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2018 Toyota Corolla LE First Drive - Full of Soul

I had a rental car the other day for a little trip. The car was a 2018 Toyota Corolla LE. My experience with this car is one that I had to share. You see, people say this car is an appliance, it is soulless, it just gets the job done, etc. I never thought I'd say this, but I hugely disagree. It is not fair to the Corolla and does not give the car enough credit. This car is not an appliance, it is far from it. It is absolutely full of soul.. UN fortunately, that soul is a demented, evil, mean, avenging spirit. Appliances are happy to hum along doing their jobs. The soul in this car hates cars, driving, and everything that has to do with either. I think it must have been killed by a car thousands of years ago and has been plotting its revenge on the automobile since then. I know, there were no cars thousands of years ago. But maybe someone from the future traveled back in time and ran them over. Their soul must have lingered on. It sounds a little far fetched.. But I'll ask y...

2018 Camaro SS 1LE vs 2018 Mustang GT Perf. Pack - A Closer Look

Get your pitchforks sharpened and your torches lit up. There is a new Camaro vs Mustang comparison test and one of them walks the other. This time, it is the most recent comparison test between a 2018 Camaro SS 1LE and a 2018 Mustang GT posted by Motor Trend a few weeks ago. The results are the stuff of classic and long lasting brand rivalry so let's dive straight in. There is so much I want to talk about that it was difficult to pick where to start. Power seems to be the simplest and it's the one most are interested in so I'll start with that.       2018 Camaro SS 1LE       2018 Mustang GT Perf. Pack 0-30 mph 1.8 s 1.9 s 0-40 mph 2.5 s 2.6 s 0-50 mph 3.2 s 3.5 s 0-60 mph 4.1 s 4.4 s 0-70 mph 5.1 s 5.4 s 0-80 mph 6.5 s 6.7 s 0-90 mph 7.9 s 8.1 s 0-100 mph 9.4 s 9.7 s P...

2019 Mustang Bullitt - it's back!

It's BACK! Finally, after years of rumours, Ford has revealed the 2019 Mustang Bullitt at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show. Ford got the looks absolutely bang on. Of course, it'll never be as good as the original.. but we're comparing it to a 1968 fastback Mustang here. The upgrades are very subtle but true to the original, and if you're at all familiar the Bullitt Mustang, you'll not mistake the new one for anything but a clear tribute. And looks aren't the only thing Ford tweaked. Let's get straight to the meat and potatoes: power. As expected, the 2019 Bullitt packs more hp than the standard GT. It starts with the upgraded Coyote 5.0 litre V8 (read more here: 2018 Mustang Upgrades ) with direct and port injection, but improves on it by cribbing the Shelby GT350's intake manifold and 87 mm throttle body. Ford says it will make "at least" 475 hp, so I figure the official figure will be 480 hp, a healthy 20 hp over the standard GT. Torque is un...

2016 Mustang EcoBoost Track Review

Photography by: Graham MacNeil Ford really wants to sell you a Mustang with a turbo four cylinder. They started by derating the V6 engine in the 2015 S550 compared to the 2011-2014 S197 V6 to make the EcoBoost 2.3 litre more differentiated. Then, they offered a performance pack on the EcoBoost but not on the V6. Now, they killed the V6 all together for 2018 and will only sell you a V8 or this EcoBoost. I love a good V8, everyone who knows me knows that. This is a Mustang, which means it needs a V8. If those aren't enough reasons, I always prefer natural aspiration over forced induction. That's three strikes against the EcoBoost-powered Mustang. But I'd be lying if I said the idea never intrigued me. It's the lightest (if you account for features). It has the best weight distribution. It has the same great chassis as the GT. It's very affordable and it has a lot of potential to make more power. Aftermarket? Endless support. There's plenty of good about it....

E46 Dinan S1 BMW M3 - Track Driven

Photos by: Graham MacNeil A few years ago, I was still a student and I had a class called Internal Combustion Engines. It was easily one of my favourite classes, as you can image. Studying engines, calculating hp, torque, efficiency, and exhaust flow for grades? Sign me up! It wasn't just the content, though, as magnificent as it was. The class itself was taught by the coolest prof there is. You may think you've had a cool prof, teacher, coach, or instructor, but I've got the standard by which all educators must be measured. For one, he or she has to teach something that is cool.. does it get cooler than Internal Combustion Engines? (No, in case you're wondering). This one is also a true gear head, so much so that he sticks around after class and argues about cars, performance, lap times, and racing. And occasionally does so in the middle of class.. For one class project, I proposed comparing the engines and specifications of the C6 Corvette ZR1 and the Ferrari 5...






Does An Aftermarket Grille Really Increase Airflow?
I put a Saleen S281 grille to the test to answer that question.

Stock Suspension S197 Mustang With Square 305/30/19's
What you need to fit a proper size square tire setup.

How Limited Slip Diffs Make You Faster on Track
What you need to know about how they put power down and pros and cons.

Can Telemetry Explain Schumacher's Talent?
A comparison between Schumacher's and then team mate Herbert's data.






Cayman GT4 Track Review
The first Cayman with proper (911-challenging) power.

Is an EcoBoost Mustang any good on Track?
Two days at the track in a Mustang short 4 cylinders.

2016 BMW M4 DCT Track Review
It's quick (properly quick). But is it fun?

Can a stock Golf Diesel handle a Track Day?
Not your every day track beater.




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Falken Azenis RT615k+ Street and Track Review

Last year, I picked up a 2009 Lancer Ralliart to do a long term test with it as a dual duty track/daily. One of the first things I knew I was going to do was put a decent set of tires on it. The car came without OEM wheels which was actually good because I didn't have to hesitate about getting a good set of aftermarket wheels to support going wider. Thankfully, my friends at YST Auto Halifax  set me up with a great set of Superspeed RF03RR wheels. The Wheels I had never even heard of Superspeed but I trusted the good folk at YST Auto who mentioned some customer cars running on track with them. These wheels are rotary forged which is basically a prerequisite to be taken seriously in this market populated by companies like TSW and Fast Wheels. The wheels looked like a high quality, well finished wheel and each had a "QC" check sticker on. Just for appearances? Maybe, but I found no defects. The wheels seemed easy to balance (didn't need many weights) and at 18.1 lb. f...

2007 Saleen Mustang S281 SC Super Shaker Track Review

"Who's your green student today?" asked a friend and instructor at the BMW Club Atlantic Advanced Driver Training (HPDE) weekend in June this year. I said: "The Saleen." The response was: "Oh, boy." Mustangs, generally, have a reputation for being more power than chassis. Mustang drivers have quite the reputation for.. how to put this nicely? Taking advantage of said power/chassis imbalance. To make matters worse, this particular Mustang was a supercharged Saleen, with a honkin' Shaker scoop sticking out of its hood. Did I mention it was also a convertible? And the owner was someone who's never been on track before but clearly has the speed bug. Having had a Mustang for years and driven a few on track, they don't scare me - generally speaking - but the combination of being convertible and supercharged with a new and excited owner worried me a little. Nevertheless, I shrugged it off and got excited about chatting with the owner to find ...

2004 Audi TT 3.2 Quattro DSG Track Review

Before getting into this, I have to confess something... I had never driven an Audi TT before. Not until this one, anyway. But that hasn't stopped me from forming an opinion about it from the comforts of my own couch while reading and watching reviews online. After all, if you've never done that, do you even know what the point of the internet is? Now, we all interpret reviews differently. Call it confirmation bias if you will, but if you like a car, you'll read a review and look at the positives as what makes the car great and the negatives are but a few quibbles you have to live with. If you don't like a car, the positives are a few things the manufacturer got right while screwing up everything else. It's a bit harsh to put the TT in the latter category, but that's where it ended up for me... I never took the TT seriously. The problem with the TT for me isn't that it's a Golf underneath, per se. There is nothing wrong with a performance car sharing a...

All Mainstream AWD and 4WD Systems Compared and Explained

Mitsubishi Evo X GSR at Atlantic Motorsport Park - Kevin Doubleday  © If you live in Canada or the US, you'll find that plenty of people hold sacred the terms '4x4' and '4WD' to describe a 'true 4x4', where you have a butch transfer case with a low speed, perhaps a body on frame chassis, and ideally a solid axle or two. I'm not sure how that translates to the rest of the world. My extensive research into the motoring industry in Europe (which exclusively consists of watching Top Gear and The Grand Tour...) concluded that most people across the pond simply refer to any vehicle that is capable of sending any power to all four wheels as a 4WD vehicle, further muddying the waters. Where I grew up, 4x4 was more or less synonymous with 'Jeep' so that's not much help either. However, despite all various systems attempting to do the same sort of thing - distribute power between all four wheels instead of two - not all systems are created equal,...