A toppled building crane is draped over a new construction project in Halifax on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019.Andrew Vaughan / The Canadian Press Earlier this month, summer storm Dorian wreaked havoc across the province of Nova Scotia, leaving a trail of damage and destruction in its wake after moving into the region with Category 2 hurricane-force winds.Trees were uprooted, a crane was toppled, and some infrastructure was ruined. Fortunately, it was primarily just items that were damaged, not people. Stuff, after all, can be replaced.Which is what the Nova Scotia government is doing as we speak. Nearly a month after the storm blew through on September 7th, the clean-up continues, especially on the transportation front.According to a spokesperson with the provinces Department of Transportation and Urban Renewal, road infrastructure actually fared pretty well overall when Dorian decided to make its presence known. The majority of provincial road closures were in Cumberland County in the northwest corner of the province due to culvert washouts, downed trees and busted powerlines.The area of Kings County, closer to Halifax, also experienced a small number of road closures for similar reasons, and department staff responded to one culvert washout in Halifax Suburban. Compared to what residents of the Bahamas endured, your authors province got off rather lightly.Most repairs are now complete, with government spox estimating total infrastructure damage from the storm in the ballpark of $1.5 million. As with all repairs, the crew’s primary concern is public safety, so repairs were prioritized to that effect. In that vein, clean-up of the collapsed crane mentioned at the top of this story has also been taken over by the Nova Scotia government, as public safety trumped financial liability. Harbourside Engineering Consultants and RD Crane are listed as the two companies hired to remove the crane, a decision made by government after it apparently became clear that finger-pointing about potential liability was likely to paralyze the clean-up. With occupied residential buildings nearby, the current focus is getting the thing removed safely. Government will determine who to go after to recoup their money at a later
Origin: Nova Scotia finishes up repairs to roads after Dorian damage
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Chevrolet’s 1LE package makes you want to drive your Camaro lap after lap
Camaro 1LE Ron Fellows Driving ExperienceClayton Seams / Driving In the old days, you used to be able to build some weird cars.I dont mean the cars themselves were weird, but that you could ask your cheerful local Chevrolet sales manager to build you a car in one of an assortment of odd combinations: so many engines, big or small, to be paired with interiors, luxurious or sparse.Today, cars pretty much come in well-defined packages. The big engine only comes with the nice leather seats and the handling package. The small engine is available with a stick only if you forgo the luxury options.But there are exceptions. Just like in decades part or, perhaps, much like Burger King Chevrolet will still let you have it your way at least a little, pairing its 1LE track package with any of the four engines available in its new Camaro.Not only that, the 1LE mechanical package is independent of the four luxury option groups (thats 1LS, 1LT, 2LT, 3LT). This means you can order a track package on a Camaro with any engine and any level of luxury trimmings. You can get a lightweight 2.0-litre Turbo with cloth seats and base infotainment to get maximum value; or you can heap your plate high with a supercharged 6.2-litre ZL1 and the full luxury treatment. Now I dont have a calculator handy to tell you how many combinations are possible, but suffice it to say they are many. So to test out the 1LE package on various Camaro models, I went to the Ron Fellows Driving Experience at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. There, on the big track, we would have the chance to put these 1LE cars on track and see how they compare.So what makes a 1LE a 1LE? Well, it depends on the engine choice. The 1LE contains different bits to match the output. On the four- and six-cylinder cars, it includes the uprated suspension from the SS; 20-inch wheels; four-piston front Brembo brakes; a mechanical limited-slip diff; and a track cooling package with diff, oil and transmission coolers.Step up to the V8 SS model and you get Magnetic Ride Control; an electronic limited-slip diff; six-piston Brembos up front; Recaro front seats; and a dual-mode exhaust system. The ZL1 takes things even further by adding Multimatic dampers with adjustable front ride height, adjustable front camber plates and huge 305-section front and 325-section rear tires.The first car I hopped into was the SS 1LE with a manual transmission and the naturally-aspirated 455-horsepower 6.2-litre V8. Its as close as youll find to a classic muscle car formula in Chevrolets lineup, which is perhaps why it offered proper muscle car noise. Out on the big track, the 6.2-litre could really stretch its legs, and the wide torque band meant few shifts were needed.The upgraded four-piston brakes from the 1LE package were more than up to the task and felt great diving into corners hard. Visibility has never been a Camaro strong suit, and the impaired vision across the A-pillars and low windshield sometimes reduced driver confidence around undulating and tight turns on-track.The SS is an extremely fun car to drive. You can feel it wiggling around under power and sliding around turns. It doesnt feel like a car youd want to set blazing hot lap times in, but you could. It feels like a BRZ with some actual power. And thats high praise.Next up was the world-beating top-of-the-line ZL1. Still 6.2-litres but with a burly supercharger stacked on top of it the ZL1 makes a full 650 hp. Though the ZL1 is available with a stick, the test car had the new ten-speed automatic transmission. No typo: ten speeds.On track, the ZL1 is an entirely different animal than the SS. The playful sliding has been replaced by relentless grip. The ZL1s flanks are peppered with blade-like aero bits, and I have to assume they actually work, because this car sticks harder the faster you go. The massive summer-only Goodyear tires probably dont hurt much, either. The ZL1 simply grips and goes exactly where you point it.The other big difference from the SS is the 10-speed automatic. Whereas I rarely had to shift the six-speed manual around the track, I felt like a Formula One driver ratcheting down through gear after gear in the braking zones. With ten gears to choose from, it almost doesnt matter which one you choose. You could drive through a turn quite happily in 4th, 5th or 6th. It may have been better to let the transmission shift for itself, but I didnt have enough laps to mess around with it in full automatic mode.The ZL1 was also the most fun down Mosports hilly back straight. The ZL1 would come out of Moss corner with a vengeance and storm to 160 km/h almost faster than the speedometer needle could move. Letting all 650 hp pin you in your seat for several seconds without worry of encountering the constabulary were some of the best moments of the day.But the crux of this is that the 1LE package opens up that fun track experience for anyone with coin for a new Camaro. Even the 2.0-litre guys can join in the fun.
Origin: Chevrolet’s 1LE package makes you want to drive your Camaro lap after lap
Hamilton jaywalker gets immediate retribution after arrogant stare down
A man illegally crossing the road in Ontario has been served with instant karma, after staring down an oncoming vehicle.The incident is visible at 3:49.The video shows a man illegally jaywalking across the road near Upper James street in Hamilton, Ontario. As the camera car comes around the corner, he stares it down while continuing to cross, causing the vehicle to have to slam on its brakes. The driver honks their horn, causing the man to stare down the vehicle and slowly cross the street, before getting to the other side.Now, this is irritating not only because the man shouldnt have been crossing at that part of the road, but because he had the arrogance to stare down the vehicle honking and barrelling toward him like they were doing something wrong. Pedestrians do have the right of way in almost every case, but still, they shouldnt be using that to their advantage, especially when faced with a 2-ton lump of steel.Luckily, the mans hubris gets a quick dose of poetic justice when he gets to the other side, only to finally turn his head in the proper direction and right into a concrete pole.Although he walks off like nothing happened, if youve ever even slapped a concrete pole you know they dont tend to waiver. Hopefully, the man got a healthy ego-destroying nose bleed, and the mindfulness to use a crosswalk like a decent human being next
Origin: Hamilton jaywalker gets immediate retribution after arrogant stare down
Trump to meet with GM’s Mary Barra after criticizing company
President Donald Trump tours the American Center of Mobility with GM CEO Mary Barra. U.S. President Donald Trump will meet on Thursday with Mary Barra, the chief executive officer of General Motors days after he castigated the company for shrinking its U.S. workforce.The White House meeting, scheduled for the afternoon, will take place as four other auto industry giants have defied his administration by reaching a compromise with California to bolster fuel efficiency.A person familiar with the matter said Barra hoped to use the get-together, which was reported earlier by Reuters, to talk about jobs, trade and fuel economy rules. The person requested anonymity to discuss the meeting, which was announced by the White House on Wednesday night.General Motors, which was once the Giant of Detroit, is now one of the smallest auto manufacturers there, Trump tweeted on August 30, a day after Bloomberg reported GM employed fewer United Auto Workers-represented employees than Ford or Fiat Chrysler. The president called for GM to start moving back to America again.GM has about 46,000 UAW workers, about 2,000 fewer than it had in 2009, when the company emerged from a bankruptcy reorganization backed by the U.S. government.Trump has criticized GM’s plans to close plants in Michigan and Ohio, states that are crucial to his re-election bid. That has put him at odds with Barra, who has said the closings were necessary for the business to thrive. GM is also embroiled in contract talks with the UAW. The joint agreement involving California with Honda, Ford, Volkswagen and BMW had already been rejected by Trumps Environmental Protection Agency. The deal announced on July 25 alongside the California Air Resources Board eases the pace of annual efficiency improvements required under current Obama administration rules but is tougher than the Trump administrations proposal to cap mileage requirements at 2020 levels.GM was not part of that accord, and is seeking what it calls a 50-state solution.In California, they have a standard where the cars are going to have to be much more expensive and wont be as good, Trump said earlier Wednesday. If we can build a less expensive car thats better, we like
Origin: Trump to meet with GM’s Mary Barra after criticizing company
DMV finally gets licence plate ‘pee’ joke after 15 years, revokes it
A driver in New Hampshire has just had her vanity plate yanked by the dour wanks at the states Department of Motor Vehicles despite it having adorned her vehicles for the better part of 15 years. Things really do move at a sloth-like pace at the DMV, eh?The sin committed by Wendy Auger of Rochester, for which she was (eventually) reprimanded? Daring to invoke a bodily function.Not an offensive one, mind you, simply in the form of an exhortation every parent since the dawn of the automobile has uttered at their offspring do you need to PBE4WEGO? Alas, the state rules out plates referencing human excretions of any sort, making this tag a line-crosser.DMVs on this side of the border have also been called out as grim-faced and heavy-handed. Up here in the Great White North, a Nova Scotia man is currently rowing with that provinces registrar over his plate, one which bears his own European surname.Apparently, another motorist took umbrage with his GRABHER plate, conflating it with a certain statement made by a certain politician Stateside. In the broad expanse of Saskatchewan, another driver was denied his surname as a vanity plate, too, though this one was slightly more understandable. The DMV rejected the mans request for an ASSMAN plate, even though it is pronounced Oss-men. In this instance, the motorist exacted his revenge by wrapping the entire tailgate of his truck with the word.What do you think of these bureaucrats decision to yank Augers plate? Whats the most creative one youve ever seen? Be sure to chime in
Origin: DMV finally gets licence plate ‘pee’ joke after 15 years, revokes it
Watch: Ridiculous feud sees Dodge Challenger Demon left to burn after burnout
A Dodge Challenger SRT Demon that caught fire setting up for a drag strip run was left to burn for a few minutes after the owner got in an argument with the tracks safety marshal, reveals a new video posted to YouTube.The burnout starts at about the 50-second mark in the video uploaded to MotorTube, and ends shortly after when a small pop of flame exits the underside of the car and power stops being sent to the rear wheels.The marshal quickly steps in with a fire extinguisher and douses the underside of the car, yelling to the driver to shut the car off. According to the driver, he can’t shut it off, which apparently starts some sort of swear-filled argument between the two.The owner slowly exits the car, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that his rare drag-spec Demon is literally burning to the ground next to him. The marshal leaves, angry at the owner for disobeying him, and lets the car burn, while the owner refuses to open the hood to let the marshals put out the fire.The whole thing just looks bad for both parties why didnt the owner just open the hood? Could the marshal not have kept his cool a little longer? Why does this car have to suffer over this
Origin: Watch: Ridiculous feud sees Dodge Challenger Demon left to burn after burnout
Aston Martin shares slide further after 2019 loss posted
Aston Martin’s share price has taken another hit after the firm announced a pre-tax loss of £78.8 million in the first half of this year. The price is now below £5 a share for the first time, hitting a low of £4.40 as trading opened this morning before rebounding to £4.88 after Aston held a press conference. The losses were blamed on lower-than-expected sales in Europe and expansion costs – but company boss Andy Palmer insists the firm’s ambitious growth plan remains on track. The publication of Aston Martin Lagonda’s latest results came a week after the firm issued a profit warning in which it cut its wholesale forecasts. That first caused shares in the company to dive to less than £6 per share, compared to £19 when the firm first floated in October 2018. Aston’s retails sales in the first half of 2019 were up 26% year-on-year, with growth in the USA and China off-setting a steep decline in the UK and Europe. Wholesale volumes – cars being distributed to dealers – were up 6% year-on-year. Aston boss Palmer admitted that “this has been a difficult period and we’ve clearly seen the market reaction”. But he noted that the firm’s sales were up year-on-year, and added: “I’m confident we are taking the right actions and that we can successfully deliver our strategy.” While sales were up, driven largely by demand for the Vantage and DBS Superleggera, Aston’s revenues dipped in part because it sold fewer high-price Special models, reducing the average selling price of its cars. The firm anticipates sales of its Specials will increase later this year, particularly with the ultra-limited run DB4 GT Zagato Continuation due in the fourth quarter. In its profit warning last week, Aston Martin revised planned wholesale volumes for the full year. From 7100 to 7300 units originally forecast when it published its annual results in February, the target has now dropped to 6300 to 6500 units. Palmer said that reduction was a result of the firm being “responsible and disciplined in the approach to our balance sheet”, and was designed to ensure that supply of the firm’s cars did not exceed demand, which could force dealers to offer discounts. He added: “Retails are up, wholesales are up, market share is up – we’re just not as up in wholesale as we’d like. In order to protect the market position of the brand we thought it right and proper to cut the wholesale (numbers) to ensure that we don’t simply make the mistakes of history and have to discount cars to get them away.” Aston’s profits were hit by a one-off £19 million provision for a ‘doubtful debt’ charge, relating to the planned sale of some intellectual property rights in the previous year. The firm has also invested heavily in its ambitious Second Century growth plan, and particularly in developing the DBX SUV, which is due to be launched in December and go on sale early next year. Palmer said that Aston remained “focused completely” on the execution of the plan, and insisted that the wholesale volume revisions and falling share price wouldn’t impact that. “We recognise there are headwinds and continuing uncertainties, and you’d correctly expect us to keep our financing arrangements under review to ensure we have appropriate resources around us,” said Palmer. He noted the first has greater cash reserves than it did this time last year, and would be prepared to secure additional funding “from sources with which we’re familiar” if needed. He added: “Our basic intention is the execution of the (Second Century) plan. We have some short-term headwinds and one would hope we move through this short-term correction and then carry on with what we’re doing. “You always take opportunities to be leaner and fitter, and that we will do. We’ve seen through the development of DBX so far that the efficiency of the development is much greater than it was with DB11, (with) far fewer design changes, far fewer needs to correct things not modelled correctly. “That efficiency and things we learn through development are then cascased into (development of the) Vanquish replacement and eventually the Lagondas. We’ll take the opportunity of those learnings, but the plan remains
Origin: Aston Martin shares slide further after 2019 loss posted
Slow transition to electric fells BMW’s CEO after one term
In this file photo taken on March 20, 2019 Harald Krueger, CEO of German car maker BMW, looks on during a press conference to present the groups financial results for 2018, in Munich, southern Germany.Christoph Stache / Getty When BMW picked Harald Krueger to run the company more than four years ago, he was the perfect candidate.Young, with a personable manner and decades of experience across the company, Krueger appeared ready to guide the venerable luxury carmaker into a future of electric, self-driving and shared automobiles.But on Friday two weeks before his contract came up for renewal Krueger quit. Instead of leading the company through the biggest upheaval in a generation, he was felled by the transition as he failed to provide a roadmap to the future.In his farewell note, he cited the enormous exertion demanded of BMW employees as the company grapples with the unprecedented demands of the shift.In the past few years, the industry has been shaped by enormous changes, which have brought about more transformation than in the previous 30 years, Krueger said in the note.Krueger, 53, inherited a company at the top of its game. Under the previous CEO now chairman Norbert Reithofer, BMW had outsold Mercedes-Benz and Audi for a decade. The company was a pioneer in electric vehicles with the i3 city car introduced in 2013. It was the first major automaker to use lightweight carbon fiber in mass-market models. And its traditional business of sumptuous-but-sporty sedans and SUVs was as robust as ever.But soon after Krueger took over, sales of the i3 hit a wall, calling into question the electric push. The plan to use carbon fiber turned out to be too costly. The strong-willed Reithofer never really exited the stage. The diesel crisis that shook rival Volkswagen sullied the reputation of the entire German car industry, and more recently the U.S.-China trade spat has hit profits.As Krueger puzzled over how to reinvent BMW for the electric age, it was almost a year before he presented his strategic vision which was a bust. He delayed BMWs next major electric car, effectively squandering its leadership in the field. Key engineers quit to set up an electric-vehicle startup. And to help pay for the shift, Krueger doubled down on gas-guzzling, super-charged luxury cars such as the 8-Series sports car and full-size X7 SUV.At Kruegers first major public appearance, at the Frankfurt car show in September 2015, the CEO collapsed on stage minutes into a presentation. He blamed the episode on dehydration and too many hours flying, but it was an apt metaphor for his leadership, and the event haunted him with obvious discomfort speaking publicly in the months that followed.The company has since watched Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler reclaim the luxury crown. Tesla has become the face of the electric-car revolution. And everyone from Ford to Ferrari is rushing to develop electric models, with scores of new offerings scheduled to hit the market in the next five years.BMW took its head start in electric cars for granted and then failed to hit the accelerator again when needed, said Christian Ludwig, an analyst at Bankhaus Lampe in Bielefeld, Germany.Kruegers departure serves as a warning to the new executives running at least a half-dozen of the industrys top companies.Electric vehicles offer nowhere near the same returns as combustion vehicles. And selling electrics remains a struggle without major incentives as consumers balk at patchy charging infrastructure, high prices and limited driving range.Like Krueger, most of the new executives come from engineering backgrounds. But theyll be required to master technology-driven trends such as ride-hailing, while contending with Silicon Valley giants like Tesla, which is aiming at BMWs bread-and-butter 3-Series sedan and VWs Golf with its Model 3; and Waymo, the self-driving unit of Alphabet
Origin: Slow transition to electric fells BMW’s CEO after one term
Vancouver man arrested after refusing to get out of someone else’s Corvette
A man was arrested Sunday in Vancouvers West End after trying to claim someone elses convertible sports car as his own.The owner of an open-top convertible called Vancouver police about 6 p.m. on Sunday to say he had returned to his parked Chevrolet Corvette supercar in the Sunset Beach parking lot to find a stranger had climbed inside the vehicle through the open roof and was sitting in the drivers seat without his consent.The owner asked the man to leave but he refused, prompting the owner to call 911.Sgt. Jason Robillard said officers who arrived on scene repeatedly ordered the man to get out of the car but he continued to refuse, stating that this was now his car.When it became clear the man would not leave the car of his own will, officers used a bean bag shotgun on the mans legs, which allowed officers to move in and arrest the 36-year-old Vancouver man.Paramedics on scene treated the man for minor injuries, despite the mans refusal for treatment. Robillard said police will pursue charges of criminal mischief.There were no damages to the
Origin: Vancouver man arrested after refusing to get out of someone else’s Corvette
Vancouver driver has McLaren impounded 10 minutes after buying it
In what is surely one of the shortest terms of vehicle ownership in Canadian history, a driver in British Columbia had their brand-new McLaren 600LT impounded just minutes after driving it off the lot June 17.According to police reports, the 39-year-old gearhead picked up his supercar in West Vancouver and quickly caned it up to 161 km/h in a 90-km/h zone.The ever-vigilant constabulary nabbed him on Highway 1 and impounded the car.While the officer was conducting the investigation, the driver allegedly stated that they had just left the dealership after purchasing the vehicle, 10 minutes prior, West Vancouver police said in a news release.Price tags on the 600LT can easily crest a quarter-million in this country. It was towed away from the scene and impounded for seven days. In a statement, cops said the driver was ticketed $368 or about 0.1 per cent of the cars value for excessive speeding.Heres a thought: should the cost of tickets be proportional to the value of ones car? After all, a $368 receipt from the gendarmes is about 5.25 per cent the worth of your authors own Dodge Charger. If the miscreant in that McLaren had to pay the same percentage, it would work out to somewhere north of $13,000. Would that be any more of a deterrent to deep-pocketed scofflaws?Thats a deep well of debate best left for another day. For now, know that theres one less McLaren 600LT on Vancouver roads at least for the next week. Stay safe out there,
Origin: Vancouver driver has McLaren impounded 10 minutes after buying it
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