Autoblog

Canada's response to America's latest energy legislation and CAFE standards: a resounding "Meh, whatever. Call us when you're serious." The land of the maple leaf has declared that the new U.S. standards simply don't go far enough. Said the nation's transport minister, "We welcome the U.S. goal, but are committed to developing made-in-Canada standards that achieve - at minimum - that same target in Canada."

What kind of goal do they have in mind? Well... they haven't really said. But there will be a 60-day consultation period while the government holds pow wows with various groups, clans and businesses, and then they will come up with... something... that will take effect for the 2011 model year. No word on whether Dick Cheney has been invited to attend the sessions.

Of course, no announcement that "Those guys didn't do enough, so we're going to do it right" would be complete without fifteen follow-up announcements claiming that "You guys aren't doing enough, either!" Quebec, which is already playing the role of Canada's California in trying to set emissions rules that are more stringent than federal standards, has said "setting fuel efficiency standards alone doesn't go far enough." The Sierra Club says the delay to implementing the new rules -- to 2011, mind you -- is still too long. And the auto industry is saying that if you want it, fine, but you're going to pay for it. It looks like the quest for the greenest mile is going to bring quite a bit of heat to the frozen north.

[Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corp]

Quebec is probably the last place in North America where some businesses are still forbidden to open on weekends. Although the practice has long since dissipated in other retail sectors, car dealerships in Montreal still adhere to an archaic 35-year-old policy that dates back to when the Catholic church still had a strong hold on French Canadian society.

One dealership in this writer's home town is departing from that policy, and he's facing tough opposition. Pie IX Dodge Chrysler (pronounced pee nuf, on the street named after Pope Pius the 9th) is a dealership on the island's predominantly French east end, next to the Olympic stadium that once hosted the Montreal auto salon before it moved to the convention center downtown. They decided to open on weekends, selling cars on Saturday and Sunday, a move opposed by other area dealerships and their association (which also organizes the annual car show). Pie IX's sales have gone up, despite the protests outside. The demonstrators include salesmen from other dealerships (which remain closed on the weekend) and from nearby used car lots (which are open on the weekend). If new car dealerships were to open on weekends, the association says the salesmen will be overworked, while the used car lots will lose business. One protestor even went so far as to hit the manager at Pie IX Dodge Chrysler in the head with a block of ice and was arrested for assault. Demonstrators were also thought to have jammed the dealership's phone lines.

Despite the opposition, and with support from DaimlerChrysler, owner Claude Leclair says he plans to keep his dealership open on weekends, quoting sales figures of over a dozen cars each weekend, while competing dealerships are suspected to be operating in the red. Kinda gives new meaning to the old Quebec separatist slogan "Vive la Quebec Libre" – long live a free Quebec.

[Source: The Montreal Gazette via Jalopnik]

Click on the image above to jump to our gallery of 25 high-resolution images

The centerpiece of the 2007 Montreal auto show was supposed to be the Plethore, a supercar being developed in Quebec by HHT Locus Technologies. As we reported previously, the car nicknamed "the Quebec Bomb" employs carbon fiber construction and an 8.2-liter V8 to produce a high power-to-weight ratio driving from behind a three-passenger cabin with a center-line driving position, an innovative layout employed in the record-shattering McLaren F1 supercar (and in a 1966 Ferrari 365 P prototype), but not replicated since.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with such ambitious projects, the car was far from ready to be unveiled when the auto show opened. Instead, designer Luc Chartrand and company took the wraps off a non-functioning pre-production prototype, essentially a mock-up for display purposes. Next to the prototype they displayed the 8.2-liter GM-sourced V8 that is anticipated to propel the Plethore to mind-boggling speeds, if and when it finally gets rolling.

Locus Technologies anticipates its creation will be ready for delivery in the fall, when a limited annual run of no more than 400 will each sell for $330,000 CDN. They can call it the Plethore, the Quebec Bomb or whatever they'd like... we'll call it blind ambition.

We've got 25 high-resolution images of the Plethore from the show floor. Click on any of the images below or right here.

An automotive journalist in the Canadian province of Quebec was caught driving 222 km/h (approximately 138 mph) on a public road early Monday morning. Philippe Laguë was testing the Dodge Charger SRT-8 on highway 132 in Longueuil, near Montreal, and faces a fine of $958 CDN ($845 US) , plus 15 demerit points on his license – enough to have it suspended. Maudite!

Laguë claims he's not the only journalist who performs high-speed testing on public roads in Quebec, and that while car manufacturers advise journalists to watch out for police, they often prevent them from testing on closed tracks. He admits that he was driving too fast and obviously made an error in judgement. (Uh, no kidding.) He also says he's going to ask the Quebec provincial police (Sûreté du Québec) to investigate how the information on his arrest was leaked to the press.

Quebec has some great driving roads and many are tempted to push the limit. (Claiming you were rushing home to watch the hockey game doesn't always work.) Needless to say, losing your license, for an automotive journalist especially, poses an even bigger problem than usual. But as the saying goes, "if you can't do the time, don't do the crime."

Merci pour le tip, Raoul!

[Source: La Presse – for translated version click here]

To battle its image as a form of motorsport exclusive to the South, NASCAR is going North – to Canada: "the True North, Strong and Free" (at least that's how the anthem goes). So with F1 drivers coming to NASCAR, NASCAR is going to an F1 track: it's been confirmed that next season's Busch Series schedule will include a race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, home of the Canadian Grand Prix.

In past years the track has hosted both F1 and Champ Car races each season. After securing exclusive rights to the track from Montreal city hall in June, Canadian Grand Prix promoter Normand Legault began moving on plans to bring stock car racing to Montreal. As an extra bonus, the weekend will also feature a Grand-Am race.

The Champ Car race, meanwhile, will move even farther north to the legendary track by the slopes of Mont Tremblant. Securing a major open-wheel event is a huge coup for the recently revived track, which was once famously referred to by Michael Schumacher as the "little Nurburgring". (No wonder Ferrari elected to open its first North American driving school there. )

Having grown up in Montreal, this writer can attest that it's a die-hard racing town through-and-through (in the summer, at least). Hosting F1, CART, Grand-Am and NASCAR will only allow more fans, teams and drivers to get a taste of the action.

[Sources: GrandPrix.com and Canada.com]