SEMA 2007

The 2007 SEMA industry show kicked off yesterday in Vegas. This show is not like any other and sets the standard for size, hype, people, cars and extravagance. One day of walking allowed us to cover only about a quarter of the booth space in the wheel and tire section. People from all over the world come to attend this show for aftermarket industry players only (its not open to the public). Most kiosks have private conference rooms for business meetings. Every kioske is from a big name manufacturer with the money to bring the badest rides on earth.

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BMW 5 Series: A magnificent rendition

The BMW 5 Series needs no introduction. This 2008 550i may be the best car I have ever driven. It is not the fastest car. It is not the most exciting car. It is not the most expensive car. It is just an extremely competent rendition of what we traditionally refer to as a car.

The 550i can carry four adults with some luggage, has an engine in the front with an automatic transmission, has traditional proportions, is of average size and from afar, doesn’t look like anything special. If you compare the BMW 550i to its bread-and-butter equivalents, like the Toyota Camry or Ford Taurus (which represent what the classic definition of a modern car is), the 550i is magnificent.

Sure, there is the BMW 750i, but it is a luxury land-yacht, and something else all together. The 550i is not over the top in any one way: it is just very good at everything you could ask a car to be.

Now, we wonder why everyone isn’t already driving this premium German sedan. Well, the answer is simple: $86,200. What you get for your money is a 5 with recently revised styling, a 4.8-litre V8 driving the rear wheels, a six-speed automatic and a slew of techno gadgets that are actually useful. As a bonus, the M trim package (derived from BMW’s high performance M cars) is a no-charge option on the 550i.

Some may say they can get a Chrysler 300C with nearly as much power and nearly as many options as the 550i for half the price. Those who say that don’t have the money (not that I do), and are only guessing what the 550i is like.

When you get into the driver’s seat, it feels like something different. The seat is a little on the stiff side, but once adjusted, fits like it was moulded around you. The M steering wheel is oddly satisfying to hold in your hands. There are no cheap bits anywhere in the interior, and its design is almost more like furniture than that of a functioning automobile.

The controls and ergonomics are a highly discussed subject — a result of BMW’s iDrive. If it is your fist time with it, you will get frustrated. I have used it in a few BMWs now, and find it easy. So if you are buying the car, don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.

As long as the key fob is inside the car, the engine will spring to life with a quick jab of the start button. It idles quietly, and gives no impression that it makes 360 hp and 360 lb.-ft. of torque. Moving, or rather selecting, the transmission into drive is done by pressing a button and pulling back on this joystick-like thing; reverse is the opposite, and park is a button on top.

As soon as you make a few turns in the parking lot, turn onto the road and give it a little throttle to see what happens, its price tag is immediately justified. You are quietly and quickly pushed down the road and when you reach a speed that feels like the speed limit, you are in fact doing 30 km/h over. It gains speed subtly, yet with vigour.

There is just the right amount of engine noise and vibration to let you know what’s going on. With the throttle down, on anything other than a straight-ahead drag-style launch, the traction control light blinks at you constantly.

My tester had $7,300 in options including comfort seats, heated rear seats, park distance control, seven-channel audio system, lane departure warning system, head-up display, voice control and navigation system.

The lane departure warning system is interesting. Instead of beeping at you as some similar systems do, the steering wheel rumbles slightly to let you know you might be drifting in your lane. The head-up display is pretty cool as it displays your speed in orange digits that appear to be floating about three inches off the hood. The Bluetooth cellphone connectivity is super easy to use, and makes chatting while you drive a pleasure.

There is nothing specific that jumps out as being fantastic with the 550i. Its defining feature is a strong overall sense of competence and poise. When you drive at more than 100 km, sit in construction, have a meeting on the fly, battle traffic and enjoy doing it, you will understand what $86K can buy you.

Fact File

2008 BMW 550i

As tested, before tax: $86,200

Options: Premium Package ($3,300) includes comfort seats, heated rear seats, park distance control, logic 7 sound system; Technology Package ($4,000) includes lane departure warning system, navigation, head-up display, voice control ($4,000).

Freight: $1,995

Configuration: Front-engine, RWD

Engine/transmission: 4.8L V8 / 6-speed automatic with sequential shift

Horsepower: 360 @ 6,300 rpm

Torque: 360 lb.-ft. @ 3,400

Fuel required: 70 litres, premium

EnerGuide fuel ratings (L/100km): 13.3 city. 8.3 hwy

Observed fuel economy (L/100km): 12.2 combined

Warranty: 4 years / 80,000 km

MSRP range: $59,900 - $113,200

Engines available: 3.0L I6 (230 hp, 200 lb.-ft.); 3.0L twin-turbo I6 (300/300) 4.8L V8 (360/360); 5.0L V10 (500/383)

Transmissions available: 6-speed manual; 6-spd auto with sequential shift; 7-spd auto with sequential shift

Competition: Mercedes-Benz E550, Audi A6 4.2, Infiniti M45, Lexus GS430

Strengths: Such poise, great power, engaging drive

Weaknesses: May hurt retirement fund

SCP 8

The 2007 Castrol Sport Compact Performance Auto Salon hit the Olympic Stadium this weekend with a vengeance. From the IKON models, Club Civic Quebec, everyone was dressed to impress and the crowd was loving it. Hot rides included an Audi R8, the Top Tuner Solstice and the Saturn Super Sky among many others. Bigwigs like Kenwood, Hankook and Greddy put on quite the displays, but it was gas mogul, Shell, that really caught the crowd’s eye with a Ferrari F1 car alongside a F430 proudly on display. SCP is all about the glamour, glitz, guts and girls of the sport compact world and although the number of big commercial displays and out-of-town competitors seemed to be a bit less than last year, this year’s show did not disappoint.

273 car photos

140 girl photos

Explanation of towings paints a different picture

Last month MontrealRacing.com reported on the large numbers of modified vehicles being towed in the Montreal area. Many members were at a loss to explain why their modified vehicles were being towed by Police instead of being issued inspection. We set up a meeting with the officers who were involved to find out what the situation was.

The Montreal Police Special Services division is located at Neighbourhood station 23, just south of the Olympic Stadium in the East end of Montreal. This division takes care of non conventional matters such as vehicle modifications. Present at the meeting were tuning specialist André Côté, Constable Savard, Constable Bégin and two other officers of station 23.

The officers began by explaining a little bit about where the laws on modified vehicles can be found. As most people are already aware the SAAQ has a basic guide for modified vehicles which can be found here. However there is another document called the Mechanical Inspection Guide which goes into much more detail about the severity of certain infractions. In the legend it explains that a yellow exclamation mark is found next to a minor infraction and a red hand is found next to major infractions.

On pages 76-78 you’ll find details infractions with respect to tires. Some major infractions include tires that can rub against a fixed part of the vehicle, tires that have been worn past the tread indicator and tires where the metal reinforcement filament is protruding or is visible. If you search through the document you can find examples of other major infractions such as a cracked frame or headlights & taillights that do not function.

These major infractions are significant because the CSR section 636.2 gives police permission to issue tickets, issue inspections, or seize a vehicle if it has a major infraction. The police explained that every vehicle that was towed had a major infraction and showed a photo to prove it. Each and every car that was issued tickets, sent to inspection or seized was fully documented with photo evidence in the event the case goes to court.

Some of the cars in the photos were appalling in terms of road worthyness. A majority of them were towed for tires that were in contact with the fenders or tires that were worn past their limit of use. There were cars that had so much metal protruding from the tires that it’s amazing they were still inflated. Some cars tires were rubbing so much against the inside of the fenders that it looked as if someone took a knife and started hacking away at the tire.

Many of these owners are MontrealRacing.com members as was evident by the number of new discussions created on the subject last month. What the police found interesting and wanted to point out was that the impression these individuals were giving in the discussion forum (yes the police do read the forum) that nothing was wrong with their vehicles and that they were victims of an injustice. The evidence the police had gathered seemed to indicate otherwise. Perhaps the number of new discussions was resulting not so much because the owners thought their vehicles were legal but that the severity of the consequences was highly unexpected. It was after all the first we’ve heard of vehicles being towed for modifications. Nevertheless the law gives police this power in certain situations.

Other infractions were given for the usual illegal modifications such as any aftermarket muffler (illegal for a few years now) vehicles without orange reflectors in the front or red reflectors in the rear, windshield band stickers greater than 15 cm from the top, removal of air bags, removal of factory seat belts, removal of the rubber on the pedals (apparently it looks more race-like), and window tints that are too dark. All of these modifications are prohibited by the guide put out by the SAAQ years ago and should be common knowledge by now. If you don’t modify your car on the cheap then you will have no problems whatsoever.

They explained that contrary to what we had reported, most of the vehicles seized were done during other police traffic operations and not specifically targeted.

So why is this happening now, who is involved and what can we expect from the police in the future? This was addressed in the meeting but there are a few points that need to be examined further before we can report on it. A follow up article will be written in the coming weeks to address these issues as well as some additional legal ones that have come to our attention since the meeting.

After the meeting we went to go look at the MontrealRacing.com Integra Type R. The vehicle has a set of Neuspeed sport springs, 17-inch Fast wheels with 205-40-17 tires, a carbon fiber hood, AEM cold air intake and a factory Acura skirt kit. The tires are at their limit of usage and will need to be changed soon as indicated by the marker on the tire. The metal is not protruding from the inner sidewall as is common when a vehicle has negative camber. The turn signals can be replaced for white ones as long as a yellow reflector is present near the signal. The exhaust is stock so there is no problem there.

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Car of the Month: Porsche 911 Turbo & BMW M6

Cette Porsche est définitivement la voiture la plus rapide que nous n’avons jamais mit l’œil dessus. Avec 620 bhp distribués aux quatre roues, l’accélération est comparable à la plus part des motos super-sports. La M6 n’est pas rien non plus, elle est probablement la deuxième voiture la plus rapide que nous avons publiée. Ces deux voitures se complimentent bien les unes envers l’autre, elles étaient d’ailleurs exposé au kiosque Toyz Autoart au SCP8.

2007 Porsche 911 Turbo

• EXTERIOR

Full Techart body kit including front lip, side skirts and rear lip, Techart mirror covers & headlight covers, smoked taillights, Techart roof spoiler.

• INTERIOR

Chocloate brown interior.

• WHEELS & TIRES

Machined lip 20″ Techart Forumula wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 245-30-20 in front and 325-25-20 rear.

• SUSPENSION ET BRAKES

Techart coilovers.

• UNDER THE HOOD

Techart exhaust, Techart headers Techart ecu, Techart intercooler, Techart air inlet, VGT turbo variable geometry, 610hp feels like 680hp.

• ICE

Stock.

2007 BMW M6 Cabriolet

• EXTERIOR

Toyz Autoart smoked taillights.

• INTERIOR

Stock.

• WHEELS & TIRES

22″ Davin Speed 3 wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero Nero 265-30-22 in the front and 295-25-22 in the rear.

• SUSPENSION ET BRAKES

H7R coilovers.

• UNDER THE HOOD

Eisenmann exhaust with rear carbon tips, second cat delete, Active Autowerks ECU reflash, Top speed limiter removed, SMG shifts.

• ICE

Stock.Voir la discussion pour cette article

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