Praise For Tesla From A Gear Head

I’m a really nice guy. Like, really, really nice. All of the time my friends and family approach me with automotive queries because they know I will give them an honest answer. For example, when a family member calls me and says “hey my change oil light is on, what should I do?”  and “my tires are bald, should I get new ones?” I have the unique ability to give straight forward answers and not dance around asking questions like; Did you dress yourself today?”.

 

The other week my brother-in-law called me and asked if I could help get his car tinted and a stone chip on the windshield fixed. “sure I can, I can do that in a day”. He was super happy as he was going out of town and said he would just leave me the car for a couple of days (and I get to drive it). My brother-in-law drives a Tesla 85D. This is an electric car with the ability to go zero to 60 in 4.3 seconds. Understandably I was very excited by the opportunity to thrash, drive his car. Let me back up a bit. When my brother-in-law first ordered his Tesla he was super excited about it and understandably so. Technology from the future, crazy power and great fit and finish. I on the other hand was a little underwhelmed at first, I thought, what’s the big deal right? It’s like driving an electric razor with an i-pad for a console. I thought it would lack the passion of a combustion engine. When he got it I thought “okay, this is cool but I would still rather have ______ insert premium luxury sedan”. Essentially I thought that liking that car would make me less of a “car guy” because I was liking something without an engine.

 

However, after driving it for a couple of days I would liken it to a slot car with an in between stage. Step on the accelerator pedal (can’t really call it a gas pedal) and it drives like any other car. Mash it with your foot and watch the world melt away though the windshield. Don’t forget, this is with 2 car seats comfortably in the back too! Imagine all that torque and power available from 0 RPM because there is no engine to turn over. Instant terminal velocity…. My tear ducts have not fully recovered.

 

The technology is amazing in the car. The Auto Pilot mode will legitimately steer, accelerate and brake the car its self. You want to change lanes? just click the turn signal and watch the computer overlords sense when an appropriate opening becomes available and technology will then put you in the next lane. The on board navigation has built in internet browsing and the car will tell you the stock numbers too (if you are into that sort of thing) and a full internet browser. Imagine driving from Toronto to Kingston without using the steering wheel or the pedals. It is a novel concept that took some time for my weak human, non-Tesla brain to comprehend.

 

Usually when I have to drive family/friends cars for service I can’t wait to give them back. I don’t want to be responsible for any damage like “was this crease in the leather always there?” or, “I don’t remember the car sounding like this”… with this car I would gladly keep driving it because the reward is definitely worth the risk.

Now I will write my first draft of the apology letter to my brother-in-law….

Brighton Speedway. A unique approach to racing

I got a phone call from one of my best friends the other week that went something like this: “hey Sam, a bunch of us are going to Brighton Speedway next weekend for some races, you should come” Oh Brighton, The epicenter of back country motor sports and ridiculous racing ideas. My response was something along the lines of “I will see if I can make it out, it’s a bit of a hike from Toronto and I’m not sure if the wife will appreciate the country “culture” that is a day of racing in Brighton.” All I really wanted to do was sit on the couch and catch up on T.V.-Then my friend told my there would be a school bus race. It took all of 2 seconds for me to confirm that I was going to the race. Let me explain what was involved in a day of racing at the Brighton Speed way. We will only focus on a couple of these races because I have been told that my blogs are too long and bla, bla, bla…

1)       endurance races: Picture 64 cars racing around a tight, dirt oval track with high banks in the corners. The cars race in three heats. The top place finishers get to move on to the final event- the demolition derby. The cars that race these are “race prepped” and by that I mean they have no glass or lights and crummy paint jobs done with a spray paint can or paint brush. I will summarize an endurance race like this: picture everyone racing around a track in cars that are not fit for the road. Now picture them intentionally hitting each other and trying to knock each other off the track. You have to be pretty fearless to win one of these events. The winner was 16 years old and had clearly not yet felt the sting of aching bones the next day.

 

2)      Trailer race: This pretty much the exact same thing as an endurance race except everyone has to have a trailer on the back of their vehicle. The trailer is still considered a trailer as long as the tongue is attached up to the car. These trailers are hooked up to cars destined for the demolition derby so scratching the paint is okay. In fact there are extra laps added on to drivers that don’t trade pant. The object is to try to take out your opponent and their trailer. OH THE HUMANITY! These trailers are all in varying states of decay and most have been loaded up with garbage and unwanted household furniture. This is done to try and destroy the tires on the car behind it and make the track that much more dangerous. The old a-barbecue-is-going-to-fall-out-of-the-back-of-my-trailer-and-onto-your-hood trick is the most advanced maneuver in Motorsports racing today.

3)      Vehicle long jump: This is an open class for anyone to partake in. It is also the single largest business producer for the local chiropractic clinic. Contestants take their post endurance cars but pre-demolition derby cars and launch them off a 2 and a half-foot ramp to see how much air they can get. No landing strip, just dirt, flat hard-packed dirt. The winner is the person who jumps the furthest. I think I saw one contestant cough up a vertebrae in a Buick Century. On a side note, the sound these cars make when they land is somewhere between the dull thud of dropping a bowling ball on wood and running over a tin can.

4)      School bus race: OH. MY. GOD! I was expecting short buses. I got full-sized old school International, Ford and G.M.’s! The majority of them  run big block American motors. The buses that run the original diesel mills puff out thick black smoke. These buses are unbelievable. If you have never seen cheese-wagons smash into each other while trying to negotiate a tight, angled turn on a dirt track you have never lived. These guys are ruthless. And it shows. Buses went off the track, spun out and crashed. These are 70 foot logs rolling around they are loud, top-heavy and unstable. They have so much real-estate on top of the old school ladder frames that you can aim to hit. The track is not that wide or accommodating in corners, So much contact happens between these buses. You would could almost relate it to watching whales engage in a pre-mating ritual. If you get the chance, go see a bus race it will make you reevaluate your priorities.

5)      Demolition derby: This was the main event and it devided into compact cars and full size cars. The cars are placed in a small area bounded by concrete blocks. What ensues when the checkered flag goes up is madness! Everyone try’s to eliminate everyone else’s car by smashing into it. I spoke with a seasoned demolition derby veteran and he explained that there are 2 ways to win a derby. To win the compact class (the majority of these cars are front engine front wheel drive) you have to smash the front of another car with the back of yours. Essentially you want to inflict as much damage as possible to the front of your opponent’s car (so you can disable the engine) without exposing the front of your car to damage. The full-sized class is the opposite. Most of them are front engine rear wheel drive cars. These full-sized cars are generally pre-crash protection era cars so the front ends are bullet proof. The best bet is to back into the rear side of the other car so you can take out the rear axle and render the car immobile. Most of these full-sized cars have rear ends larger than a 2 bedroom condo in Toronto so there is lots of metal to cushion the blow.  after seeing the carnage unfold I am 100% positive that we should be promoting this event to people with anger management issues. This would not only allow them to take out anger. It would reward those who are most aggressive.

*no animals were hurt in the making of this blog, however approximately 70 cars, 6 trailers and 9 buses were destroyed*

best. 1980’s car. ever.

Anything! We will lease almost anything! Want proof? Check out what we recently leased out.

A 1983 Delorean. Yes- That car from Back To The Future. No – does not have a Flux Capasitor… Your wildest automotive dreams are just a conversation and a handshake away from being a reality at Auto|One Palladini.

I know what you are thinking. You were not doubt imagining yourself as a young Michael J Fox trying to save himself (in the future of course) and helping his dad hatch out of his nerdy goofy shell. Yes that bully Biff learned a valuable lesson. All while wearing a sweet denim jacket and self-lacing shoes. Or, maybe you’re a bit older and more mature and think of yourself as Doc Emmett Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd). Yes you are eccentric enough to pull off mad-scientist.

Either way, we don’t judge. We are car people. We are just happy that someone is enjoying one of the most storied cars in automotive history. Look up the background. John Delorean was an automotive genus and very sharp business man. John was one of more colourful businessmen that were at the top of his game when Detroit was peaking and then starting to slide, the mid to late 1960’s. his work includes perfecting the Ultramatic transmission at Packard before going to GM. At General Motors he created GTO for Pontiac. He is often credited with turning Pontiac around from being an old lady brand into General Motor’s performance brand. Among his other accolades are being one of the youngest to ever head a brand division at GM and, he still holds lots of patents that are still relevant today.  The waters get murky when he went solo and tried to start his own brand of futuristic car. I will leave that for you to enjoy on your own time. (Spoiler alert, FBI Informants!!!!)

Regardless of whether you are an automotive enthusiast or a movie buff we are just happy to accommodate people. We love helping get automotive history rolling down the road, literally. This Delorean illustrates that passion and bond that Auto|One Palladini forges with customers on a daily basis.

Detroit Auto Show Review

Last month, a few members of the Auto|One team decided to take a trip down to the most prestigious auto show of them all, the Detroit Auto Show.

We took a look at all the new cars and concepts, and picked our top six most attractive cars for 2013.

2014 Corvette

Aggressive, sophisticated, controversial. The new corvette is all of these things, aggressive styling and horsepower (450hp in base form).

Sophisticated: Corvette is one step closer to having a legitimate interior. It is new but instantly recognizable as a Corvette. The seats are different than the last generation and finished in higher quality materials as are the dash, knobs and navigation system.

Controversial: This is all we heard at the show “it stole the Camero’s rear lights”…. Yes, the lights are no longer circular, but they look fantastic and it works very well with the rest of the car. This car is going to be a home run for the Chevy boys.

Question: if the new Corvette has 450HP, how much horsepower will the new Z06 and ZR1 have?

Audi RS7

You mean to say you took the already stunning S7 body and put 560hp in it? That was very nice of Audi to treat us to such a delight.

Yes the back of the car is ‘love-it-or-leave-it’ but with the rear wing up, it looks awesome. While the exterior has been the selling point of the Audi 7, the interior is the story behind the story. The interior of the RS7 is reminiscent of a Lamborghini, Audi R8 and a futuristic fighter jet. Highest quality materials, fit, and finish have gone into this car. This car should never have tinted windows; it should be shared with the world!

 JAGUAR F TYPE

Jaguar’s new Porsche Boxer/ BMW Z4/ Mercedes SLK fighter. 340-495 horse power options. The convertible and automatic only car looks like a strange departure for Jaguar. Gone is the regal lines of yesterday, now the car is wrapped in a tight exterior that looks muscular and elegant.

The interior look is German with a British fit and finish, a very good combination.

We spoke with the PR rep and they told us that a coupe version is in the works and manual transmission is being prayed for. Please answer our prayers.

Mercedes Benz E63 AMG

ALL WHEEL DRIVE AMG’S! We Repeat, this car is ALL WHEEL DRIVE! Words cannot describe the excitement we have about this new car.

The new body style is reserved, and not imposing. The interior is welcoming and hosts lots of gadgetry and features you have come to expect. In other words they have kept the E-class, the E- class, and added in a dose of all wheel drive mayhem.

BMW 4 Series

This is a great move for BMW. By separating the 3 and 4 series they have allowed both cars to truly become individual in their own right. The new 4 series boasts a beautiful baseball stitch cinnamon interior and perfectly sculpted rear exhaust, features that would be welcome in an executive sports car. By contrast the 3 series gains a 2.0, 4 cylinder turbo gas motor geared towards fuel economy.

Mercedes Benz GL63 AMG

This is the newest edition of the AMG family. Twin turbo 550hp/ 560 pound feet of torque V8 mill is rumored to be enough to propel this German tank to 100kmph in less than 5 seconds. Remember that this truck weighs 5000 plus pounds… astounding numbers. Did we mention stop/start technology? Optional Design interior? 4MATIC all wheel drive?

5 Must-Have Vehicle Accessories

Everyone loves to put their own personal touch on things they own, a vehicle is no different.  Beyond the decals, stuffed animals and dashboard bobble heads, these are the top five accessories that can give you a better driving experience.

Navigation

Navigation systems use Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites to pin-point the car’s location and built-in maps to find addresses and get directions. Some can even route you around traffic jams! With a navigation system, it’s virtually impossible to get lost — if you make a wrong turn, the system figures it out right away and updates the route. Many new cars are offered with navigation, but there are a plethora of portable add-on units that offer more features at surprisingly low prices. Newer units also give details about gas prices at nearby stations, menus for nearby restaurants, and posted speed limits.

Bluetooth

Most Provinces have a hands-free mobile phone law, including Ontario & BC.  Bluetooth hands-free system should be considered a must-have. Many cars offer built-in systems that turn the car into a giant speakerphone, but a small headset that fits into your ear works just as well. Bluetooth allows you to keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road, where they belong.

Rear-View Camera

Years ago, when cars were lower, longer and wider, it was a lot harder to back into something — but today’s more aerodynamic designs and safety regulations mean that rear visibility has taken a back seat. Side and rear-view windows are sometimes smaller and tilted in a way that hinders a clear view of what’s around your car. A rear-view camera (also known as a backup camera) lets you see what is immediately behind the car; they can prevent you from backing over something or, more importantly, someone. And they also make parallel-parking a cinch.

Tire Pressure Gauge

This may seem like a rather low-tech device for this list, but it’s important. Tires lose air pressure over time (around 3% per month) and as the temperature drops (3% per 10 degrees). Low tires use more fuel and are more likely to have a blowout. With a tire gauge, you can check the pressure yourself and make sure that your car drives more efficiently — and more safely. To learn your car’s optimum tire pressure, check the owner’s manual, or the driver’s side door jamb, which usually has a sticker stating correct pressure for both front and rear tires.

OnStar

You may have seen the commercials for OnStar — one push of a button connects you to a live operator who can help you with directions, roadside assistance, and can even remotely unlock your car should you happen to leave your keys inside. But what makes OnStar really worth having is its collision detection system. If you have an accident, OnStar automatically calls for help, reporting your car’s exact position using a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System), allowing the OnStar people to send help. Even if you don’t know where you are, OnStar does. OnStar is standard on General Motors cars, but if you’re not driving GM you can buy the OnStar FMV rear view mirror unit.

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Cadillac ATS Wins Gold in Olympics Advertising

General Motors captured the gold with its advertising of the 2013 Cadillac ATS. The “Cadillac ATS vs. the World” campaign, designed to establish the brand-new Cadillac nameplate, launched during the opening ceremonies of the London Olympic Games. Cadillac followed up with 30-second spots throughout the weekend.  According to Edmunds.com shopping consideration had lifted by 474 percent by the time Monday arrived.  This was much higher than competitive automobiles in the category. Shopping consideration is an indicator of marketing effectiveness, not necessarily actual sales.

We think it is because it is/was a terrific commercial series and because the Cadillac is such an appealing car.

Here’s the trailer for you to watch:

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Carroll Shelby the Legendary Car Designer

In May of this year the automotive industry lost one of its greats with the passing of Carroll Shelby. From humble beginnings, Shelby went on to become a world-champion racing driver. However, he is perhaps best remembered for designing and building innovative and iconic cars like the Cobra, high-performance versions of the Ford Mustang and injecting expertise and testosterone into the development of the Dodge Viper.

During the 1950’s Shelby drove for the Cad-Allard, Aston-Martin and Maserati teams and in 1959 he won the brutal endurance race 24 Hours of Le Mans, co-driving a British made Aston-Martin. A heart ailment forced him to quit driving and in 1962 he founded Shelby-American. It became one of the most successful independent sports-car builders of the era.

Shelby began building his Cobras using the chassis and body of a two-seater from AC Cars of England and packing powerful Ford V-8 Engines into the lightweight British roadsters. The Cobra won the United States Road Racing Championship in 1963 and the Grand Touring world championship in the large-engine category in 1965.

In 1964, Lee Iacocca asked Shelby to help create a high-performance version of the recently launched Mustang. In January 1965, the first Shelby Mustang, the GT350, made its début and a legend was born. Shelby also developed the Ford GT40, the Shelby GT500 and the GT500KR (KR stands for King of the Road). The Shelby-American team’s Ford GT40 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 and 1968 ending a six year winning streak by Ferrari.

Ford Racing put a video together of Carroll Shelby “In His Own Words”.  It is fascinating…

The famous Shelby Cobra and the many other high performance vehicles that Shelby designed and built enlivened, and in many cases, revolutionized the automotive industry for the past 50 years. He will be missed but his legacy lives on.

Click here to review our Pinterest retrospective of Shelby production cars.

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Bullrun 2012 – Day 6

The Bullrun began in beautiful Klamath Falls, Oregon. Overnight the drivers stayed on a ranch and got to see a private screening of last year’s Cops, Cars 7 Superstars TV show which highlights the fun of BullrunAt the start of the day…….bullrunners lined up to get their route card.

On the road again

The route card had us heading for checkpoint 1 – Lucerne, CA.

A quick break 🙂

Checkpoint #1 for Day 6…….find the checkpoint!

A number of the teams including Team Oh Canada were slowed down by a police roadblock.

Bullrunners enter back into the state of California. Some of the landscape that the Bullrunners experience en route is breathtaking!  Mount Shasta on the horizon.

About to cross the Golden Gate. Route cards from the 1st checkpoint vehicle sent everyone to the next one at Gotts, St. Helena then onto the final destination of the day – the Dream Inn, Santa Cruz, California.

Partying in the parking lot in Santa Cruz

He’s like a little boy scout that one – be party prepared!

Because it’s not enough to drive super cars all day, Alex has to ride a bike at 2 AM

Team oh Canada score their first ‘1st’ today! About time!

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Bullrun 2012 – Day 4

Morning in Boise, ID, and the sunrise was picture-perfect!

Nice, the Dudesons!

The drivers hit the road for their lunch stop in Oregon, Little Pine Café. Beautiful mountain roads – top speed 116mph – no tickets – Team Oh Canada is 6th into this checkpoint.

Seems like the long days and long nights are catching up with some drivers.

Back to the cars

Following our friend Ben in Silver Camero into Mitchell

Final stop of the day would be Portland, Oregon.

The drivers pointed their cars straight into the rain.

Good navi skills!

Team Oh Canada made some friends today….

Team DTA Posse

Best way to describe our party!

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Bullrun 2012 – Day 3

Day 3 began at the Hyatt lake-side resort on Lake Tahoe, NV. What a sight!

It was time for breakfast at Bonanza Saloon, Virginia City NV

where the ‘Bullrunners’ get their first route card.

Nevada was crawling with police – and not because the Bullrunners were doing anything wrong. Something about having stickers on your car seems to draw their attention. Hmmmm…

1st Checkpoint – Reno-Fernley Raceway for some hot laps!

Final destination for the day was Boise, ID. It got the drivers scrambling to their cars. Anyone who wanted to make it there before nightfall had to get on the road quickly and start planning their route.

All of SE Oregon and Idaho looks like this

Oh Canada Driver on the road…..very focused

Oh Canada Navigator on the road…..Priority One – Sun Protection

First into the Boise, ID, was the Big Easy Banditz – Ricky, Billy and Shaun.

Second to arrive was Wahe and Greg in the red 2012 Porsche 911.

Third into the checkpoint was Bill Sheppard in the red 2011 Camaro rental.

Time to party again!

Rock on Boise!

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