2020 Ram 1500 EcoDieselDerek McNaughton / Driving Rams 2020 1500 EcoDiesel 44 offers highway fuel economy on par with the best diesel 44 full-size pickups, the truckmaker claims, with an officially rated return of 8.0 L/100 km (35 mpg) highway and 11.1 L/100 km (25 mpg) city.When the turbocharged 3.0-litre V-6 EcoDiesel is backed up with a 42 drivetrain, those numbers get even better: 7.3 L/100 km (39 mpg) highway and 10.5 L/100 km (27 mpg) city.The truckmaker said early October that the all-new engine also boasts best-in-class torque for half-ton diesels, at 480 lb.-ft.; and best diesel towing capability, at 5,697 kg (12,560 lbs).When optioned with the 125-litre fuel tank, the trucks best-in-segment driving range exceeds 1,600 km. Moving up to the EcoDiesel will add a premium of $5,800 in Canada if youre equipping it instead of the standard 3.6-litre Pentastar V-6 on the Tradesman and Big Horn trims; and costs $3,900 over the 5.7-litre HEMI V-8 standard in the rest of the Ram 1500 range.Yes, that means you can get the EcoDiesel in every trim in the 1500 line including the Rebel. The most affordable option, the Tradesman Quad Cab 2WD, starts at $49,395
Origin: 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel officially rated at 7.3 L/100 km highway
Highway
Trans-Canada Highway may be built right over Nova Scotia sinkhole: report
In this file photo, construction continues on the Connecting Link section of Highway 101 in northern Ontario.Len Gillis / Postmedia Network Back in May, this publication wrote about a sinkhole threatening the main road leading into the town of Oxford, Nova Scotia. At the time, your author also included an image from Google Maps, highlighting a trio of areas that seemed to indicate the problem could spread to the nearby Trans-Canada Highway.Now, nearly half a calendar year later, it seems other people including the Department of Transportation have begun to pick up on the problem as well.According to aerial photographs collected by the CBC dating back to the 1930s, there is the potential for sinkhole calamity to rear its head underneath a busy part of the Nova Scotia highway.Looking at the CBC photos, its clear that stretch of highway was built over something whether it was a sinkhole or small pond is currently up for debate. However, the general understanding is that when the link was built nearly fifty years ago, common roadbuilding techniques would have had construction crews simply fill the offending area with rocks and gravel. An animation of aerial photographs of the affected area, compiled by the CBC National Air Photo Library and Brett Ruskin / CBC If the spot is indeed a sinkhole a reasonable assumption given the topographical challenges nearby that decision could spell disaster if the floor of the sinkhole shifts, something sinkholes tend to do.These days, building around or over a sinkhole isnt too much of a problem, as construction of a special bridge will shift the roadways weight away from the trouble spot. This author travels this section of highway several times a month, and can confidently assert there is no bridge of any kind on the main part of the TCH in this area, sinkhole-proof or otherwise.Local politicians are calling on other levels of government to step up and help solve this issue before it becomes a problem. The provincial transportation department has committed to an in-depth geotechnical investigation over the next few weeks, but asserts there has been no significant changes in the topography over the years. Its worth noting that the nearby community of Springhill was a mining town for ages.Alert readers will note there rarely are significant changes before a major sinkhole event, given that the significant change usually rears its head at the moment all the ground gives way. Caretakers at the Corvette Museum can attest to that
Origin: Trans-Canada Highway may be built right over Nova Scotia sinkhole: report
Electric vehicle charging stations crop up along Trans-Canada Highway in Saskatchewan
Adrian Dean, a member of the Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association, charges his 2011 Nissan Leaf at Petro-Canadas EV Fast Charge station on Reginas east end.Brandon Harder / Regina Leader-Post Electric vehicle (EV) owners in Saskatchewan will soon have a lot more options when trying to find a place to plug in.Tesla, Petro-Canada and Canadian Tire are all planning to build fast-charging stations in the province. Petro-Canadas Regina station soft-launched on Tuesday, and three more in the province are expected to be up and running by the end of September.Tesla is planning to have seven Supercharger stations in the province this year, with some already under construction. Canadian Tire is planning 10 charging locations, and is hoping to have them operating towards the end of next year.The Tesla and Petro-Canada charging stations are both part of cross-country networks, meaning the all the Saskatchewan locations will be near the Trans-Canada Highway. Adrian Dean, a member of the Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association, charges his 2011 Nissan Leaf at Petro-Canada’s EV Fast Charge station on Regina’s east end. Brandon Harder / Regina Leader-Post These new charging stations are also more advanced and offer shorter charging times. Matthew Pointer, the founder of the Saskatchewan Electric Vehicle Association, said charging times at older stations ranged from three to four hours. The new stations will be able to fully charge a vehicle in 30 to 45 minutes, and as short as 20 minutes at Teslas Supercharger stations.Its a significant boost for us. Its actually the biggest infrastructure thing that weve seen in Saskatchewan ever as far as electric vehicles, said Pointer. Pointer said EV owners typically charge their vehicles at home, making charging stations ideal when going on long-distance trips. Saskatoon does have charging stations, but neither Tesla nor Petro-Canada have listed any upcoming locations in the city. A Petro-Canada representative said the company wanted to start with stations near the Trans-Canada, and more may come to the province in the future.Canadian Tire, which received funding to build its stations through the federal governments electric vehicle and alternative fuel infrastructure initiative, doesnt currently have plans for a Saskatoon location. The closest one will be in
Origin: Electric vehicle charging stations crop up along Trans-Canada Highway in Saskatchewan
Drivers stuck in Toronto traffic get out to play a little highway soccer
There are many ways to fight the tedium that comes along with standstill traffic. The right podcast can make hours seem like minutes. If you’re not moving, there are loads of smartphone games. Or you can go old-school and read. Like, paper, remember?But what if you’re sick of every podcast, haven’t read a ‘book’-book in a decade, and have already earned three stars on all the Angry Birds levels? Two drivers who found themselves in such a situation, stuck in traffic somewhere on the 401 in the Greater Toronto Area, decided to take the unplanned interruption to sneak in a little play time. 401 got people playing soccer❌😂.#hwy401 #401 #sarpanch #toronto #brampton #mississauga pic.twitter.com/BG0KkvdXy7 401_da_sarpanch (@401_da) August 18, 2019The Twitter video posted by the self-proclaimed “OFFICIAL HIGHWAY 401 TRUCKER PAGE” and captioned “401 got people playing soccer” shows a man in a tee-shirt and jeans kicking around a ball with another guy wearing a suit. A road sign reads “All lanes closed ahead,” and around them traffic sits motionless. Well, why not stretch the legs and kick a ball around a bit if you find yourself on a road that’s behaving like a parking lot? Come to think of it, with the way the 401 runs, we could probably organize a highway soccer league. That’s legal, right? Just try not to hit any cars,
Origin: Drivers stuck in Toronto traffic get out to play a little highway soccer
2020 GMC Sierra, Silverado 1500 diesel tops segment in highway fuel economy ratings
2020 Chevrolet Silverado Diesel In the never-ending Detroit truck wars, manufacturers are looking for any and all advantages with which to beat their competition over the head like a coked-up wrestler towing, payload ratings, and most recently, fuel economy.For 2020, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra duo are available with a snazzy new 3.0-litre inline-six diesel engine lashed to a 10-speed automatic transmission. This option allows the truck to cut back on its drinking, with the EPA awarding the powertrain an estimated 7.1 L/100 kilometres (33 miles per gallon) highway fuel economy for rear-wheel drive models. If youre keeping track at home, the other two diesel-powered pickups in the half-ton segment the Ford F-150 and Ram 1500 are rated at 30 and 27 mpg on the highway cycle, respectively. In a market where manufacturers go to great lengths to eke out a single mpg over their rival, GMs accomplishment is remarkable.With 277 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque on tap, the 3.0L Duramax is the first diesel engine offered in a GM half-ton since 1997. It has an aluminium block, active thermal management to heat critical components more quickly, and an automatic start/stop system. Working in concert with the 10-speed automatic, this power team is one of six in the lineup for 2020. Truck fans of the brand are spoiled for choice. Having sampled the Silverady 1500 Duramax about a month ago, we came away impressed with its drivetrain, providing plenty of shove without clattering like the diesels of old. In terms of price, expect to pay roughly the same premium for the Duramax as one would for the 6.2L V8 in comparison to the 5.3L V8.To be clear, the press bumf specifies the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado as receiving this plaudit, but theres no reason to imagine its GMC twin wont earn the same rating. City economy is pegged at 10.2 L/100 kilometres, or 23 mpg. Models with 44 drivelines are rated at 29 mpg highway and 23 city.While the Silverado outsells the Sierra by a wide margin in the U.S., the Sierra actually outsold the Silverado in Canada last year by about 1,000 units. Expect these Duramax half-tons to show up on dealer lots later this
Origin: 2020 GMC Sierra, Silverado 1500 diesel tops segment in highway fuel economy ratings
News Roundup: Boat on highway causes waves of puns, 2020 Shelby GT500 gets priced, and Rivian keeps on poaching
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.A police photo of a boat blocking a Toronto highway has turned into a national caption contestCaption? This boat ended up on #Hwy407 at Dixie Rd tonight. No one hurt. #HappyCanadaDay pic.twitter.com/rDU3sePzJ7 Sgt Kerry Schmidt (@OPP_HSD) July 2, 2019When Ontario police got a call about a boat blocking a lane-and-a-half of traffic on the GTA’s 407 ETR Highway on Canada Day, they knew just what to do: Snap a photo and post it to Twitter, obviously. The OPP’s official Twitter account shipped out a photo of the mid-size motorboat beached in the left lane, calling for the public to caption it. And the public, Driving.ca’s commenters included, did not disappoint. There were a ship-ton of boat puns, some fun Photoshop work, and a few solid references to Gilligan’s Island, which it turns out is still the most relevant piece of nautically-themed pop culture. The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500’s price tag nears six digitsFord has released pricing for the upcoming Mustang Shelby GT500, the most powerful Mustang ever made. The 2020 Shelby GT500 will go for $94,675 in Canada, which isn’t what the kids would call ‘el cheapo’. However, it’s a lot of car, with “the most torque-dense V8 ever,” according to the brand, good for 625 lb.-ft. of torque alongside 760 horses. Should you care to spend even more on mechanized muscle, Ford is happy to accommodate. There’s the Carbon Fibre Track Package that adds bare carbon-fibre 20-inch wheels and racing tires, a GT4 adjustable wing and more; or, for a little less, the Handling Package with a Gurney flap rear spoiler and front splitters. A hearse driver with a corpse in back argues right to use HOV laneA headline out of Nevada is serving as a reminder to funeral employees that if you’re going to use the HOV lane, your passenger has to have a pulse. When Nevada highway patrol pulled over a Dodge Grand Caravan traveling in the HOV lane with what appeared to be a sole occupant in the vehicle, they were met with an interesting argument by its driver. There was a passenger, the local funeral home employee told the officer—they just weren’t in a seat, rather in a casket in the back. Clever, but not technically legal. The driver was let off with a warning.What do truck nuts really say about a driver? There are many offensive and unnecessary ways to decorate your car, from the classic bumper sticker to gawd-awful accessories like headlight eyelashes, but king among them in terms of outrageousness are the truck testicles, a.k.a. TruckNutz. Now, columnist Lorraine Sommerfeld isn’t a fan of most car decorations, believing decor should be saved for the home, but she’s especially turned off by the dropping sacks that adorn the rear hitch of some of the world’s least discerning driver’s vehicles. So, if you own a set of TruckNutz and have an actual good reason why you feel the need to set them swinging from your F-150 – other than “balls, tee hee” – she wants to hear from you. We all do. Rivian can’t stop, won’t stop poaching employeesThe race to the world’s first long-range electric pickup truck is a hungry one. In an attempt to fight to the top of the pile, EV startup Rivian has been steadily leeching employees from automotive and tech competitors like Tesla, Ford, McLaren and especially Faraday Future. Since last spring, the Michigan-based company has doubled its number of staff, with nearly 50 engineers and other staff coming over from the struggling EV brand Faraday Future, many of whom had been furloughed by the company. The latest big hire made by Rivian, however, was of an Apple employee. Mike Bell, who helped bring the first-gen iPhone to market, will serve as Rivian’s first CTO. The 2019 Mazda MX-5 is the same old Miata we love, only now with more powerFun. That’s the Mazda MX-5 Miata’s modus operandi. Always has been. That’s why, when the previous-gen MX-5 (aka the NC) hit roads with a bigger body and a less powerful engine, some fans were… we won’t say disappointed, but confused. This year, though, Mazda has decided to clear things up with a return to the nimble nature and a boost of 26 horsepower. The 2019 MX-5 Miata once again plays to its strengths with a spirited four-cylinder engine, spot-on chassis and a host of other performance upgrades that make this generation one of the G.O.A.T.s. As reviewer Nick Tragianis notes, “On a tight, serpentine road, the Miata is more of the same, but better.”The 2019 Ford Ranger narrowly misses Top Safety Pick award at IIHS crash testsIt was the darned headlights. Thanks to a “marginal” rating given to the lamps, the 2019 Ford Ranger just missed the Top Safety Pick at this year’s IIHS safety tests. But it still did pretty well, earning a “superior” for front crash prevention, “good” for five
Origin: News Roundup: Boat on highway causes waves of puns, 2020 Shelby GT500 gets priced, and Rivian keeps on poaching
Boat blocks Toronto highway on Canada Day, sparks national caption contest
Drivers who opted to cut a few minutes off of their Canada Day travels this year by paying the toll and hopping on the 407 ETR Highway in the Greater Toronto Area were rewarded by an interesting sight. Because at some point on July 1, 2019, there was a large water vessel parked haphazardly across the left lane of the 100-km/h highway.The 20-ish-foot motorboat allegedly fell off a trailer on its way to or from one of Ontario’s boat-friendly bodies of water, thus blocking the left two lanes of the 407 Highway near Dixie Road.As a way of letting the public know about the potential delay – though traffic looks to be moving pretty well in the photo provided – the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) shipped out a Tweet asking the public to caption the photo, which shows the boat lying perpendicular to the traffic lines, its white paint scraped off on the highway’s surface. Caption? This boat ended up on #Hwy407 at Dixie Rd tonight. No one hurt. #HappyCanadaDay pic.twitter.com/rDU3sePzJ7 Sgt Kerry Schmidt (@OPP_HSD) July 2, 2019So far, around 200 commenters have joined in on the fun. There were, naturally, some fine boat puns – e.g. “That’s a HULL of a mess,” “This gives a whole new meaning to dry docking!!” – but also a spot-on reference to Gilligan’s Island.🎶 a 3 hour tour.🎶🎶🎶🎶 Glen Baxby (@rvr600) July 2, 2019One user dipped into the emoji stash to make the boat appear less out of place:😲 pic.twitter.com/LLrkpp1MrI AnnieBodyCaNaDa (@AnnieBodyCanada) July 2, 2019While another one used the power of the GIF to narrate the scene: pic.twitter.com/v9jXYQLXBc LynnMichelleWNKLMR🤟🍷🍺 (@deafmamaof3) July 2, 2019Some of the locals made it a GTA inside joke, getting cute with the location: No, not Dixie, it was at KEEL David Nugent (@davidbnugent) July 2, 2019Others blamed the environment: Global warming at its finest. Randy Narine (@RandyNarinee) July 2, 2019Got a caption to pin on this boat that’s run a-shoulder? Comment on the Tweet thread, or, if you don’t have Twitter, drop it in the comments below.Other than the photo, police haven’t released any information on how or by whom the boat was parked on the
Origin: Boat blocks Toronto highway on Canada Day, sparks national caption contest
Alberta police use life-size cut-outs of highway patrol officers to spook speeders
A Coquitlam RCMP officer, left, poses next to a life-sized, metal poster-board of an RCMP officer, in this undated handout photo.RCMP Handout / The Canadian Press Some new scarecrows are popping up on the Prairies, but these aren’t meant for bluffing birds. Life-size metal cut-outs of uniformed Mounties are being placed next to busy roads and intersections in Lloydminster, which straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary. The city says the fake officers are part of a pilot scarecrow initiative aimed at discouraging speeders. It’s modelled on a similar project that started last year in Coquitlam, B.C. RCMP in that community said that within six months of introducing their police scarecrows, the number of drivers caught speeding by more than 10 km/h decreased by half. Glenn Alford with the City of Lloydminster said each cut-out costs about $325—a fraction of what it would cost to have a real officer monitor the locations. The new recruits aren’t much for conversation, but they have proven highly effective in their duties with other municipalities, he said. We expect this program will have positive results here in
Origin: Alberta police use life-size cut-outs of highway patrol officers to spook speeders
Nissan introduces hands-free highway driving capability for Q50
Nissan calls it a world first, a marriage between navigated highway driving and hands-off single-lane driving. It’s a new version of its ProPILOT assist system, now designed to take you from on-ramp to off-ramp, using the vehicle’s navigation to maneuvre the car on its pre-destined route. Once you’re on the highway, the system can be activated. The destination must first be set, and then the vehicle can assist the driver on their pre-determined route. It can handle passing, lane diversions and lane exiting. The system uses a combination of onboard cameras, radars, sonars, GPS and high-accuracy 3D map data to see other vehicles and provide a 360-degree picture of the world, and Nissan says it can replicate a smooth driving experience as if a human was in control. If the Nissan detects that it can pass the vehicle in front, it will send a visual and audio cue to the driver, where they can choose to pass by placing their hands on the wheel and pressing a switch. The vehicle will perform the pass, and then request confirmation that it can re-enter its original lane. Once the vehicle is nearing the designated off-ramp, visual and audio cues alert the driver that the system is about to turn off, and the driver must place their hands back on the wheel and drive manually. The technology will debut on the Japanese-market Infiniti Q50 equipped with ProPILOT Assist 2.0. Canadian availability has not been
Origin: Nissan introduces hands-free highway driving capability for Q50
This Nova Scotia sinkhole could swallow up part of the Trans-Canada Highway
In this file photo, construction continues on the Connecting Link section of Highway 101 in northern Ontario.Len Gillis / Postmedia Network As a gearhead, most of us have had experience with sinkholes of the automotive variety. Your author has witnessed sinkholes in the form of a Jeep CJ-7 and Chevy Camaro, for example. Maybe it’s more apt to call those financial sinkholes, however. This one that has cropped up in Nova Scotia recently is decidedly more of the physical sort, and has the potential to swallow up some critical roadwork, and perhaps even the Trans-Canada Highway. The sinkhole first appeared last summer in a park near the entrance of Oxford, Nova Scotia, not too far from the Lion’s Club. When first spotted by locals, it was about the size of a good dinner plate. Now it’s grown to the diameter of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, making the ground near the park quite unstable, while also eating into a parking lot. Locals will tell you there are plenty of sinkholes in the area already, some of which are now considered lakes and ponds which can be clearly seen on Google Earth. The red arrows on the image below point toward bodies of water which occurred thanks to sinkhole activity, one of which is adjacent to Route 104. The green arrow indicates the approximate location of this story’s subject. Is the new sinkhole super-close to the Trans Canada Highway? Well, it’s about half a kilometer from the nearest TCH infrastructure, including an off-ramp for Exit 6 of Highway 104. Left unchecked, and given the historical instability of the area’s geography, it could happen. It’ll not escape your notice that it is extremely close, within just a stone’s throw, to the main road leading into town. Fortunately, the federal government is helping out local residents to the tune of about $68,000, hiring a geology team to perform electrical and then seismic testing to map the earth around and underneath the sinkhole. Dan Parker, the team lead, told CBC News that the two sets of data will provide “a good image as to what’s going on in the vicinity of the active sinkhole.” The geological team will be on-site for the next couple of
Origin: This Nova Scotia sinkhole could swallow up part of the Trans-Canada Highway
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