Category Archives: News

For those who love BMW e36 (M3) models?

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If you like older BMWs and specifically if BMW e36’s are your thing you need to check out the Better music video from American R&B singer Khalid.

We’d love to hear the whole story of how this classic BMW model was selected for the video.  It would be interesting to know if Khalid had a hand in the decision making since they are actually older than him by a few years as he was only 20 at the time.

Nevertheless, we 100% approve of the video’s creative direction and hope no BMW was injured or maimed during production. A fun, follow-up story would be to learn the full details from those lucky BMW owners who got to showcase their rides in the hit video.

Henrik Fisker is relevant once again

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It’s been years since we wrote about Danish born electric vehicle automaker Henrik Fisker, but he is making headlines this week with two big announcements from his new company, Fisker Inc.

Fisker Ocean

1 –  The company revealed that reservations for the Ocean have hit 12,000 since the model was announced in late 2020. This three row, electric SUV is being built by Canada’s own Magna International and is slated for delivery in late 2022.

2 –  Fisker is also teaming up with electronics manufacturer juggernaut Foxconn on their next model.

Foxconn is most famous as the assembler of Apple’s iPhone. This news created quite a buzz on the markets with Fisker stock rising by 30% by end of week. Time will tell if these new models can actually compete with the established EV makers.  With so many companies entering the global EV market with a range of innovative products it looks like we’re heading into an EV renaissance.

Mustang from Bullitt sold in auction for all time record price of $3.74 million

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The 1968 Ford Mustang GT driven by Steve McQueen in the legendary chase scene in the movie “Bullitt” sold on Friday for $3.74 million. Make sure to turn up the volume at 1:24 – you will want to hear that 390-cubic-inch V8 in all its glory.

Although it is essentially an original 1968 Fastback Mustang GT car it did have a bunch of modifications personally commissioned from Steve McQueen for the film. For example, it had a bigger 390 V8 motor swapped in so it could keep up with the more powerful 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440 in the chase scenes.

I can still remember my Dad telling me fondly about the night he went to the cinema in 1968 to watch the film.  So it was no surprise I got a screening of “Bullitt” at age 7 or 8 and from that day on wards I have loved muscle cars.  Here’s the link to the infamous 10 minute car chase – The film truly does represent such a different era of film making – long before CGI animation took over.

 

Ford unveils Bronco R and confirms Baja 1000 participation

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If you are like me, and have been literally waiting years for the new Ford Bronco, well you are in luck, as our friends at the Blue Oval have released a new teaser video. Of course it is not actually of the new 2020 Ford Bronco but it is Broll of the Ford Bronco R Baja Racer. According to the company, the Bronco R race prototype is designed with the same production model’s body-on-frame architecture to test its capability and durability, while also energizing off-road enthusiasts who eagerly await the return of America’s original sport utility vehicle. At the end of the day, although this truck is on steroids it is our best look yet at what the new Bronco might look like.

 

The newly unveiled Ford Bronco R racing truck arrives to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rod Hall’s Baja 1000 victory in 1969. Shelby Hall, Rod’s granddaughter, will run the new one in portions of next week’s Baja 1000.

Source: Ford

Turbos and Temples

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In the new full length feature video Turbos and Temples, the boys from Australia’s Mighty Car Mods take an epic road trip in their newly purchased Nissan March Super Turbo.  This new film captures all the boys fun in the “Land of the Rising Sun” ending on an incredible high note as they drive the Hakone Skyline to attend Nissan’s Nismo Fest 2018.

The documentary is over three hours long, broken up into two parts which can be watched here.

Part 1

Part 2

 

Urban Assault 2

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Back in 2016, Blake Wilkey rose to fame as a result of an insane video titled Urban Assault which went on to become a massive viral sensation.  It still stands up today as an epic video and is worth watching if you haven’t seen it.  Blake actually had to do some jail time for breaking a long list of driving laws in San Diego where the video was filmed.  However, the risk/reward has paid off nicely and Blake is now a social media darling with thousands of followers on Instagram.

After that first video, Blake went on to sell his 700 HP Baja Buggy to a Prince in Dubai. However, that did not end his off-road shenanigans as he has successfully leveraged his popularity by attracting major sponsors who have helped him build a beautiful new Baja buggy.  From all accounts, Blake seems to be a very affable, down to earth, fun loving guy so we are not surprised his rise to fame has continued to shine bright.

Earlier this month, in the run up to Las Vegas’s big off road race the Mint 400, Blake Wilkey launched his newest project titled Urban Assault 2.

This new video is 7.5 minutes of Blake driving like a mad man through the streets of Vegas.  The cinematography is top notch with lots of cool backgrounds all behind the carnal noise and crazy power of Wilkey’s LS3 powered Baja buggy.  Make sure to follow him at @b357wilkey

Cars n’ Coffee 2018 Season

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As winter is around the corner we thought it was time to remind everyone it will only be four months until the summer cars can come back out and play.  To keep you thinking positively check out this video montage of Engineered Automotive Cars n’ Coffee 2017 season closer.

The good weather cannot come soon enough.  Only 120 more sleeps 🙂

Toyota’s TRD Pro Challenge

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Kudos to the marketing and PR folks at Toyota USA for creating this cool ad series for their TRD models. The most recent episode sees Canadian veteran off-road racer Andy Bell take his two famous motorcycling friends Jamie Bestwick and Roland Sands across Vietnam behind the wheels of three beautiful Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Tundra and Toyota 4Runner models. Having traveled to Vietnam myself, I can attest that it truly is one of the most beautiful and rugged countries in the world. Vietnam’s back-country really is the perfect test ground for Toyota’s incredible off-road TRD models.

The Great Gatsby and America’s fascination with the automobile

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I first learned about America’s fascination with the automobile from the pages of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Set in the Roaring 20’s, the great American novel explores the decadence, idealism and social upheaval of the decade and has been described as the cautionary tale of the American Dream.  Cars play a key role in the novel’s plot and are intrinsic as symbols of the wealthy elite of the day. You only have to watch this clip from the 2013 film to get an idea of what types of cars the stars of the day drove.

 

 

CVT Transmissions…

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After a recent encounter with a deer in West Virginia left our beloved Ford Escape a write-off, it was time to go SUV shopping.

My wife and I looked at different models including the Honda Pilot, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Explorer and Nissan Pathfinder and decided on a low mileage 2014 Pathfinder SL model.  It had all the features we wanted, the price was right and a good friend of mine also had one that he was very happy with.  Now of course in parallel, I had spent countless hours researching the Pathfinder (anyone that knows me understands this is not a chore for me) and was aware of a class action lawsuit in the US focused on the CVT transmission.  However, that did not dissuade me – I thought it was still small numbers that were affected, we liked the way the car drove, the price was right and Nissan has always made great products.

Well, everything was great for the first seven weeks of owning the Pathfinder until this happened…

The rescue begins.

The rescue begins.

That’s right…our new ride was being towed away by Nissan Roadside Assistance only seven weeks after we bought it.

We had it taken to Maple Nissan where we purchased the car. The team there was great and stepped up to fix the issue right away. One week later we were back on our way with a new transmission installed.

Back in action.

The CVT (continuously variable transmission) has been a bit of a negative word over the years with the world of mechanics, but the technology has seen significant improvements recently. Today, many manufacturers are using this type of technology in a broad range of vehicle models.

Designed primarily to enhance fuel efficiency, the CVT is an automatic transmission that can seamlessly change through a continuous range of gears.  As a car guy, I had always been slightly weary of them because there has been negative press citing an increase in cabin noise, unnatural driving feel and originally they were not designed for towing.

Our whole experience does make you a bit nervous about the long-term ownership costs, especially after reading numerous horror stories about multiple CVT failure. Nevertheless, I’m continuing to stay positive. I suppose it is not a bad thing to get a new transmission at 53,000 KMs if you plan to keep your vehicle for the long-haul.