Photos from the 2015 AISA Race School at St-Eustache

Here are a few photos I took at the AISA Race School at St-Eustache, where I was instructing last weekend. It felt nice to be at the track, especially given the decent weather we had. As usual, there was quite a mix of cars out there. Enjoy!

Jaguars!

I can't believe how many cool Jaguars there are in Montreal. I spotted all six of these in the past week. I guess the brand is making a comeback, especially in the high-performance niche.

Still pretty cold out...

There is not much going on in my automotive world, so I will continue with my comments on the weather: it's still cold! It was unseasonably cold through most of March and now that April is here, things are not much better. It will be snowing over Easter weekend, apparently.

Still, I managed to go on a long walk last Sunday with Oscar in the baby carrier. I had forgotten how enjoyable a walk in the neighbourhood could be. Even though it doesn't feel like spring is here, there are some cool cars on the road.

C63 Coupe with black wheels and red interior

I always wondered what happens with these cars when you hit something with no real bumper. Now I know. 

I've seen this cool JDM van around for years. Sadly, it's now starting to rust.

Great winter family car, complete with winter grime.

Another great family car, the AWD Maserati Ghibli

I never loved the design of these Civics, but with steel wheels, it looks OK. 

The more subtle version of the C63

I also took a couple of photos of some neat architectural sightings:

Super-cool third floor addition in Mile End

How about adding another level on the bottom! 

 With Easter approaching, we went to a shopping center with a zoo last weekend. Jules was pretty impressed. The farmers even let him pet this little rabbit.

I have spotted this cool Jag many times near my office, but this is the first time I noticed its new accessory.

Super Jules, taking a short break.

Fashion Jules, wearing my socks and Alex's flip-flops

Over all, I am looking forward to spending more time outdoors, although this will be my first spring without a Civic to play with since 2002. It's not easy seeing the track car season approach with no track car! One consolation is having an M3 with no outstanding issues since I changed the faulty (brand new) wheel speed sensor.

On a final note:

I can almost fit my fist in there!

Coldest February ever! (Now thankfully over)

It turns out that February 2015 was the coldest on record. I am sure glad it's over. In the past couple of days, temperatures have climbed back into the normal range. Also, I have resumed walking to work in the morning. I find that I generally arrive at the office in a better mood if I have walked to work than if I have taken public transportation. Also, given that Alex and I have not been getting as much sleep as we would like to, thanks to a certain little guy named Oscar, it's nice to have a bit of physical activity to wake one up in the morning. 

Although Oscar is a bit fussy sometimes and does not like to sleep for long stretches at a time at night, we are happy to see that Jules is back to his old cheerful self and is almost always in a good mood. Here are some gratuitous pics of the boys.

I was told there would be food?

If you take my seat, I will take yours. Besides, I still fit!

I had a problem with the BMW last week where it felt like the car was not running on all cylinders. I used my code reader and found out there was a misfire on one cylinder. That same morning, I ordered a coil pack and Carl brought it to me the same evening. I managed to install it while wearing the baby carrier with Oscar in it and the problem was solved.

I was feeling pretty good about myself and decided to attack the faulty ABS sensor. I managed to change it in only a few minutes, but the code reader says the problem is still there. Either I installed a bad brand new sensor, or the problem lies elsewhere. It's a frustrating situation and I have yet to find a solution.

I was looking through old blog  posts with Jules and I realized that I had never posted a photo of my old Saab on this blog. I believe I only have one photo of the car, which was taken by a friend of mine at a Solo 1 event in 1998 or 1999. How different things were before the digital era! I have thousands of photos of my cars after I bought my first digital camera (in 2002, I believe). Anyway, here is one of the Saab.

 

I came across this neat mock-up of Patrick Séguin's race Civic for 2015. I never loved the design of these cars, but as a race car, with these wheels, it looks pretty darn cool.

Finally, here are a couple of pics of a Jaguar F-Type coupe I spotted yesterday. The car looks simply amazing in person, from any angle. Bravo Jaguar!

Oh, and my respects to the person who was driving an AMG SLS on Monday in winter conditions... I salute you!

What a great angle for this car!

The front looks mean as well

Another cool Jaguar being driven in winter: