While I am waiting for
the arrival of our little bundle of joy, let me take a minute to comment on
some new releases in the automotive world, which can now be found on the
streets of Montreal.
Scion FR-S: what can I
say, now that I have driven one, I like it more than ever. I also like the
design more and more (except for the wheels), because it really sits low to the
ground.
Fiat 500 Abarth: the
Abarth is undeniably cool. Who would not want a turbo 500? Unfortunately, it
does not look any lower than the standard 500 and I still think the 500 is both
too high off the ground and has weird proportions.
Hyundai Veloster
Turbo: I already loved the look of the Veloster. Adding a turbo was a great
idea, but I think they might have pushed the “look at me” styling a bit too far
with that massive grille.
Mercedes SL: they
seemed to have ruined the proportions of the car with the new nose. A shame, as
I’m sure it’s a delightful car. The new SLK is even worse.
New Porsche Boxster:
the Boxster was already a great car and the second generation was quite
good-looking. The third generation blows it away in the styling department.
It’s as if they found and fixed everything that was remotely wrong with the
design.
New Porsche 911: these
are becoming more common on our roads. I still have trouble telling the
difference between the 991 and 997 from some angles. It seems a bit lower and
wider looking than the 997, which cannot be a bad thing.
New BMW 3-series:
another car that has barely changed visually, except to become a bit bigger. I
understand BMW though… why mess with a good thing?
The race car received
a new clutch before last weekend’s lapping session and was again performing
well, with lap times close to my personal best. Then, the engine conked out
while driving on the track and I coasted in. I could not restart the car and it
was towed to Marc’s house.
The Civic once again leaves the track on the back of a tow truck.
Fortunately, it turned out to be only the distributor
rotor and not a real engine problem. I have since returned to the track last
Monday and again managed to lap in the 1:00.9 range. I will participate in our
club’s time attack at St-Eustache this Saturday and I hope to shave off another
couple of tenths of a second (if it doesn’t rain), but I don’t want to get my
hopes up, as I haven’t been able to perform really well under the pressure
situation of a time attack. The engine is still consuming quite a bit of oil
and this will have to be addressed before winter. I’m glad that I am at least
getting some track time before the baby comes.
Alex and I spent last
weekend at Île d’Orléans, where one can find some of Quebec’s nicest villages.
It was a great weekend, apart from quite a few bed bug bites. I know where I
will NOT be staying next time we are there!
Here are two photos
of Alex on Île d'Orléans at 8 months of pregnancy, as well as a nice one of the M3.
Another photo from Monday night lapping: the best of Japan
Cool cars spotted:
Ferrari 360
Ferrari F430
Ferrari 458
Ferrari 550
Ferrari 599
Ferrari
California
Mini Cooper S Works
Lotus Elise
Lotus Evora
Maserati GT
Maserati Quattroporte
Bentley Continental
Supersports
Bentley Arnage Red
Label
Porsche 997 Turbo
Porsche 997 GT3
Porsche 930
Porsche 968
MGB
MG Midget
Triumph Spitfire 1600
Mercedes 500e
Aston
Martin V8 Vantage
Aston
Martin DB9
Acura NSX
Rolls Royce Phantom
Rolls Royce Ghost
Alfa Romeo GTV 2000
AMG C63
Coupe
AMG C63
AMG CLS63
BMW M6
BMW new M5
BMW 633
BMW 1M
BMW 2002
Dodge Viper
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 1
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