New Mazda 6

The next-generation Mazda6 is zooming right into 2009, and looks primed and ready to take on all comers in the ever-evescalating war of midsize sedans.Mazda says that the sporty-looking second-generation Mazda6 was engineered specifically with the North American market in mind. For instance, it will have a focus on larger dimensions both inside and out, as well as more power coming from both engine choices. Mazda says this midsize sedan will “take on the very best cars from Asia, Europe and North America.”

A new Mazda-designed 2.5-litre 4-cylinder engine will be available in the Mazda6, as well as a 3.7-liter V6 - the same one used by the 2008 CX-9. Transmission choices are a six-speed manual or five-speed automatic with manual-shift mode (2.5-liter engine), or a six-speed automatic with manual-shift mode (3.7-liter V6).

Though many current midsize cars are available in coupe form, the 2009 Mazda6 will only be available as a four-door model. Suspension will be all-independent, with four-wheel disc brakes and ABS coming standard. Mazda also points out that the automaker’s new sedan will have ‘unparalleled reductions’ in road noise and vibrations.

Two trim levels will be available - GS and GT - and both will be available with either engine.

Built in Flat Rock, Michigan, the new Mazda6 will go on sale in the summer of 2008.

Audi Q5

This article is only available in french. La catégorie des VUS compact de luxe est en plein effervescence. Les BMW X3 et Land Rover Freelander ont fait cavalier seul pendant quelques dans ce segment, mais l’arrivée récente de véhicules comme l’Acura RDX et l’Infiniti EX est venue changer les choses. Sous peu, Volvo introduira aussi son deuxième utilitaire sport, le XC60. Et voilà qu’Audi vient tout juste de dévoiler officiellement son nouveau joueur dans ce segment, le Q5.D’abord lancé en Europe, le Q5 sera offert là-bas avec un choix de trois motorisations. Deux d’entre-elles seront des diesel, tandis que l’autre, à essence, nous sera le seul destiné. Il s’agit d’un V6 de 3,2 litres FSI développant 265 chevaux et 243 lb-pi de couple. Ce moteur sera accompagné d’une boîte automatique Tiptronic à changement rapide ainsi que du système de traction intégrale Quattro à prise permanente. Notons que ce système permet d’offrir jusqu’à 85% du couple aux roues arrière, mais aussi jusqu’à 65% vers l’avant.

Avec le Q5, Audi n’entend pas offrir un véhicule d’entrée de gamme. Le niveau de luxe et de caractéristiques de série promet donc d’être relevé, comme en fait foi le communiqué de presse. On parle ici d’un système d’accès et de démarrage sans clé, de la climatisation automatique à trois zones, de la sellerie de cuir avec assise chauffante et d’une chaîne audio à huit haut-parleurs. Le Q5 sera aussi le premier véhicule à adopter la troisième évolution du système d’interface MMI.

Bien sûr, le prix du Q5 n’a pas encore été dévoilé. Le véhicule devrait fait son apparition en Amérique du Nord d’ici environ un an.

Lexus IS more sport than luxury

When we look back on 2008 and consider the best automotive value in Canada, some may look at the Hyundai Accent L and its dirt-cheap $9,995 MSRP, or on the opposite end of the scale, the Lexus LX570, a new model that went down in price by almost $17,000.But whereas you won’t have so much as air conditioning in the Accent and you still have to be substantially wealthy to be able to afford the LX570, the 2008 Lexus IS250 is a gorgeous vehicle that has a mind-bogglingly low price. The base IS250 is almost $5,000 cheaper compared to 2007’s model … and you don’t have to run your own law firm to consider it and its $31,000 base price tag.

The price isn’t the only thing that makes the IS250 appealing though - far from it. This may be Lexus’ entry-level vehicle, but it still retains many of the qualities of its more expensive siblings. It has a whisper-quiet engine, an absolutely pristine interior and Lexus’ attractive new L-Finesse styling.

It may not be sporty enough for those drivers who eat horsepower for breakfast and wash it down with a healthy serving of torque, but when you consider the whole package (not just performance), it makes a case for itself as a truly compelling compact luxury sport sedan.

Though the rear-wheel drive IS250 is the model with the aforementioned $31,000 base price, my tester was equipped with all-wheel drive. The AWD IS is a little heavier and its weight distribution is slightly less balanced than its RWD brother, but for a Lexus - a luxury badge not known for its sportiness - it’s still a lot of fun.

Even before getting into it though, it’s easy to tell that the IS doesn’t have the same attitude as other Lexus cars. It has a short back end and a long front end, giving it a roadster-like silhouette. The taillights sweep around the sides and grow larger moving toward the front, giving it the appearance of moving forward, and the exterior for the most part is uncluttered, so the focus here is obviously more on driving and not so much on just looking good (even though it really, really does).

Once you do step in, it’s difficult to deny that the interior does ooze Lexus from every air vent and cupholder. The seats are more soft and cushy than they are supportive - which doesn’t help when you’re testing out just how well the vehicle handles - and you’ll feel guilty every time you track mud or rain onto the floor mats. This isn’t to say the interior is bad. It’s actually downright immaculate, but again for performance snobs, this may not be enough.

The IS comes available with one of two V6 engines - a 2.5-litre and a 3.5-litre. A glance at the IS250’s spec sheet may not elicit much in the way of excitement when you look at its numbers, but it does feel like a finely-tuned sport sedan once you stop feeling the leather and gazing at the chrome, and start pushing the throttle, turning the steering wheel, and clicking the paddles.

Those steering wheel paddles come standard on the AWD IS250, and let you manually control the six-speed automatic, which is both good and bad. The transmission automatically kicks into fourth gear whenever you move into manual mode - which is great if you’re going 100 km/h and trying to pass someone on a highway, but it makes absolutely no sense if you’re trying to pass someone on a city street while in third gear and you need every bit of torque that peaks at 4,800 rpm.

I just made sure to choose from one mode or the other every time I got in the car; always give myself full control, or always give the vehicle full control.

There are other nice touches that make this a fun little sedan to drive, like an orange light that surrounds the speedometer and tachometer at whatever vehicle/engine speed you choose. It doesn’t make the car go any faster, but hey, it’s fun to look at.

And as enjoyable and truly luxurious as the less-expensive IS sedans are, there are still a wealth of options and packages available to make even the most discerning buyer satisfied. It’s a shame that Bluetooth is only available in tandem with the expensive navi package though.

The IS250 may not be up-to-par with other sports sedans when looking solely at performance numbers and behaviour, but it’s still a fine-handling machine, and with a base price as low as $31,000, its inadequacies can be forgiven.

Salon National

The automotive season began this weekend in St. Hyacinthe where, for the 11th year in a row, the salon Nationale de l’Auto sport opened its doors to the ever-eager public. Known as the only show that truly showcases the complete world of cars and motor sports, this show features everything from hardcore muscle cars to modified street monsters, including rally, drag and classic as well.

View 115 photos

Car of the Month: 2006 Porsche Carerra S

While only lightly modified, this 2006 Porsche Carrera S is most likely the dream car of every kid. The stealthy looking black paint with matching black rims gives a mean yet classy look that you could only find from a Porsche.

2006 Porsche Carerra S

• EXTERIOR

Techart aerodynamics.

• INTERIOR

stock.

• WHEELS & TIRES

Davin Speed 3, three-peice forged wheels 20×8.5 front and 20×11 rear with Continental Sport Contact 2 245-30-20 in front and 305-25-20 rear.

• SUSPENSION ET BRAKES

Techart coilovers.

• UNDER THE HOOD

Billy Boat headers, Billy Boat exhaust, Techart airbox Techart ecu flash, Techart short shifter all making 407hp.

• ICE

Stock.

Special thanks: Toyz Autoart

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View the COTM gallery

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

Voir la gallérie

Nous voulons des voitures coupé-sport

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.

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How to begin modifying your vehicle

I often get emails from newcomers to the car scene who wish to start modifying their car. They ask very basic questions such as “How do I modify my car?” and “Is there a school or something I can go to for the tuning world?” To a person who has been modifying their car for years these questions might seem a bit silly but I’m sure many of us have wanted to start a new hobby and asked equally silly questions.

Before I say anything else I’d like to voice my dissatisfaction of the word “tuning”. Unfortunately this word has become mainstream to describe the aftermarket industry (probably due to the lack of viable alternatives.) The word stems from tuning an engine which means tweaking it to extract the best possible performance. Somehow it has been morphed to encompass non engine modifications such as tinted windows, fancy headlights and stickers but that is incorrect and it will always be incorrect. If you want to make yourself sound really inexperienced in the modified car scene then by all means use the word tuning. Otherwise, try to find alternatives such as “aftermarket” or “modified”. The other word that should never be used under any circumstance is “P-Flow” (unless of course you actually have a real Neuspeed P-Flow). P-Flow is the name Neuspeed gave to its line of performance air intake systems. Unless you paid the bucks for Neuspeed’s system you have an air intake and not a P-Flow.

Not that that’s out of the way we can discuss a little bit about how to start modifying your vehicle. People modify their rides to make them perform better, look better or simply to differentiate them from other vehicles. Because this is done according to a person’s taste people may argue there is no right or wrong. I’m going to put my foot down and squash that argument right now. There is definitely a right and a wrong if you want to command any sort of respect from anyone who knows anything in the aftermarket industry.

This is not to say any of the methods I mentioned above are wrong. Some people care the most about looks, others modify only for performance and some it’s a bit of both. There can be a lot of hating between the groups that hang out at the track trying to shave that extra .1 sec of the ¼ mile and the groups that just want a good looking car to cruise down the strip with. Whatever your flavor, try to be respectful that everyone has their own taste and like to do different things with their cars.

I have put together a few pointers on how to get started no matter what your goal is. You’ll thank me later on if you follow these tips. Let’s say you just bought a new car and its bone stock. Where do you start?

Suspension is what you want to modify first on your car. Without question it should come before any other esthetic and engine modifications. From a performance standpoint, going fast without improved handling is silly and dangerous. From a looks standpoint, having a car done up with a body kit, wheels, paintjob and spoiler that sites at stock height is simply ridiculous. Lowering the car a few inches may not give you that “wow” look from your friends right away but other modified car owners will always notice a lowered car and more importantly, they will notice its being done properly.

If your goal is performance, or better yet, to build a sleeper then you’ll probably want to start working on the motor. A sleeper is a vehicle that looks stock but is much faster than stock. It can be very amusing to see a Civic CX that looks like it was driven to the track by your grandmother blow the doors off a Corvette or some other fast car. Keep in mind however that the faster you make your car, the more important it is to have good brakes. For the safety of your self and others, make the necessary investment.

If your goal is looks, then the next thing after suspension should be wheels. Have you ever seen a car with the exterior all done up to the max, slammed to the ground with stock mages and hubcaps? It looks terrible so don’t do it. Be careful, however, because if you’ve lowered your car you have less clearance for larger wheels & tires. There is no real list of what fits and what doesn’t because there is simply too much variation in sizes. What you need to do is ask on an internet discussion forum what will fit. If this site can’t get you the answer, there are web sites for every single car make and model out there where you can ask real owners what they have and what fit.

After these two first steps are complete, you are ready to proceed in whichever area you please. Everyone has different tastes in what looks good and what doesn’t and if you like your car that is what matters most. However that being said, its very easy for newcomers to make their car look funny by modifying anything and everything just for the sake of having changed something. Stay away from this mentality because your car can end up looking tacky (or “riced” out) very quickly. If this concerns you then try to stay away from modifications like altezza taillights, re-badging your car to something it isn’t and neon lights, all of which are commonly ridiculed by enthusiasts.

One thing you’ll learn quickly is that modifying a car is very costly. It can get even more costly when you need to replace parts three or four times because you keep buying the cheap brand. Do yourself a favor and buy quality parts. OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts that come from the automakers themselves are generally the best quality because they spent big amounts on R&D so buy them when you can. An OEM skirt kit will fit your vehicle perfectly compared to a less expensive fiberglass one that will need to be modified and cut even though it was made for your car. The only downside is that there usually isn’t a huge selection of OEM aftermarket parts and chances are other people have bought them too.

These are some very basic things to get you started modifying your car. Before any purchase you should always research as much as you can on what you are buying. With so much info at your fingertips it’s easy to learn quickly get into the scene in a responsible, respected and safe way.

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