celebration – All about car

Welcome to our weekly round-up of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam.Here’s what you missed while you were away.EV regulations prompt Tesla to release fart noise featureU.S. authorities recently implemented regulations stating all electric vehicles travelling under 30 km/h must make some sort of noise to help pedestrians identify there’s a massive chunk of metal moving nearby. Now, over in Europe, that “noise” is by law supposed to sound basically like a traditional car. Boring! In America, however, automakers were allowed to get a little more creative, and Elon Musk seemed to take that as a challenge. He recently Tweet-announced that Teslas will soon come with the ability to emit all sorts of clever sounds, from a cute little goat’s bleat to the clip-clop of coconuts to one of the all-time greatest sound effects: the fart. Winter tire deadline change prompts CAA-Quebec’s Winter Tire Appointment Week pushAfter the legal deadline for winter tires was bumped up to December 1 this year, the Quebec division of CAA took it upon itself to remind residents what that means. You’ve got to, um, change your tires to winters. OK?Winter Tire Appointment Week is indeed a real thing, and probably a good thing, too, even if incredibly dull-sounding. Because with 5.2 million passenger vehicles on Quebec’s roads and less than two months to go before the big day, there’s no time like the present to call your tire shop. Besides, how else are you going to celebrate Winter Tire Appointment Week?Striking U.S. auto union calls for end to imports, including Canada’sThe United Automobile Workers has been on strike against General Motors for almost a month and are now calling for the company to put a stop to the import of all cars from foreign assembly plants, including those in Canada and Mexico. Union reps also apparently expressing qualms about the move toward automation and electric power. Negotiation talks are ongoing, but this recent argument isn’t great news for GM’s Oshawa plant, which was recently made the beneficiary of a $170-million injection from GM.2020 Subaru Crosstrek’s $100 price bump earns it a stack of perks The most capable crossover in its segment is getting an extra dose of convenience, with the 2020 Crosstrek offering new standard and available features at a competitive price. (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.) Subaru It’ll cost a bit more to get into Subaru’s Crosstrek this year than it did last year, but if you’re someone who needs to pile a little bit of everything on their buffet plate – not the Jello, for the love of God, not the Jello – then you might want to consider it. The base 2020 Crosstrek starts at $23,795 and comes standard with a six-speed manual and all-wheel-drive, an Apple CarPlay/Android Auto-ready infotainment system, plus the brand’s EyeSight driver-assist system and X-Mode’s torque-splitting features in the CVT models. Now you can spend that $100 on something important, like that diet coach you obviously need. Canadian drivers sue Kia over alleged service schedule hoodwinkEveryone knows there’s no better way to care for a car than to follow exactly what it says in the owner’s manual. Right? Apparently not if you drive a Kia and live in Canada. A class-action suit alleges Canadian drivers are being misled by Kia in terms of how often they’re told to seek routine service. The book says 12,000 km, but if you live in Canada – most of it, anyway – the brand recommends a visit to the shop every 6,000 km. It’s just too bad you can’t sue
Origin: News Roundup: Tesla’s flatulent update, Quebec’s winter tire celebration and Kia’s alleged muck-up

You can rely on the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) to pump out some statistics on a regular basis. I’m just not sure whether they are on the side of Bangernomics and appreciate the importance of the used car market. They seem genuinely surprised when it is doing well. However, the used car market does seem to be down, by just 0.6%, year on year with more than two million transactions. There is inevitably a 30.7% growth in demand for hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure-electric cars, as a trifling 32,272 change hands. As ever, superminis are by far the most popular used buy, at 676,395, accounting for a third of sales and 6000 up on last year’s period. I won’t bore you with the most popular colour, but I will with the top-of-the-pops model: the perennial Ford Fiesta. A total of 92,798 Fiestas found homes and it is easy to see why: they are great little buses. Obviously, I cannot resist travelling back in time to find a 2001 1.3 Flight with a full service history and just 35,000 miles. You might think it would be £20,000 or something based on recent trends but, no, it’s a very reasonable £365. Not the prettiest Fiesta, but not a fish face. Those are a few hundred quid and becoming ironic classics. Mind you, a 1997 Fiesta 1.25 LX with a ‘pensioner owner’ (their words) and another one of those full service histories is just £495. Another point to bear in mind is the Fiesta remains a performance icon and an old-fashioned category D 2.0 ST from 2008 would, in the seller’s words, make an “ideal track project” and costs just £799. Otherwise, it is a 2016 ST-Line Fiesta with 41,000 miles at £9500, which certainly looks the part. Or you can up your game to a 2018 1.5-litre Ecoboost ST-2 with 5000 miles for £19,400. Then again, a 2006 2.0 ST with 100,000 miles is just £1795. Today, we’d call it a compact SUV or a crossover, but back in 2003 when the Streetwise was launched, it was called an urban on-roader. It was based on the Rover 25 hatchback and, to justify its name, was jacked up and given a tough-looking bodykit. This 2005-reg example is a one-owner car in immaculate condition. It has just 32,000 miles on the clock and is £995. Tales from Ruppert’s garage The Cooper doesn’t have any front suspension. You know that already if you’ve driven an old one, but mine has actually broken. The strut on both sides has busted, so that’s down to rubbish parts because these are just a few years old. Effectively, I have modern sports suspension. It is still drivable and nippy with added ‘slammed’ suspension. I can barely get a finger between tyre and wheel arch. It is a good look, but just when I thought all the traumas were over for 2019, the little car will have to be sorted out again. Reader’s ride Jim McKinney likes his bangers. “Our main car is an 04-reg RAV4 3dr petrol automatic,” he says. “We bought it in January this year. It’s our sixth RAV4 since 2002. Apart from being extremely reliable and reasonably cheap to maintain, they drive very well. They are really durable and very rust resistant, too. “Ours may be 15 years old, but with only 33,000 miles, one previous owner and a full Toyota service history, it drives and looks like a new car. It averages 32mpg-plus, which is pretty good considering.” Readers’ questions Question: Can you point me towards cars with cooled seats, because last year, my car’s air-con system was totally overwhelmed. I have around £15,000 to spend. David Hopgood, Chester Answer: You should have no trouble finding a new or used car with ventilated seats these days. They include the Premium-spec Hyundai i40, Ford Mondeo and Edge in Titanium and Vignale trims, Kia Optima 3 and Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport Elite Nav. High-spec Mondeos have had them for some years and £15,000 will buy a 2017 2.0 TDCi Titanium 5dr with 15,000 miles. John Evans Question: Naturally, as a loyal customer, my motor insurance renewal has gone up. Have you any tips for reducing my premium, other than going elsewhere? Sue Baker, Wimbledon Answer: First, if your insurer is listed on a comparison website, get a fresh quote on your current terms. Doubtless, it’ll be lower than you’re paying at present as the system thinks you’re new business. Next, armed with the website’s quote, contact your insurer direct and tell them their renewal is too high and that you’re considering leaving. Then hit them with their much lower online quote and see if that stirs them into action. It has certainly worked for me. John
Origin: James Ruppert: In celebration of the long-reigning Ford Fiesta