Mid-winter update

It's the middle of winter. I enjoyed a lovely holiday season in Montreal followed by a fun 7-day trip to Cuba with the family. I participated in another TSD rally with the Saabaru a couple of weeks ago with my co-driver Josée. We signed up in the "expert" class, for those with more than three events under their belt, and we finished last out of 5 experts, and 7th out of 30-something participants over all. Even though we came last, this was our best score ever (I think) with 6.9 minutes of penalties in 240 km. We accumulated most of these penalties by arriving too early, so I'll have to slow down a little at the next event. The car behaved absolutely flawlessly in the rally and has been reliable on the road thus far this winter.

I went to the car show last week, and it was quite disappointing. There are few interesting cars on offer for enthusiasts and I will never consider a brand new car anyway. A few comments: the most boring lineup is probably from Mistubishi, which basically has only SUV's and the 3-cylinder Mirage. Another stand that was surprisingly lame was Porsche's: no GT-2 or 3 or 4... no racing cars... quite boring. BMW had a couple of M-cars, but, as was the case in general at this year's event, no racing cars.

Here are a few photos:

There were some cool tuner cars

Nice Datsun 510

Super-clean Porsche 914-6

Stripped-down Toyota GT86

Expensive track day special

The new G-Wagen

Still one of my favourites, although the orange makes me think McLaren more than Honda...

One of the only race cars, a TCR Audi

Another track version of an already fast car

Not a great colour for Lamborghini's SUV

This was a great colour and wheel combo

After all the waiting, the new Toyota Supra is a bit disappointing in the flesh

It looks like a bunch of other cars out there,

A lovely first-gen Civic

Toyota is offering this cool retro blue on at least three models.

Still cool after all these years

Race and street versions

At least Nissan brought a race car

One of my favourite cars this year, a semi-affordable track car.

Nice styling, nice wheels, cool paint

The new Competition version of the M2

... clearly indicated on the trunk

One of the McLaren's, I can barely keep track of their names

Koenigsegg, not my thing, but nice

Even less my thing, but still impressive

Nice details on the rear

Continental had this nice Cayman GT4 on Rotiform wheels

The new Mustang Bullitt was nice.

I was susprised to see the Jaguar Project 8

Nice new colour for the Toyota FRS

M-Town!

Nice Jeep pickup

The Challenger Hellcat still looks good

I haven't done anything with the BMW and Civic, both of which are in storage. There are quite a few small jobs I would like done on the Civic, and I hope to get organized to have Pat do them before the season starts.

Nice winter car

Saabaru after the daycare drop-off

Saab in the supermarket parking lot

An unexpected shopping car on a stormy winter evening

I don't love the Audi S3, but it looks decent in yellow with these wheels

Did I mention that it was snowing during the TSD rally?

It was still snowing after the event

I spotted this newer Chinese MG in Cuba

It looks OK, could use some nicer wheels

I love that this R8 driver not only drives his V10 Spider in winter, but that he or she also clearly parks it outdoors...

The Holidays are approaching

Not much has been going on car-wise. The Civic and BMW are in their storage locations. The Saabaru is doing a great job as our winter car, and looks spiffy on its 17-inch wheels. There are not too many cool cars on the road, but there are a few...

The Saab after a rare car wash

One of those cars you almost never see anymore: Infiniti G20

Super awesome winter car choice!

A clean lowered Civic coupe for winter? Why not

One of the most boring Civics looking cool on BBS wheels

The Civic just before storage

... it actually saw snow.

Cool parts cars behind the car wash... what happened to that Alfa?

Even with one of my all-time favourite wheels, the Impreza looks boring

A super rare BMW 750, V12 winter car!

Ready for winter

Winter is pretty much here now. It was colder yesterday than any other November 14th in history. I finally got the Saabaru fully ready for winter (rustproofing, winter tires, new windshield) and am enjoying it as much as I did last year (and it hasn't even snowed yet). 

Other people are ready for winter too: 

This 4x4x2 looks like it could roll over the Maserati if it wanted to

Defender 110 in the city

There are still a few classics on the road:

My brother's first car was a Malibu

I see this clean E28 535i quite often in the neighbourhood

Not my thing, but cool to see a Corvair on the road

Nice wheels and "stance"

I find myself more and more drawn to these CLA45's... I wonder how they are to drive.

Looks sharp in silver too.

It snowed on the M3 a little... time to find a storage spot.

My dream winter car and actual winter car

2 Saabs in one shot...

... and again!

Winter is almost here

Winter is coming very soon. There have even been a few snowflakes in the last few days. I got the Saabaru out of storage, but there are a few things to fix before I can store the BMW for winter. I have decided to run the 17-inch OEM Saab wheels this winter, and have bought some lightly used Nokian tires in the OEM size. I've only driven the car for less than an hour, but I was quickly reminded what a fun car this is, especially in city driving, with its potholes and multiple lane changes.

Saabaru almost ready for action

Not the prettiest car, but not too bad

There are other people getting their winter cars ready too:

Do you prefer white?

.. or black?

There are also still quite a few summer cars and classic cars out there, enjoying late fall.

I think these mid-range Z3's have aged well

Not my favourite Ferrari, but it looks good in white with these wheels

A classic Land Cruiser, which can also deal with winter.

The M2 looks mean in black

This classic will surely be stored this winter.

... this 2002 as well.

Not my favourite Z-car, but it was in nice condition in a nice colour

Another summer car that will surely be tucked away soon.

The Acura RSX Type S is becoming increasingly rare.

These BBS style wheels really look great on an E46 sedan... the design has aged well.

More great wheels: I really love Rotiform wheels. Look how they can transform a plain old Golf