POINT A TO POINT B
Growing up, I remember having chats with my big bro about the cars he liked and disliked, which he would most likely end up buying and how to drive stick. Before that, I never really paid attention to cars and/or what they can do. Who really got me going was one of my instructors from Advertising Design College who was a car fanatic! He used to create ads for a car company before teaching. Cars were so ingrained in his DNA, he would draw cars and make car ad references in class ALL the time! From that point on, I started to appreciate car design, different classes and brands of cars and their performance.
Growing up, I remember having chats with my big bro about the cars he liked and disliked, which he would most likely end up buying and how to drive stick. Before that, I never really paid attention to cars and/or what they can do. Who really got me going was one of my instructors from Advertising Design College who was a car fanatic! He used to create ads for a car company before teaching. Cars were so ingrained in his DNA, he would draw cars and make car ad references in class ALL the time! From that point on, I started to appreciate car design, different classes and brands of cars and their performance.
By no means am I a car expert of any sort…just a simple enthusiast. Almost every year, I’d make a trip downtown to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to catch the Auto Show. This year was no exception. At this year’s show, you’ll see glimpses of Bumble Bee from the blockbuster movie Transformers
and KITT from the TV show Knight Rider. There is also a section with iconic classics such as Camaros & Firebirds – some that are vintage and look like its never been driven a day. These muscle cars require so much fuel, that you could actually smell it in the room.
Something new to Canada is the Fiat
(fiatcanada.com). A brand from Italy, it reminds me of a “car version” of Vespa – small, compact, with a retro-feel and cute as heck! Speaking of cute, Scion
’s iQ (scionnation.ca) looks like a regular-sized car that got squished from the nose and back, making it compact as ever. I think it’s definitely going to give the Smart Car a bit of healthy competition. Having never been in one, I took a quick seat in a Smart Car (thesmart.ca) and to my surprise, it felt quite roomy considering the size of the exterior. Perhaps good things do come in small sizes.
Just because a car is small, doesn’t mean it can’t be fast. As everyone was oogling over the Audi R8 (which is a fine piece of art indeed), I decided to check out the Audi TTS
instead (audi.ca). With Quattro all-wheel drive, how on earth does it go from 0-100km/hr in 5.1 seconds you might ask? Yes, it has 265 horsepower @ 6000rpm, but the all-wheel drive will automatically shift power where it is needed most depending on the situation (ie. 80% rear/20% front, 70% rear/30% front, etc). Pretty sophisticated technology I might say!
What about comfort? Must one sacrifice style over practicality? Mercedes Benz (mercedes-benz.ca) says NO! I stepped into an S600 and I was in heaven! The leather seats are built with an orthopedic design to be ergonomically correct for the lumbar of your back. Climate comfort front seats allow you to heat or ventilate according to your personal temperature preferences. And hello…massage function included!!! Ok, so I failed to mention the car starts @ MSRP $189, 000, but lemme tell yah, once I got in, I didn’t want to get out!
So which car do I like the most? Can’t really decide, too many choices! And it’s hard to pick without actually getting to test-drive any of these puppies. And some people say, different cars exudes different personalities? My sister always envisioned me driving a VW Beetle. I always thought I suited a Mini. But honestly, I prefer motorcycles over cars. I was glad to see at the show that Honda came out with a new CBR 250R motorcycle
(honda.ca) but I guess that’s a whole other story! For now, I’m driving a used beater car to get myself from Point A to Point B. It lacks air conditioning, power windows and anything fancy, but I’ll give it props for reliability. I don’t have any immediate plans to upgrade just yet, but it’s always nice to look.
Whether you drive to show off style or ride the super highway in comfort or don’t even own a car at all, the Auto Show is a great place for all levels of enthusiasts. My apologies for not mentioning about the hybrids, SUVs, trucks, domestics and all other brands, but if you want more information, you should really go and see the show for yourself! There are so many experts dying to give you information/brochures/posters/etc. The CIAS runs from Feb 18-27, 2011 and is an annual show in case you miss it this year. For more information, please visit : www.autoshow.ca
Happy driving everyone!
Article : Maggie Ng
Photos : M Studio Life
Venue : Metro Toronto Convention Centre
