Motors will debut several new models at the 2003 New York Auto Show this month. Vehicles shown publicly for the first time at the show will include the Cadillac CTS V-Series, the Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, the Buick Rendezvous Ultra and the Saturn VUE Red Line. The Saab 9-3 Convertible will also be shown for the first time in North America. April 15, 2003 BMW Group Canada is investing $20 million in its downtown Toronto dealership. Located at 11 Sunlight Park Road in downtown Toronto, this new six story retail centre is scheduled to open in late 2003 with over 100,000 square feet of showroom, service and office space. April 15, 2003 Automobile Magazine announced its 2003 Readers' Choice All-Stars. The All-Stars will be honoured at a special invitation-only awards ceremony to be held Tuesday, April 15th at 6:00 p.m. at New York City's Metropolitan Pavilion, an elegant space that will feature a display of each selected vehicle. April 14, 2003 Leza Watters, a laser technician (dermatology) living in Clarington, Ontario is the winner in the CanadianDriver/BMW Advanced Driver Training contest held in March, 2003. April 14, 2003 The first all-women's advanced driving clinic is being offered at Mission Raceway Park in Mission, B.C. on Victoria Day, May 19th. April 14, 2003 BMW Group Canada and York University's Canadian Centre for German and European Studies (CCGES) recently initiated a partnership with the inauguration of the BMW Award for Excellence. April 14, 2003 Supercapacitors that offer storage capability millions of times greater than that of traditional capacitors will find a sizeable demand in the automotive sector reports Frost and Sullivan, a marketing consulting company. April 14, 2003 The Insurance Bureau of Canada is hosting its 6th annual Automotive Insurers and Manufacturers (AIM) Forum on May 14th. This event will feature speakers and panel discussions that is intended to stimulate thoughtful discussion and action among leaders in the insurance and manufacturing industries. April 10, 2003 General Motors Corporation and the BMW Group will jointly develop refueling devices for liquid hydrogen vehicles, and invite other carmakers and suppliers to join this initiative, the companies announced on Tuesday. April 10, 2003 Land Rover Canada will sponsor Quebecers Sophie Deraspe and France Senécal, who together make up the Claritin Liberator team for the 2003 edition of the Rally Aicha des Gazelles. April 10, 2003 General Motors plans to discontinue its electric car program due to the commercial failure of its EV1 electric car and changing environmental regulations. April 10, 2003 The federal and Nova Scotia governments have announced $61 million in highway improvements towards the twinning of sections of Highway 101 and Highway 104. April 9, 2003 Transport Minister David Collenette announced the release of a report on the occurrence and cause of light vehicle rollovers in Canada. Light duty vehicles are classified as cars, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, minivans and full size vans. April 9, 2003 Ford Motor Company is providing up to $200,000 to a Canadian-based research project that will study the effects of vehicle crashes and safety restraint systems on small children.
Saturn announced today that its new series of performance-tuned vehicles will carry the designation of "Red Line." The first two vehicles in the series will be the 2004 VUE Red Line, a sporty version of Saturn's compact SUV; and the 2004 ION Red Line, a specially modified ION quad coupe. April 9, 2003 Before day 9 of the Land Rover G4 Challenge competition began, organizers announcemed that leading competitor, Canadian Jim Kuhn had accepted the advice of the medical staff and withdrew from the Challenge. April 9, 2003 Shell Canada has officially opened low sulphur gasoline production units at its Sarnia and Montréal-East refineries. These units, known as gasoline hydrotreaters, allow Shell to reduce sulphur in gasoline by 90 per cent, making it the first Canadian refiner capable of producing low sulphur gasoline across the country.
The new 2004 Acura TSX luxury sports sedan went on sale yesterday with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $34,800 equipped with a standard 6-speed manual transmission or a 5-speed sequential SportShift automatic transmission. April 8, 2003 A record-breaking nine automakers will exhibit the latest trends in the sport compact car scene at SEMA's 2003 International Auto Salon (IAS). This marks the largest original equipment manufacturer (OEM) participation in IAS history. Dodge, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, Scion and Toyota Racing Development (TRD) all will exhibit at the show, to be held Friday through Sunday, April 25-27, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. April 8, 2003 Goodyear Canada's Engineered Products Division today announced a partnership with Canadian NASCAR driver Ron Fellows, as a further step to significantly increase awareness of its automotive and truck aftermarket products. Goodyear's product line includes Gatorback belts, belt tensioners, hose and air springs. April 8, 2003 The VW Touareg and the New Beetle Cabriolet were winners of recent public opinion polls conducted by automotive publications. More than 70,000 users of the "AutoScout24" Internet website chose Volkswagen's off-road model and the new Volkswagen Cabriolet as the 2003 Net@uto champions. 90 cars altogether were listed for this online poll. The Touareg won the "Offroad and SUV" category, the New Beetle convinced the most web surfers in the category for "Convertibles, sports cars and coupes". April 7, 2003 Canada Post has ordered five hybrid electric powertrains from Azure Dynamics Corporation, a developer of hybrid electric vehicle technology for the light and medium duty commercial vehicle category. April 7, 2003 After five days, three New England states, more than a thousand miles, and 21 competitive elements, the first stage of Land Rover's round-the-world G4 Challenge produced its first set of results on Thursday, with three week-long stages to go, each in a different time zone. April 7, 2003 The Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia announced they will contribute joint funding of $16.71 million for two highway construction projects on the Trans Canada highway and Highway 5 near the B.C. interior town of Kamloops. April 7, 2003 Avis Rent A Car System has been named the 2002 Car Rental Company of the year by The Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA). The award is based on survey results of the 32,000 members of the CPSA. April 4, 2003 Jeep has announced dates and locations for its Jeep Jamboree events. Jeep Jamborees are family-oriented, two-day events designed to allow Jeep owners the opportunity to hone their skills in off-road situations, while learning more respect for the environment. April 4, 2003 Transport Canada would like to remind parents, caregivers and the public it has identified that some Cosco Combination Child Restraint Systems and High Back Booster Cushions are lacking an energy absorbing foam in the head area. April 4, 2003 A 30-second radio Public Service Announcement (PSA) recorded earlier in 2003 by singer Ed Robertson of BareNakedLadies was one of many steps in preparation for the Ontario Community Council of Impaired Driving (OCCID) "Arrive Alive Bottle Drive" at The Beer Store. April 4, 2003 General Motors is recalling about 341,000 model year 1997 Chevrolet Blazer, GMC Jimmy, and Oldsmobile Bravada midsize SUVs to replace a driver seat belt buckle assembly with a new buckle assembly. Of the total, about 313,000 of the vehicles are in the U.S. and approximately 19,000 are in Canada. The rest are outside the U.S. and Canada. April 4, 2003 The new 2004 Rendezvous Ultra will feature new interior and exterior treatments and a new, all-aluminum 3.6 litre V6 VVT (Variable Valve Timing). The vehicle will be exclusive to Buick. April 4, 2003 Cooper Tires announced its latest ultra high performance tires - the Cooper Zeon 2XS. The tire was unveiled to the tire industry trade media at Cooper's 1,000 acre state-of-the-art, Tire and Vehicle Test Center (TVTC) in Pearsall, Texas, near San Antonio. April 4, 2003 When asked about traffic congestion, 95 percent of Americans said congestion they encounter during their daily travels, including commutes to work, has gotten worse or has not improved over the past three years, according to a survey released by AAA and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). April 3, 2003 Canadian car and truck sales in March were mixed with Nissan reporting the biggest sales increase (21.9%) amongst major manufacturers, and DaimlerChrysler recording the biggest drop (13.2%). April 3, 2003 Kia will pull the wraps off its biggest sedan ever during press days at the New York Auto Show. Kia has not released the name or any details about the sedan. April 3, 2003 The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it will increase the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for light trucks by 1.5 miles per gallon (mpg) over the next three years, thus saving more than 3.6 billion gallons of gas over the lifetime of the trucks affected. April 3, 2003 HydrogenSource LLC, a developer of fuel processors for the fuel cell industry, today announced it has completed initial testing of its gasoline-to-hydrogen fuel processor for fuel cell vehicles. April 3, 2003 Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced that as of March 2003, worldwide cumulative production of the Honda Civic series reached 15 million units. April 2, 2003 Toyota announced that the all-new 2004 Prius and Camry Solara models will make their world debuts at press conferences held at the New York International Auto Show next month.
Scheduled to go on sale in late 2003, the new BMW 5-Series sedan offers an all-aluminum chassis and suspension, Active Steering, Dynamic Drive and run-flat tires. The 5-Series also features the iDrive control concept, Head-Up Display, Adaptive Headlights, Adaptive Brake Lights, Xenon headlights, and Active Cruise Control. April 2, 2003 A U.S. survey of 1,058 adults by Harris Interactive, a worldwide market research and consulting firm, taken a few days after the war with Iraq began, reveals that among those who plan to acquire a new vehicle within the next year, many have already delayed their purchase or lease decision. April 2, 2003 A group of international auto experts will meet in Ottawa to discuss "The Auto Industry in the 21st Century: Challenges and Prospects". April 2, 2003 The BMW Group and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Limited signed a contract on Monday for a production and distribution joint venture in China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. April 2, 2003 Jason H. Vines, President of the SUV Owners of America (SUVOA), released a critical response to a March 31st press release of a New Vehicle-Buyer Attitude Study on SUVs, conducted by Kelley Blue Book. April 2, 2003 Less than two months remain before the finals of the 2003 FutureTruck competition and teams of students are confident they'll exceed the goal of achieving 25 percent better over-the-road fuel economy in SUVs and also are certain they can significantly reduce overall emissions.
Lexus announced it will unveil a new type of sport utility vehicle design at a press conference at the New York International Auto Show, Wednesday, April 16, 2003. April 1, 2003 A New Vehicle-Buyer Attitude Study on SUVs released by Kelley Blue Book shows a five percent decline in consumer interest in buying sport utility vehicles over the last six weeks. April 1, 2003 Ford unveiled a customized version of the Thunderbird roadster at the Pacific International Auto and Light Truck Show in Vancouver on Friday. The Thunderbird SHS was modified by Marcel Horn, president of Focus Tuning, in Langley B.C. |  | |
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