Auto News 5

Scott Steckly won the Pinty's 250 at Kawartha Speedway on Sunday to finally take the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series crown by a margin of only two points.

Coming into the final race of the season, Steckly was 5 points behind leader D.J. Kennington and he had to earn the maximum 48 points to become the first three-time series champion.

Steckly demonstrated the strength of his No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge early in the day on Sunday, topping the practice chart and winning his 12th career series pole; yesterday's schedule having been postponed to Sunday due to heavy rain showers.

Scott Steckly, 2013 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Champion. (Photo: NASCAR)

He led the early portion of the race, making a point of staying ahead of Kennington. After pitting twice during the second caution, Steckly and Kennington restarted 12th and 13th, respectively. The pair steadily worked their way to the front as Jason Hathaway, who entered the event with a mathematical shot at the title, pulled away with a big lead.

All three title contenders stopped for right side tires during a caution on Lap 150 and from there set sail to the finish.

The trio of title contenders battled among themselves as they closed in and moved by Lapcevich for second. Hathaway, who slipped by Kennington, challenged Shepherd for the lead following a restart - but saw his hopes dashed with a spin in Turn 4.

Steckly took advantage on the restart and raced Shepherd side-by-side for the lead - eventually getting the top spot for good after contact coming out of Turn 4. Steckly went on to win by a margin of .580 seconds over Shepherd, with Lapcevich third and Kennington fourth. Martin Roy came home fifth.

Sixth through 10th were Noel Dowler, Donald Chisholm, Mark Dilley, Ron Beauchamp and Ryley Seibert.

Protégez-Vous magazine, in collaboration with the Automobile Protection Association, last week published a list of the top 10 best and worst vehicles when it comes to preventing rust. Here they are:

Best

1. Audi A3, A4, S4;
2. Volkswagen Golf, GTI, Jetta, Beetle, Rabbit, Passat, Passat CC;
3. Volvo S40, V50, V70, CX70, S60;
4. BMW 3 Series;
5. MINI Cooper, Countryman;
6. Honda Civic, Accord, Fit, CR-V, Odyssey, as well as Acura CSX and TL;
7. Toyota Camry, Corolla, FJ Cruiser, Highlander, Matrix, Prius, RAV4, 4Runner, Sienna, Solara, Venza, Yaris;
8. Mercedes-Benz B-Class, C-Class;
9. Hyundai Accent, Elantra, Entourage, Santa Fe, Sonata, Tuscon;
10. Kia Forte, Magentis, Optima, Rondo, Sedona, Spectra, Sportage.

Worst

1. Mazda3, Mazda5, Tribute, MPV;
2. Jeep TJ, Wrangler;
3. Ford Focus, Escape, Explorer;
4. Saturn Relay, Vue;
5. Buick RendezVous, Terraza;
6. Suzuki Swift, XL7;
7. Nissan Altima, Maxima, Sentra;
8. GMC Terrain;
9. Pontiac G5, Montana, Torrent, Wave;
10. Chevrolet Cobalt, Equinox, Uplander, Aveo.

Source: protegez-vous.ca

Quebec driver Alex Guenette has won the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series' Rookie of the Year despite finishing 17th at the season finale presented at Kawartha Speedway on Sunday.

For his first time on the small oval, Guenette qualified 20th for the Pinty's 250 and had to work quite hard if he wanted to move upfront.

The 17-year-old driver was not help by a poor team strategy which made him run almost 235 of the 250 laps on the same set of right tires. An inspection after the race also revealed that his car was leaking oil which did not help.

« We still managed to win the Rookie of the Year title and I'm very happy. We also finished 10th in the championship which is pretty good considering the number of mechanical issues we've had all season long. » declared Guenette.

Because of his new title, Alex Guenette has been invited to the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Series Awards that will be held in Charlotte, NC., December 14th.

Alex Guenette. (Photo: Serge Cantin, page Facebook Alex Guenette)

Do you know who this man is? Probably not, unless you're a certifiable car-nut or Porschefile. Mr. Walker, other than having an extremely cool name, is a man who has spent the last 20 years of his life working on the car he loves most: the fantastic, legendary, and extraordinary Porsche 911.

In less than a year, this man went from “little known” to the biggest underground automotive superstar-cum-folk-hero in the Porsche world. What this man can do with his hands and mind on these cars makes me weak in the knees.

A short film was released last fall that literally catapulted Mr. Walker into stardom. If you love passion and Porsches, watching all 32 minutes' worth will leave you wanting more.

In these last 12 months, Magnus has been featured in a number of magazines and various shows including Jay Leno's Garage. If you make in Jay's good car books, you've made it -- and Magnus Walker can make them like no other man can.

His story is fairly simple and is depicted in the video, which I strongly recommend you watch. His love for the 911 has allowed him to own one 911 for each model year, from 1964 to 1972. He's still looking for that '73...

The cool demeanor depicted in this video is not put on. I was lucky enough to meet Magnus at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show and can attest to the fact that he is as calm, composed, and as chillaxed as he is the film.

Our talk was very brief. I asked him about his newfound fame and he said that it's only made people notice him and talk to him more. Not that he's difficult to spot with his dreads, tattoos, and height. That's perhaps what I appreciate most about him: He is who he is, and remains true to himself.

Shortly before I met him, he was selling one of his most prized possessions: a 1972 911 STR II. Obviously, the car eventually sold at just over $300,000, or twice the estimated amount. When I asked Magnus if parting with this car was difficult, he simply answered, ”No.” He's got another one like it that he's working on.

Magnus Walker started out with clothing, becoming a self-taught designer by reconfiguring purchased clothes. He went on to cars much the same way shortly thereafter. He became successful in both endeavors simply because he wanted to. That, and he's massively talented.

His ability to just “do” and be good at it has given him a vision that cannot fail. The proof is found in his cars; they are gorgeous to behold, perfect in every sense of the word, and no one could ever argue the opposite.

I hope and plan to visit his shop in Los Angeles some day. In fact, he said that if we set up a date, he'd be glad to have me check out his digs.

Should that day come, I will have struck another item off my bucket list.

From press release

Tom Kristensen, Loïc Duval and Allan McNish drove a faultless race today in Austin, Texas to win the 6 Hours of the Circuit of The Americas, the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. 

Photo: Audi Motorsport

The Audi trio sealed their third victory of the 2013 season by 23 seconds over Toyota Racing and extended their championship lead over their team mates in the No.1 entry by 33 points.  The No.8 TS030 Hybrid of Anthony Davidson, Stéphane Sarrazin and Sébastien Buemi challenged the Audis throughout, and finished a lap ahead of the No.1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro which had a disrupted race due to incidents and accidents. 

The No.12 Rebellion Racing Lola Toyota of Nicolas Prost, Nick Heidfeld and Mathias Beche, unchallenged in the LMP1 Privateer category, finished in fourth place overall with another impressive display of reliability and consistency.

Photo: Audi Motorsport

The LMP2 class provided some very close racing in the first half of the race.  After leading for much of the race, victory for the No.26 G-Drive Racing ORECA 03 Nissan was fully deserved; its second consecutive victory for Mike Conway, Roman Rusinov and John Martin. 

A second place finish today for the No.49 Pecom Racing ORECA 03 Nissan entry of Luis Perez Companc, Nicolas Minassian and Pierre Kaffer was enough to give them the lead in the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 teams, while the No.32 Lotus Praga T128 of Thomas Holzer-Kraihamer-Charouz claimed its first podium finish of the season. 

Fred Makowiecki and Bruno Senna put on a dominant display of driving in the No.99 Aston Martin Vantage V8 to claim victory in LMGTE Pro, despite being put under persistent pressure by the two AF Corse Ferraris.  

A late-race challenge for the lead by Jamie Campbell-Walter rewarded the No.96 Aston Martin Vantage V8 with its second LMGTE win of the year, the Briton sharing the cockpit once again with Stuart Hall. 

The next round will take place on the 20 October in Japan at the impressive Fuji International Speedway in the shadow of Mount Fuji.

Fiat plans to take full control of the diesel engine manufacturer VM Motori by buying out the half of the company owned by joint venture partner General Motors.

Fiat plans to take full control of the diesel engine manufacturer VM Motori by buying out the half of the company owned by joint venture partner General Motors.

Renault has started sales of locally assembled Duster SUVs in Indonesia as it seeks to boost growth outside slumping Europe.

Renault has begun sales of locally assembled Duster SUVs in Indonesia as it seeks to boost growth outside slumping Europe.

Model: 2010 to 2013 Chevrolet Camaro

Vehicle Type: Coupe/Convertible

The Verdict: The first few years of new-Camaro models are not problem-free, though a strong online owner's community has done a great job of documenting potential issues that new shoppers should be aware of. Many of these are relatively minor and easily identified -- though some aren't.

A partial list is presented below, though shoppers are advised to visit a site like www.camaro5.com/forums for a closer look. Maximize your peace of mind by opting for a model with plenty of factory warranty remaining, and consider a mechanical inspection mandatory.

Photo: Rob Rothwell

Price: High mileage, V6-powered units from 2010 can be had for as low as $12,000, perhaps less, with a newer V8-powered model commanding $30,000 or more. Shoppers will find plenty of selection around $20,000.

What Owners Like: New-generation Camaro owners tend to be most fond of their vehicle's performance, styling presence and fan-factor when travelling around town. The cabin is generously sized and comfortable, and fuel mileage from the V8 on a highway cruise is surprisingly good.

What Owners Dislike: Common complaints include a “cheap” feel to much of the cabin's plastics, bad outward visibility, less-than-impressive mileage from the V6 engine, and big, long doors that are easily whacked in parking-lot situations. Some owners complain of an awkward shape to the steering wheel and gear shifter, too.

Photo: Rob Rothwell

Continue reading 2010-2013 Chevrolet Camaro Pre-Owned