2019 Mazda3 SportBrian Harper Mazda is recalling 13,108 examples of its 2019-model-year Mazda3 in Canada because a manufacturing defect may increase the odds the wheels will fall off.The Japanese automaker says while the lug nuts on the wheels were tightened to the correct specification at the factory, a manufacturing error may mean a gap between the wheel hub bolt and the hub flange was left during assembly.The gap could allow the lug nuts to loosen when the vehicle is in motion, which could in turn result in the wheels falling off completely.Drivers will hear a rattling sound before the wheel completely separates from the car, Mazda suggested.Recalled vehicles will simply have their lug nuts re-torqued to the correct specifications. No incidents of wheels detaching from Mazda3s has yet been reported, nor have any accidents or injuries tied to the
Origin: More than 13,000 Mazda3s recalled in Canada over wheels that could fall off
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41 per cent of Montreal roads in great shape, better than 2015: city
Construction detour road sign in Montreal Wednesday December 7, 2016.John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette A total of 41 per cent of Montreal’s 1,665-kilometre network of arterial roads are in “excellent or good condition,” a 2018 inventory of the city’s main thoroughfares has found. Sylvain Ouellet, the city’s executive committee member responsible for infrastructure, noted in a statement late May that only 21 per cent of the city’s main roads received a passing grade when the last checkup was conducted in 2015. “The investments made by the city of Montreal have borne fruit,” he wrote. “Montrealers can see that more and more roads have been redone and it shows. Our administration will continue on this course.” The latest survey, which was conducted between July 4 and Aug. 19, 2018, and examined 14,114 streets, found that 39 per cent of the city’s roads were in “very bad or bad” condition, compared with a finding of 55 per cent in the same category in 2015. The examination included assessments of cracks and fissures in road surfaces, variations in road levels and ruts caused by vehicular wear and tear, as well as potholes. The city will divide its road assessments into two categories—arterial roads that will be examined every two years because of heavier traffic, and local, less-travelled streets that will be inventoried every four years. The next assessment of local roads is scheduled to take place this year. The complete, street-by-street results of the city’s latest inventory can be found on its open data
Origin: 41 per cent of Montreal roads in great shape, better than 2015: city
Ford’s aluminum F-150 costs less to repair than you think
2018 Ford F-150Handout / Ford Ford got its fair share of flack from the competition when it decided to build its best-selling truck out of aluminum instead of steel. Many consumers were also worried it wouldn’t be as strong and would be costlier to repair, but Ford is proving naysayers wrong. According to Automotive News, Ford designed the aluminum body with repairs in mind from the get-go, creating a brand new modular architecture that’s much easier to repair compared to steel-bodied vehicles. Parts have also reduced in cost by 16 per cent overall, when compared with steel replacements on 2014 model-year pickups. The Highway Loss Data Institute (HDLI) found the prices for the hood and taillights have dropped 43 per cent, and front bumpers have decreased 37 per cent. Unfortunately, rear bumpers and bedsides are costlier, though. The combination of easier repairs and cheaper parts means it costs less to fix an F-150 with an aluminum body compared to a steel one. Ford also heavily invested in its dealer network, making sure that they received proper training in order to work on the new vehicles. This included the installation of new equipment that cost the dealers between US$30,000 and US$50,000, though they could get a US$10,000 rebate. All this has resulted in a truck with an insurance claim severity that is roughly 7 per cent lower than steel-bodied trucks. Ford took a gamble and
Origin: Ford’s aluminum F-150 costs less to repair than you think
This Bentley book costs more than an actual Bentley
Bentley is celebrating its 100th birthday, and to commemorate its long and storied history, they’ve written the whole thing down—yes, the British luxury marque’s just released a big book of stories about how it got where it is today, beginning with its inception in 1919. The Bentley Centenary Book is 800 pages and encompasses nine chapters about the famous brand. The foreword is by Ralph Lauren, while the chapters touch on subjects such as performance, design, craftsmanship, and its customers. The book also weighs some 30 kilograms and spans almost a metre across, when opened. Three versions of the book will be printed. The first is a basic’ edition which costs £3,000 pounds (about $5,100) and is limited to just 500 copies. The exterior is bound in the same leather used on Bentley vehicles in whatever colour you like, and sports a Bentley badge. Only 100 copies of the Mulliner version will be printed, at a cost of £12,500 each, or approximately $21,400. That extra cash gets you 10 portraits measuring 20-by-24-inches, each featuring an iconic Bentley, as well as 56 watercolour paintings. You also get a section of the front-left tire from the 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning Bentley Speed 8, and a chance to have your car – provided it’s a Bentley – photographed and featured on special pages. The big boy is the Centenary Edition, which features 100 carats of diamonds and costs a whopping £200,000. That’s about $340,000, or almost $10,000 per kilogram. Only seven of the centenary edition will be printed, one for each continent. We’re confident if all seven owners ever get together, they will probably conjure W. O. Bentley’s ghost, who will tell them what the next 100 years will
Origin: This Bentley book costs more than an actual Bentley
Report: Rideshare vehicles’ back seats are dirtier than your toilet
2018 Toyota Corolla iMCosta Mouzouris The back seats of taxis and vehicles booked via rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft are, on average, much ickier than your average toilet seat, according to tests conducted by insurance aggregator website Netquote. The tests focused on three areas: the window buttons; door handles; and seatbelt of three randomly chosen taxis, and three randomly chosen rideshare vehicles, Autoblog reports. They also swabbed the seatbelts, steering wheel and gearshift of three rental cars. These spots were chosen because they are the most-touched points in most cars. The grossness of the results of the test is measured in CFU numbers, which stands for colony-forming units. A typical toilet seat has around 171 CFU per square inch. The amount of germs isn’t actually as big a deal as how bad the individual germ can be; however, the more germs, the greater the possibility one of those pretty bad ones is in the mix. On the scale, the tests showed taxis netted an average CFU of 27,000 per square inch, with the worst offender areas being the seatbelts, followed by the door handles and window buttons. Rental cars are much worse for wear, somehow. The steering wheel and gear lever get the worst of it, with over 1 million CFU per square inch, while the seatbelts remain almost unscathed, with only 403 CFU per square inch. You would think the vehicles would be hosed down after some filthy bum has returned it after 1,000 km, but nope. The rental cars aren’t as bad as the rideshare vehicles, however. With people constantly jumping in and out of them from various venues, it really isn’t a surprise that the seatbelts and window controls scored over 5 million CFU per square inch. Somehow, the door handles remained cleaner at 1,810 CFU per square inch. So maybe next time you ride in an Uber, wear a hazmat suit. That’s the only logical thing to
Origin: Report: Rideshare vehicles’ back seats are dirtier than your toilet
GM recalls more than 40,000 trucks in Canada for engine fire risk
2017 Chevrolet Silverado HDHandout General Motors is recalling over 368,000 pickups and other trucks worldwide, including more than 40,000 in Canada, after 19 reports of fires caused by engine block heater cords. The recall covers certain 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 4500, 5500 and 6500 trucks, as well as the 2017 through 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500. All have GM’s 6.6-litre diesel engines and an optional engine block heater used to keep the block warm in extremely cold temperatures. GM is asking customers not to use engine block heaters until further notice. The company said early May the electric heater cord or the terminals connecting the cord to the heater could short-circuit and fail. That can cause fires. No injuries have been reported. GM is still trying to find the cause of the problem and develop a fix. The company began investigating the problem in December and found that a fire can occur if a block-heater coolant leak develops and the coolant comes in contact with the cable terminals, or if the cable itself is damaged. About 324,000 U.S. trucks are covered by the recall, and about 40,319 in Canada. GM began notifying dealers on April 26 and told them to stop selling the trucks until repairs are made. No date has been set yet to notify
Origin: GM recalls more than 40,000 trucks in Canada for engine fire risk
Franchised dealers ‘better value than ever’ – survey
Upfront service packages make franchised dealers better value than ever when it comes to aftersales work, according to a new survey – but industry bosses say perceptions of higher costs created by high-end facilities must still be addressed to win the trust of customers. The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) Consumer Attitude Survey 2019 sampled more than 2000 owners of cars under seven years old, and the results show public confidence in franchised dealers has improved significantly in a number of areas. But Richard Roberts, the chairman of the NFDA National Aftersales Working Group, said: “It is great that the data shows that franchised dealers are seen to do a great job – and that the belief in their abilities improves significantly among anyone who has had an interaction with them. “But the challenge remains to get the perception of quality to match one of value for money. There is a truth in the statement that we can scare customers off with our wonderful premises. That’s a shame, particularly is this era of fixed-price servicing which delivers peace of mind for an incredibly fixed price for a number of years after you buy the car. These packages represent phenomenal value for money and we need to get that message out there.” The survey results show that an increasing number of consumers consider franchised dealers to be professional, knowledgeable and able to provide good customer service. Two-thirds of those surveyed also rated them as the “safest” option for aftersales work, while there was also a significant uplift in consumer knowledge around franchised dealers offering smaller work – such as new tyres or windscreen wiper replacement – at a good price. Franchised dealers also scored significantly higher trust scores for servicing of all engine types, but most significantly hybrid, plug-in-hybrid and pure electric, suggesting that the technology shift for new cars would open up more opportunities. NFDA chairman Mark Squires added: “Where do you go when your Apple product breaks? Most of us go to Apple. As cars get more complex – be it connected technology or new powertrains – I think the expectation among consumers will increasingly be that they want technicians trained on their specific car by the manufacturer who made it to do the work, and there’s no question that will open up opportunities. “The great news from this survey is that the franchised dealers are delivering; the scores are all up in the right places, and the uplift from people who have encountered franchised dealers after usually using independent or high street brands for aftersales work shows that we are well placed to deliver beyond
Origin: Franchised dealers ‘better value than ever’ – survey
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