2009 Honda Fit
07:00 PM
2008-05-01 14:17:19Honda’s new 2009 Fit still does just that, and still is … just that.The Japanese automaker has unveiled its redesigned Fit subcompact and as small as the hatchback is, it’s still able to pack a lot into its little frame, and it looks to be just as sporty as its predecessor.
It features a new 1.5-litre i-VTEC 4-cylinder engine mated to either a standard 5-speed manual or optional 5-speed automatic transmission. The Fit Sport equipped with automatic transmission gets steering wheel paddle shifters, allowing the driver to shift manually without the use of a clutch. The engine produces 109-horsepower and 105 lb.ft. or torque.
The interior of the Fit uses an improved ‘Magic Seat’, which is a configurable seating setup that allows for three different modes depending on what is being carried. With the 2009 model, the rear seats fold flat in one motion, without the need to remove the headrests - even when the front seats are set in the rearmost slide position. The rear driver’s-side seat also gets a new hidden storage bin under the driver’s side rear seat provides a place to store small items.
Some great technological features are included, from a factory-installed navigation system with voice recognition. There will be options for speed-sensitive audio controls, an auxiliary jack for MP3 players (on the Sport model), and power windows with driver’s side auto-down. Other interior features include steering wheel-mounted audio controls, a maintenance minder system that reminds the owner of things like oil changes and tire rotations, a blue back-lit gauge cluster, and standard air conditioning, power windows, mirrors and door locks.
The vehicle comes standard with passive safety features like six airbags and 3-point seatbelts in all positions, as well as active safety features like antilock braking system, electronic brake force distribution and vehicle stability assist.
Stylish exterior upgrades include an underbody kit and rear roofline spoiler, as well as 16-inch wheels on the Sport model (15-inch wheels come standard).
Links
07:00 PM
2008-04-13 11:37:44|
www.sportcompactperformance.com www.contemporarymotorsport.com www.montrealspeedingtickets.com www.sportcompactsherbrooke.com www.teamcarsperformance.piczo.com |
Advertise
07:00 PM
2008-04-08 08:35:55There are 6 banner slots on the main site.
All rates are for a banner in a rotation with one other banner. |
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Forums |
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* Commerical account included
A forum sponsorship offers a unique way to have your company’s name really become commonplace on the forum. Not only must users click on your name each and every time they wish to enter the forum but the name is very apparent on the forum hope page to users who are simply browsing.
Article You can buy a main article on the front page. The 270×203 is included. The price is $75/day or $450/week.
Demographics The CanadaRacing network has a variety of advertising possibilities available. When you advertise on this network you will have access to a very specific target audience that isn’t possible to reach as easily anywhere else. Here are the stats of the average CanadaRacing network member. |
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| Average Age | 23 | |||
| I own a Honda | 32.94% | |||
| VW/Audi | 24.6% | |||
| Other Asian | 21.3% | |||
| Domestic | 14.68% | |||
| Other Euro | 4.37% | |||
| Kia/Hyundai | 1.59% | |||
Reader Survey
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Own a car |
Have raced their car on a track |
Have been to a car show |
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3% under $15K 11% 15-25K 16% 25-35K 17% 35-45K 14% 45-55K 13% 55-75K 29% over 75K |
28% Yes 72% No |
62% Yes 38% No |
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62% Yes 38% No |
49% $0-10K 28% 10K-20K 12% 20-30K 7% 30K-40K 2% 40K-50K 2% more than 50K |
23% New 77% Used |
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Planning to buy for their car in the next 12 months |
Amount spent modifying their car |
Products purchased in the last year |
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28% air filter / intake 16% headlights / taillights 41% brakes 18% body kit / spoiler 20% gauges 23% headers 30% exhaust 38% aftermarket wheels / tires 38% suspension 28% car audio 15% seats / custom interior 34% forced induction 24% security system 3% neon lights 5% racing videos, dvds |
16% less than $500 30% 500-2000 25% 2000-5000 19% 5000-10000 10% more than 10000 |
20% soap 17% tire cleaner 19% wax/polish 11% engine cleaner 18% chamois/mit/brush 15% other items |
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Danny Geraghty Editeur-en-Chief MontrealRacing.com |
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Honda prices ‘08 Accord
07:00 PM
2008-01-31 22:54:32Honda’s tried-and-true Accord gets a facelift for 2008, and the company has wasted little time announcing pricing for both the coupe and sedan.
Customers can buy an Accord for as little as $25,090 for the LX sedan, to $38,290 for the EX-L V6 coupe (before options). There are two 2.4-litre inline-4 cylinder engines to choose from, that produce 177- and 190-horsepower respectively, as well as a 3.5-litre i-VTEC V6 engine. The V6 produces a generous 268-horsepower, which is the most ever for an Accord.
Estimated fuel economy ratings for the 4-cylinder engines is 9.4 L/100 km. city and 6.4 L/100 km. highway (manual transmission). The V6 has an estimated rating of 11.0 L/100 km. and 6.7 L/100 km., city and highway, respectively.
The eighth generation Accord features several new technologies as well as new design philosophies, such as it’s ‘premium quality with a spacious design’ idea, which is intended to provide equal seating comfort for front and rear passengers.
The EX-L Coupe with V6 engine features larger 18” aluminum alloy wheels, chrome door handles, front fog lights, dual exhaust finishers and rear lip spoiler.
Every 2008 Accord includes driver’s and front passenger’s dual-chamber side airbags with a passenger-side Occupant Position Detection System, side curtain airbags, and dual-stage, dual-threshold driver’s and front passenger’s airbags. Other standard safety features include Vehicle Stability Assist and four-wheel-disc anti-lock brake system with brake assist and electronic brake distribution.
| Transmission | ||||
| Model | Trim | Engine | Manual | Automatic |
| Accord Sedan | LX | 177-hp 4-cylinder | $25,090 | $26,290 |
| EX | 190-hp 4-cylinder | $27,490 | $28,690 | |
| EX-L | 190-hp 4-cylinder | $29,890 | $31,090 | |
| EX-L Navi | 190-hp 4-cylinder | $32,690 | $33,890 | |
| EX V6 | 268-hp V6 | N/A | $31,690 | |
| EX-L V6 | 268-hp V6 | N/A | $34,990 | |
| EX-L V6 Navi | 268-hp V6 | N/A | $37,790 | |
| Accord Coupe | EX | 190-hp 4-cylinder | $27,990 | $29,190 |
| EX-L | 190-hp 4-cylinder | $30,390 | $31,590 | |
| EX-L Navi | 190-hp 4-cylinder | $33,190 | $34,390 | |
| EX-L V6 | 268-hp V6 | $35,490 | $35,490 | |
| EX-L V6 Navi | 268-hp V6 | $38,290 | $38,290 |
Police Towings Spark Row in Modified Car Scene
07:00 PM
2007-09-20 13:02:32
A series of police operations in downtown Montreal have sparked outrage in the modified (tuning) car scene.
Over the last few months police have towed many vehicles after having stopped them at locations downtown, most of them MontrealRacing.com members. According to witnesses the police will set up at a particular location (often near the west end of downtown) and wait for vehicles that appear to be modified to drive by. Once they have been stopped an officer inspects the car for the most common illegal modifications such as aftermarket mufflers, window tints that are too dark and colored head lamps or side lamps.
If the vehicle is deemed to have violated any of the modification guidelines published by the SAAQ (click here to view the document), the officer seizes the vehicle on the spot and sends it to the impound lot at the owner’s expense. Costs related to get a vehicle out of the pound are $40 per day plus the cost of towing which is around $100 to the pound. You then need to pay several more hundred to be towed from the pound to a SAAQ certified garage for inspection because they will not allow you to drive it off the lot.
Vehicle owners that have had their cars towed as a result of these incidents are claiming that their vehicles conform to the SAAQ guidelines and that the police are abusing their powers.
One of these people is Chris McIntosh who drives a 2000 Jetta VR6.
“It’s getting ridiculous now. They cracked down a few years ago when there were no real laws for modified cars. Enough people got angry that the SAAQ published this guideline for modified car owners. I think a lot of people are fine with respecting that but now it seems that the cops are not respecting it. Since when can you tow a car for being too low? The SAAQ says that a cop can send you to inspection, not tow you. They are not mechanics. That is why we have SAAQ certified garages for this sort of thing.”
McIntosh was forced to pay $160 to get his car out of the pound, another $300 for the towing and received $437 in fines for an illegal exhaust and wheels that were too large for the car according to what the ticket said. Two other vehicles – a Honda Civic SIR and a Volkswagen Golf were also towed at the same time as McIntosh in an incident that took place on Crescent Street on July 21.
Junior, another MontrealRacing.com member, had his Chevy Blazer seized and towed September 8 on Rene Levesque at the corner of Fort just as he was about to enter the access ramp to highway 720. The Blazer has only a lowered suspension but he did not receive a ticket indicating an infraction.
Most recently Katay, the organizer of one of the largest car shows in Quebec - Car Fever, got his Subaru STI seized at the corner of Peel and St-Catherine on Sept 19. Katay’s STI is modified with wheels and a lowered suspension however it appears to conform to the SAAQ guidelines from the photos we’ve taken of it.
In every incident it is a police officer by the name of Bégin who is present and conducting the inspection. McIntosh says, M. Begin is knowledgeable on the subject but also very vindictive, meaning that the matter is not open for debate. If he doesn’t like your vehicle it will be towed.
According to the Code de la Sécurité Routière, an officer has a right to stop any vehicle for inspection if there is reason to believe the vehicle might be in violation of the law. What is unclear is on what grounds a vehicle can be towed. Our legal experts here on MontrealRacing.com were unable to come up with an explanation as to why so many vehicles are being towed. There is no dispute that an officer can have a car towed under exceptional circumstances such as drunk driving but now it appears that M. Bégin and his superiors are applying this to modified vehicles in violation of the CSR. Until now the general consensus was that if a vehicle has an illegal modification the driver would be ticketed and/or sent to inspection so that a qualified mechanic could determine if the vehicle is safe for the road.
Ironically, many car enthusiasts applaud the police for cracking down on annoying loud exhausts, silly colored lights and other tacky & annoying modifications. Unfortunately even tasteful and safe aftermarket parts are becoming the target. If this is the case, modified vehicle owners should take great care to either make sure their vehicle conforms to the letter of the law and if not then to stay away from the downtown area for the time being.
Update 9/21/2007: In an effort to help the community and to find out what exactly the nature of M. Begin’s operation is, we contacted the MUC Police and requested an interview with him and his superiors. Our inquiry was returned within hours and friendly officer at the department of media relations for the MUC Police told us that the request was being passed on to the Directeur de la Sécurité Routière and that we’d be contacted by him in the near future.
We received a call back shortly afterwards by M. André Côté who is the Police Officer responsible for all issues relating to modified vehicles in Montreal. You may have seen him at one of the local car shows driving the Police modified Honda Civic SIR. M. Côté is the best possible person we could be working with. He is very knowledgeable and understanding of the tuning industry. We will be attempting to set up a meeting between us and M. Bégin next week. The goal of this meeting will be to verify their legal interpretation of the towing incidents under the CSR and to find out exactly what the scope of the whole operation is.
If an understanding cannot be reached where towing isn’t the best possible course of action then the next goal of the meeting would be to find out exactly what renders a vehicle in violation of the law and to pass this information on to the community so that everyone can make sure their vehicle is legal.
Please stay tuned for the next update which will be on Monday Sept 24th.
Update 9/24/2007: We spoke to M. Côté this morning and are still trying to schedule a meeting with M. Bégin but have not been able to get in contact with him yet. We should get an answer by the end of the week.
Update 10/01/2007: Unfortunately we still do not have any news to report. It seems that the parties involved are not too keen on the idea of a meeting however we are going to persist until we get some answers.
Update 10/09/2007: The meeting is now scheduled for Wednesday Oct 10th at 10am. Some people were on vacation which was the reason for the delay. Expect a full report of the meeting to be posted late Wednesday or early Thursday morning only.
Discuss this article in the forums
Nous voulons des voitures coupé-sport
07:00 PM
2007-04-01 12:59:04
You wonder sometimes about car manufacturers. Occasionally vehicles are released that just make one stop and say “what are they thinking?” Cars like the Cadillac Cimmaron and Pontiac Aztec are perfect examples of total failure at the corporate level. Sometimes the car companies do not make actual blunders but still leave you wondering what’s going on behind the scenes. Sports car enthusiasts often seem to get the short end of the stick and are left shaking their heads.
For years BMW had a virtual monopoly on the luxury sport coupe segment with the 3-series. Their coupes are well made, sporty and just plain good looking. Then in 2004, Nissan shocked the industry with the release of the beautiful Nissan 350Z and Infiniti G35 coupe. The duo stole the heart of just about every car enthusiast I know. Often I’ve heard people say that (supercars aside) the G35 coupe is the most beautiful car on the road today. I have to say I’d be hard pressed to disagree with that statement. Nissan hit the nail on the head and gave us enthusiasts exactly what we wanted: unbelievable value in a modestly-priced luxury sports car. BMW had little reason to be worried though as their clients stand by the BMW brand like no other but for those who didn’t have their heart set yet, the new duo provided a nice alternative.
The 350Z and G35 coupe reinvigorated Nissan to a certain level of status it hadn’t known since the original Z. I’d have expected a few of the other manufacturers to follow suit but sadly those expectations have not been met. There have been many rumours of a Lexus IS coupe and even some fancy photoshops but where the heck is it? Acura has no plans to bring back the CL luxury coupe that it discontinued in 2003. Mercedes has the C230 Sport coupe but I’d have a hard time classifying it as a sports car. The message conveyed to the auto industry should have been that we want more vehicles like the 350Z and G35 coupe. Why aren’t they listening??
Why did a vehicle like the Acura CL fail when obviously there was a huge demand for this class of car? In my opinion, a sport coupe should be smaller and sleeker. The CL reminded me of a 2nd generation TL minus the rear doors coupled with a bubbly rear end. If I’m buying a coupe, practically isn’t the first thing on my mind. Curiously though the Accord coupe does fairly well and it seems as big and bulky as the CL was. Perhaps the market for entry level coupes differs somewhat form luxury sport coupes but Honda could benefit from following Nissan’s lead in this segment. Since you shouldn’t mess with success, keeping the Accord coupe around its probably wise but the more gutsy move of bringing back the Prelude and CL with newer sleeker designs to compete with the 350Z and G35 would be quite popular among enthusiasts.
As I mentioned before, we are still waiting for an IS coupe to make an appearance. The current IS is sexy enough that it would probably be considered by many would-be coupe buyers except for the fact that Lexus seems to have a love for automatic transmissions. The only model available with a manual transmission is the IS250 RWD. That means that if you want AWD you’re out of luck. If you want an engine that can actually give other cars in the segment a run for their money you are also out of luck. Thank you Lexus for overlooking the enthusiast crowd, most of whom driving an automatic or “tiptronic” vehicle just doesn’t cut it. If BMW can offer a manual AWD vehicle then Lexus can as well. Until then, scratch them off the list of real performance contenders.
GM’s Cadillac CTS-V is also a potential competitor here. Available in 2.8L and 3.6L V6s or the 6L V8 (CTS-V), it offers a descent choice of engines and unlike the Lexus a manual transmission is available on all models. Unfortunately for enthusiasts though, the CTS-V (the one we really want) starts at $71,000. That is roughly $20,000 more than a BMW 335! GM needs to do a little better on that price but other than the CTS is an option to consider.
For now it seems the Germans still have the edge in luxury performance. Hopefully in a few years we’ll start to see a real push from other manufacturers to compete in this prestigious segment.
Discuss this article in the forums
Hybrid Cars
07:00 PM
2007-03-01 12:59:03
It has been almost twenty years since the Environment has been as important in the minds of North Americans as it is today. For many months now we’ve seen consistent and numerous news headlines regarding global warming. I think this is a good thing as it seems the planet is finally taking the subject seriously. I consider myself an environmentally conscious person and I always make the extra effort to recycle and conserve energy as much as possible. I just attended “Less Talk, More Action” the climate change conference that was held in downtown Montreal with speakers including Al Gore and David Suzuki and I fully support what they are trying to accomplish.
We hear of automakers are releasing more and more Hybrid models to accommodate the increasing demand to go green. I called a local Toyota dealership the other day and asked them how long the waiting list is for a Prius Hybrid. To my surprise the salesman told me about a week. I then called Honda to find out how long it would take to get a Civic Hybrid. Again, to my surprise, the wait was no more than two weeks.
So if these are all good things then why am I consistently frustrated after reading articles on Hybrid cars? While it may seem like the time of the Hybrid car is here I’m afraid I’m going to have to take exception to that argument.
I’m presently shopping for a late model vehicle as a second car and I’d absolutely love to get a Hybrid. I need something primarily get to car shows with the MontrealRacing.com kiosk stuffed in the back. A wagon or SUV would get the job done so what options do I have? I’m sorry to say not very many. At the time of this writing, a search on Hebdo found one Lexus RX400h for $53,000 and several Toyota Highlander Hybrids ranging from $35,000 to $55,000. Not exactly the best selection, especially since I was never crazy about the Highlander so let’s alter the search criteria. In fact, let’s get rid of the criteria altogether and assume I want to buy a new vehicle and I don’t care how much it costs. What can I get?
How about a BMW? No. Volkswagen? No. Mazda? Nothing. Chrysler? Same. Nissan must have a hybrid. Nope. In fact, the only automakers offering Hybrid vehicles in their showrooms at the moment are Honda (Civic, Accord), Toyota/Lexus (Prius, Camry, Highlander, GS450h, Rx400h) and Ford (Escape).
What about GM with the Saturn Vue Green Line and those Hybrid pickups? These vehicles managed to get hybrid classification but I cannot in good conscience call them hybrids. They are more like half-hybrids or hybrid wannabes. Their electric motors cannot drive the car like in a real hybrid. They only serve to shut off the motor when you are not pressing on the gas. The emissions are only reduced because less gas is consumed. How much less gas? The Silverado 4WD gets 14.3/11.3 L/100km. The non hybrid gets 17.0/13.1 L/100km. Yes, you read it correctly, a whopping savings of 2.7L/100km for city driving. That is truly pathetic when compared to the competition.
North America’s first Hybrid, the Honda Insight, was introduced way back in 1999 (production stopped last year.) In all fairness to GM I should point out that the Insight is also a half-hybrid but its 1L motor gets the best fuel economy out of any hybrid even today. I would have thought that other manufacturers would have been able to keep a similar pace but that has not been the case. GM attributes the delay to pursuing hydrogen technology first because it thought hybrids would only be a stepping stone toward the zero-emission hydrogen vehicles. Mercedes and VW are bringing more fuel efficient diesel powered cars to our shores as their answer to the green craze. The whole process is painstakingly slow. I don’t want to seem like a conspiracy nut or anything but I do suspect meddling from the oil industry. As long as there is gas to be refined I don’t think we will be seeing any viable alternatives that truly become mainstream. Hopefully I will be proved wrong.
With a selection of only eight Hybrid models being sold at thousands more than their non hybrid counterparts, it feels like we are being penalized for wanting to go green. When hybrids are being sold cheaper than regular cars and the pre-owned market has an ample supply of them, then I might say there is no reason not to own one and frown upon someone who opted for a gasoline model instead. Blame the manufacturers for dragging their feet on fuel efficiency.
On a side note, you may have read reports on former US Vice President Al Gore’s energy consumption at his Tennessee mansion. Gore’s home consumes more energy in a month then the average American household does in a year. The report was conveniently made public the day after Gore received an Oscar for his global warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth”. Obviously the right wing neoconservatives do not like Gore’s recent surge in popularity. One can logically assume that the bigger the household, the more energy it will likely consume. Do they expect Gore (who came 527 votes away from being the leader of the free world) to move to a $150,000 condo? I sure don’t. Gore offsets his consumption by donating to a company which uses the money to invest in alternative energy anyways.
Gore’s carbon footprint is irrelevant to me. The benefits of his efforts of convincing the world of the impending doom far outweigh any cuts to his own carbon footprint might yield. In the end, the necessary changes to save the environment can only come from big business, not the individual consumer. This doesn’t mean being environmentally conscious is useless. Using your influence as a green consumer is what will force the economy in the right direction but it does mean that no matter how much we try to be individually, the problem won’t go away until our economy is based on non polluting industries.
