drive magazine

drivedrivemagazine.ca

december 2012

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l Driver anxiety 6

l Cost is no object for gearheads Page 6

l Saving the stickshift Page 14

l Go waterless or go home Page 12

Diana FariaSUV aficionada Resident gearhead

Nick Tragianis

This magazine would not have been possible without the help of Jim Wilson and Lindy Oughtred

driveCONTRIBUTORS

Diana Faria has been writing for many years, but not necessar-ily about cars.Fiction and poetry aside, Diana has a few published articles and columns in places such as the Toronto Observer and Shameless Magazine.

After having written stories about everything from chocolate decora-tions to hospital mergers and opin-ion pieces about political apathy and “free culture”, she thought it’s high time to write a little bit about cars.

Offering a non-car-nut point of view, her articles focus mainly on driving and car care rather than car specs and technology.

Her stories touch sensitive topics such as anxiety behind the wheel to more mundane acts such as cleaning your car to make it look brand-spankin’-new without using running water.

Many years ago, when he was still a toddler, Nick Tragianis’ sister-in-law, Luisa, drove a 1990 Dodge Shadow. It was a neat two-door coupe, finished in red and with a five-speed manual transmission.

Nick’s favourite feature was the fact that the Shadow rode on “star rims,” as he put it. He once bet Luisa he could pry off the wheel’s centre cap with a tree branch. And he did.

Today, Nick doesn’t remove centre caps as much as he used to, but he still loves cars. Like Diana, his articles and photographs also appear in the

Toronto Observer, among other publications. However, Nick feels

at home here at Drive Magazine. His stories simultaneously offer a look into the (wonderful) world of car culture and touch on numerous news developments in the automotive industry.

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To drive or not to drive? Ability, not age, should determine whether or not you hang up your keys for good.

Cost is no object for gearheads For some, customizing a car is a waste of money. For others, it’s more than a hobby. It’s a lifestyle.

Oh, deerOctober to December are peak times for large animal collisions. What should you do when you hit one?

Saving the stickshift Manual transmissions are losing their edge over automatics, but drivers out there are still faithful to the stickshift.

Seeing is believingWill Transport Canada make blind spot indicators a mandatory safety feature in all Canadian vehicles?

Going the distanceFuel economy is a critical aspect of car shopping, but how accurate are the numbers on window stickers?

Driver anxietyGetting back behind the wheel after a traumatic experience can be the toughest decision of all.

Toronto’s eliteEach year, a stretch of Bloor Street is closed off to exotic cars in support of raising prostate cancer awareness.

Go waterless or go homeRyan Knight’s customers can’t believe their car was washed without water. Yes, it’s possible.

Slow traffic keep rightPsychologists and authorities say as the population grows and people lose patience, road rage follows.

EventsSearching for the autoshows across the continent to keep tabs on? Look no further.

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3DRIVEMAGAZINE.CA

TO DRIVE...

Diana FariaDRIVE MAGAZINE

T raffic on the Highway 407 cruises by at an easy 120 km/h on this cold and wet Wednesday afternoon. In the midst of whizzing cars and wide semi-trucks is David Truman, coasting along in his two- year-old silver Honda Insight.

“I enjoy driving,” he said, turning on his right blinker as he ex-its Bayview Avenue. “I have no problem driving on the highway or at night.”

Truman has held his driver’s licence for 65 of his 80 years. Two months before he turned 80 in November, Truman received a letter in the mail explaining he was due for a senior driver renewal program.

This program, taken every two years after the a driver turns 80, requires a senior to pass a vision test, participate in a group discussion, as well as pass a written test.

After reciting a few numbers displayed inside a rectangular box, the driver’s peripheral vision is checked. Should a senior fail the vision test, they must consult a doctor and have visual aid before retaking the test.

Prior to the written test being given out, a discussion between senior participants and a ministry driver improvement counsellor ensues.

Truman said he was the first to finish the written test, which consists of multiple-choice questions and two pages of signs to identify. The whole process took about three hours from the mo-ment the retired landscaper stepped into Markham Civic Centre, a 10-minute drive from home, to the time he walked out with his freshly renewed licence.

On a daily basis, many of Truman’s drives to St. John’s Reha-bilitation Centre, now part of Sunnybrook hospital, where he is

Abi l i ty, not age, should determine whether or not you hang up your keys for good

...or not to drive?

DECEMBER 20124

president of St. John’s Hospital Volunteer Association. He said that if he didn’t have his licence, depending on others would make him feel a loss of freedom.

“Once you can’t go where you want to go, instantly, you lose that independence. Once you start depending on taxis, buses, streetcars…it takes a lot away from the individual,” he said, adding that it would be especially difficult to travel in winter without a vehicle.

Once a week, Truman hops into his car with his 75-year-old wife and carpools with two other seniors to Edithvale Community Centre to play cards. One of Truman’s backseat passengers is 80-year-old Audrey Cox, who voluntarily gave up her keys a year ago.

The retired bookkeeper’s late husband was a police officer who was nine years her senior. He gave up his keys when he was 80,, and advised her to do the same when she reached that age.

“He turned to me and said ‘Don’t you be driving when you turn 80 either because people don’t seem to know what they’re doing,’” Cox said. She also added that, during her last years of having her licence, she no longer enjoyed driving be-cause she found it difficult to concentrate on so many places at once.

Cox, who usually takes a $6 to $9 taxi ride to go from places such as the store or her hairdresser, said she has never felt a loss of independence since giving up her licence.

If the need requires her to travel further, she has her family to drive her or “a good neighbour who will take me around if they’re available.”

Although Truman believes there are both good and bad drivers at any given age, he relishes the fact that there is a pro-gram to refresh seniors on road safety.

“I think it’s great that the province does test people,” he said. “I do think it’s good that we have something for seniors to test their ability and skill of driving, especially in a city like Toronto, where you’ve got to have your wits.”

Carol Libman is the advocacy con-sultant at CARP, an association that is committed to “ a new vision of aging for Canada”. She has gone through the pro-gram three times before and says that the counsellors aim to refresh seniors about

the rules of the road and not to take away their licence, like some seniors fear.

“The instructors that I’ve come across are very friendly and helpful,” the 84 year old said. “Everyone that I have met has said ‘we’re not here to fail you, we’re here to discuss with you and have a refresher course.’”

Libman goes a step further. She is a strong believer of refresher courses that should be given to drivers every few years, regardless of their age.

“A lot of people are good drivers, a lot of people are not so good drivers, and probably more people should have refresher courses from time to time no matter what age they are, and reminders of the rules of the road and courtesy on the road.” She said.

According to an e-mail from Bob Nichols, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation, senior collision rates have declined since improving the renewal program in late 2000’s.

“Since 2005, the average fatal collision rate for senior drivers has dropped by 49 per cent compared to the five years prior to the program’s implementation.” he said.

An additional road test may be ad-ministered to seniors who have trouble comprehending the material in the group discussion, or who have accumulated demerit points in the previous two years.

This test is administered by a DriveTest examiner, who will ask seniors to perform three-point turns, parallel parking, yield-ing at stop signs, etc.

If the senior fails the on-road test, their licence will be downgraded to G1 until they try again.

Libman’s job requires her to answer questions from online readers, most of whom are seniors.

She often hears seniors do not fear the possibility of an on-road test, but are concerned they would be tested on things they may no longer did.

“They don’t mind taking the test…[but] they don’t drive on the highway anymore and they don’t drive at night anymore. They are worried about having to take the test which took them on the highway,” she said.

“I mean they’re cognitively fine, except they haven’t driven on the highway for years and don’t feel comfortable doing it.”

5DRIVEMAGAZINE.CA

Man and Machine: cost is no object for gearheads Nick TragianisDRIVE MAGAZINE

These days, the average asking price of a 2006 Dodge Charger SRT-8 is roughly $21,000, according to the Canadian Black Book website.

Nearly $40,000 later, Tom Frangic has one that stands out from every other car on the road.

“I’m married with children, and it’s a daily driver,” he said. “I take my kids to school in it, and taxi them around.”

Franjic, hailing from Kitchener, Ont., hasn’t been a car guy his whole life. However, his knack for tweaking cars doesn’t mean he’s alone.

According to Brian Wong, the founder of Advance Powerhouse, a performance shop based out of Toronto, the interest for enthusiasts to modify and personalize their investment is always there.

“People talk about the recession and the economy not doing well. It’s a yes-and-no situation,” Wong said. “Yes, there’s less people who are doing things to their car, but it depends on the market. It doesn’t stop them from having fun. They might spend a little less, but they’re still there.”

In the evolving world of car modifications, Wong believes there are two distinct groups – those who aim to make their vehicle perform better, and those who take a keen interest in cosmetic customization.

“Many people are buying cars, and then they do some minor modifications. They lower the suspension, they get new wheels; it’s mostly cosmetic,” he said. “A few years ago, we modified our cars for performance and racing.”

Showing off his car at the fitfth Canadian Sport DECEMBER 20126

Compact Series (CSCS) event in Cayuga, Ont. on Sept. 24, Franjic’s Charger is a combination of the two distinct groups. Off the showroom floor, the SRT-8 variant boasts an eight-cylinder engine, good for 425 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque.

Since replacing his first Charger with his current car, Franjic upped that horsepower figure to 750, thanks to a number of upgraded engine components, including a supercharger.

“When I started with the first Charger, a buddy of mine had his own shop, and he did modifications. I helped him work in that shop also, so I picked up on a lot of stuff myself,” he said. “The first one was a learning process, and this one is my actual work. I’ve done everything to this car by myself, except for the engine work.”

To make it stand out from every other Charger on the road, Franjic’s SRT-8 sports an orange-on-black paint job, 22-inch wheels wrapped around skinny tires, custom bodywork, and even modified doors that swing up, rather than out.

“There are times where my wife wants to kill me. She knows it’s my hobby, and she’s okay with it,” he said. “I’m probably going to start another Charger for her, too. It’s going to be a his-and-hers version, just her car won’t be as fast.”

The hobby component is a significant aspect when someone is driven to modify their car, according to Wong.

“They build it, and they appreciate it more. It’s like building a model train set in your basement,” he said. “It’s something to get their hands on, and it’s something special.”

Brian Van Harten knows that feeling all too well. Like Franjic, he was also shoing off his

car at the CSCS season finale. A computer programmer by trade, Van

Harten loves his 1992 Suzuki Cara.“It’s not super fast or anything like that, but

it’s so much fun,” he said. “You don’t see this car anywhere, and nobody has this car.”

Van Harten’s modifications to his car are mostly cosmetic.

In addition to a reupholstered leather interior, there are certain tweaks outside that set his already rare Suzuki apart.

“The body used to be gloss black, but I had the whole body wrapped in blue vinyl. It’s got the full brushed aluminum texture,” he said. “It’s got a bit of carbon fibre wrap on the bumpers, and a bit of blue on the centre console inside as well.”

Overall, Van Harten has spent nearly $20,000 on his car. That figure includes engine and brake maintenance in order to make the Suzuki mechanically sound.

“When I got it, the engine was quite rough. With the rarity of the parts, and the more-expensive-anything, I ended up putting $7,000 into the engine alone,” he said.

“I ended up paying $2,000 for the brakes, just because the right rotor and calipers are really hard to find.”

Van Harten imported his little Suzuki two years ago from Japan. A joint project between Autozam, Mazda, and Suzuki, he scored one of 4,000 examples made between the three brands during 1992.

“It’s definitely a collectable. Other places you see this car are in video games, like Gran Turismo,” he said. “The rarity completes the car. It’s so unique, and so much fun.

“I’m in it for the long run. I’m never getting rid of this car.”

Nirvana for gearheadsFranjic and Van Harten aren’t the only enthusiasts bent on spending money on their automotive pride and joy at CSCS.

The finale was hosted at the Toronto Motorsports Park, where enthusiasts from all across the province showed off their rides.

The event included plenty of racing, including drift, time attack and drag, and a car show.

Here are just a few of our pictures from the event. There’s much more at www.drivemagazine.ca.

Franjic’s Charger stands out - and for a good reason, too. At the end of the CSCS car show, it was named the ‘Best Dodge’ of the entire show.

7DRIVEMAGAZINE.CA

OH,DEEROctober through December are peak times for car and large animal collisions

DECEMBER 20128

Ryan Sang cruised at an easy 110 km/h eastbound on the Trans-Canada Highway about 20 minutes out of Yorkton, Sask.

That’s when he saw the blur.He swerved sharply to his right.“I just saw something brown. I didn’t know

what it was,” said Sang, three years later. “From what people have told me it was a very small deer, because to me it was just a brown blur.”

The SUV veered to the right shoulder and began to roll. It flipped

about 10 times before

stopping right-side up. Once the vehicle came to a halt, Sang placed

his hands to his face. When he pulled them back, he saw they were completely covered in blood.

“I got really scared. I got super scared,” he said. “My rearview mirror wasn’t in place, it was crooked so I couldn’t see myself. I adjusted the mirror and I looked like character straight out of a horror movie.”

The Ministry of Transportation says colli-sions like Sang’s happen once every 38 min-

utes, almost 90 per cent of them in two-lane roads in

rural areas.

Peak times for wildlife accidents occur in May and June, and during hunting season from October to December.

The Ministry of Natural Resources warns motorists moose, deer and elk are especially active during dawn and dusk, which wasn’t the case with Sang’s encounter.

Jim Dickson has been an OPP officer for the past 28 years. Stationed at the Bancroft detach-ment, Dickson said he’s called, on average, about 30 times a year to an accident involving large animals.

“You find one of the most common things in your job [is] a car/deer accident,” Dickson said, adding the animals usually roam near the road during a full moon right before hunting season.

It was hunting season of 2009 when 31-year-old Genny Goulart crashed into a large deer, totaling her car.

Goulart was heading north on Highway 11 to where her husband, Gary, was hunting with a few friends. The two-lane highway was merely

lit by the headlights of her 2006 Volkswagen Passat.

About half an hour past Barrie, she saw something jump near her vehicle.

Curious, she turned her head for a second to look.

“I turned my head to see if I ac-tually saw something…By the time I turned (back), there was this huge beast in front of my car [and] clearly I didn’t have enough time to stop,” she said. “That was the end of my little car.”

Goulart crashed into the animal, knocking out its hind legs. Her Pas-


sat’s windshield was smashed and the rear wheels had been “lifted off the floor” from the sheer weight of the animal.

In shock, Goulart first called her husband who then dialed 911 and told them his wife’s whereabouts.

Goulart’s husband and his hunting group was the first to arrive on the scene. The au-thorities then arrived 45 minutes after the call. When they did, they realized the animal on Goulart’s car was still alive, and had to shoot it.

“They took it out of its misery because I had broken its back,” she said. “So they shot it.”

Fully grown male deer can weigh up to 290 lbs. If the animal was killed in the crash, the body has to be removed from the road.

According to Dickson, the “first person who has the right to take the carcass is the driver.” If the driver does not want the animal, depending on where the animal was killed, methods of disposal vary.

“If it’s on the roadway itself, we drag it off,” he said. “Or we call our roads department who will come and scoop it up and either put it in the dump or a convenient location where nature takes it course.”

The deer that Sang hit in 2009 died upon im-pact. Sang suffered from some superficial injuries and fractured his neck, an injury that took over a year to recover from.

Today, Sang works for Global National news in Vancouver and says there are still some things that he is unable to do.

“I can’t cradle the phone with my shoulders,” he laughs. “It’s silly that I can’t do that and I refuse to buy those Bluetooth devices…

It’s not a big deal. I’m alive and I’m here. I’m not going to make a big deal over the fact that I can’t cradle the phone with my shoulder.”

Goulart, on the other hand, suffered minor cuts, whiplash and worsened her present back problems.

She also added she is afraid of going back up north, espe-cially on a highway when it’s dark.

“I have never gone back up there when they go hunting,” she said. “Anywhere at night if it’s not a highway that’s lit, I won’t drive. I’m paranoid.”

The Ministry of Transportation recom-mends drivers to scan the road ahead very carefully for wildlife signage.

If you do spot an animal, do not swerve because “swerving to avoid hitting a wild animal may result in a more seri-ous collision.”

But Dickson said the best tip is to watch your speed.

“The No. 1 preventative measure is speed,” he said. “So slow down!”

lOne in every 17 vehicle collisions in-volve a wild animall13,954 collisions

were reported in 2007lThese crashes

happen once every 38 minutesl90 per cent of

these collisions happen in two-lane roads in

rural areas.

Wild animal collisions

“”

I adjusted the mirror and I looked like a character straight out of a horror movie.

- Ryan SangThere’s much more at

www.drivemagazine.ca.

9DRIVEMAGAZINE.CA

GOING THEDISTANCEAutomakers are constantly improving their fuel economy numbers thanks to advancements in technology and regulations like the United States’ Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) initiative. But that begs the question - are the numbers accurate?Nick TragianisDRIVE MAGAZINE

DECEMBER 201210

When Lorraine Sommerfeld isn’t tearing up the road in Porsches and Mercedes AMGs for her job as an automotive writer, her daily driver is a

2010 Hyundai Santa Fe. While she loves her SUV, Sommerfeld

can’t help but feel a little excluded in Hyun-dai’s announcement about overstated fuel economy claims.

“When this came out, I was really pleased with Hyundai being honest, except my 2010 doesn’t make the cut. I felt really ripped off, because my numbers are wrong, too,” she said “I’m proud of Hyundai for admitting it, but I didn’t think they went far enough and they left some of us in the breeze.”

The announcement revolves around the accuracy of Hyundai and Kia’s 40 mile-per-gallon fuel economy claims on cars like the Accent, Elantra, and Sonata Hybrid. Both companies say the errors originate from “procedural errors at a testing facility in South Korea” after an audit by the U.S. Environ-mental Protection Agency (EPA), according to Automobile Protection Association (APA) president George Iny.

“The problem was discovered after a compliance testing in a lab run by the (EPA) revealed that randomly selected Hyundai and Kia vehicles were not meeting the advertised 40 MPG highway fuel consumption rating,” Iny said in a statement.

The error, in turn, leaves owners like Sommerfeld questioning the accuracy of fuel economy numbers.

“The numbers were never what they were posted, but I never had a car that was,” she said. “I expect off, which everyone does, but that’s wrong. Everyone should expect the right numbers.”

In Canada, fuel economy is calculated as litres used per 100 kilometres, instead of miles-per-gallon. Natural Resources Canada says a Santa Fe like Sommerfeld’s is good for 10.2L/100 km in the city and 7.2L/100 km on the highway.

Michael Hatch, the chief economist for the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), says despite the misstated figures – that fuel economy numbers differ by 0.2 and 0.8L/100 km in Hyundai’s case – consumers should still have faith in them.

“Every vehicle has that calculation from the manufacturer, and they do live up to those calculations by and large,” he said. “Obvious-ly there are lots of other factors that go into

how much fuel people burn when they drive.”Hatch says those factors include driving

habits – such as speed – as well as weather conditions and tire pressure.

In the U.S., government regulation for fuel economy standards has been in place since 2011, thanks to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. That initiative dictates by 2016, a manufacturer’s fleet of cars and trucks should meet an average of 35.5 MPG – or 6.63L/100 km.

Government regulation exists in Canada, but Iny believes the federal government’s current testing procedures can actually result in slightly unrealistic numbers.

“The wildly optimistic government-ap-proved test cycle results in rosy Energuide fuel consumption figures that underestimate actual fuel consumption by 2-5L/100 km,” he wrote. “This generates a lot more complaints about disappointing fuel economy.”

According to David Adams, president of the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada (AIAMC), the federal government uses slightly different testing methods. Known as the Federal Test Procedure (FTP), the system employs two controlled test cycles that simulate city and highway driving. The U.S., on the other hand, includes the city and highway tests, in addi-tion to a handful of more accurate procedures.

“One represents a cold temperature op-eration test, and then they also have a high acceleration test,” he said. “There is also a test that simulates the vehicle being utilized under air conditioning as well.”

According to Hatch, the federal govern-ment intends to introduce similar standards to CAFE in the next few years.

“Vehicles cross the border between Canada and the U.S. literally dozens of times in the manufacturing process. It’s important to have (regulations) that are common across North America,” he said. “Certainly you can’t have the 10 provinces and three territories in Cana-da, and the 50 states in the U.S. have different sets of rules. It would be chaos.”

Adams says accuracy is another driving force behind the harmonized testing proce-dures, because “not many people drive exactly as a simulated lab result.”

“I think why Canada is committed to change its test methodology is to try and pro-vide fuel consumption figures that more accu-rately reflect consumers’ reality when they’re driving,” he said “That’s the challenge, because consumers are always looking at fuel

consumption – numbers that they would see on the label or advertised, in comparison to a fairly strictly test environment and results.”

Hatch strongly believes consumers shouldn’t be concerned about discrepancies between published fuel economy numbers and real-world results. He grants that although fuel mileage claims differ, real-world figures are well within ranges claimed by manufacturers.

“It’s an estimate. There’s no vehicle that’s going to have the exact same rate earned every day, in every season, with every driver. It’s just not possible,” he said. “The numbers published by manufacturers are based on their testing and the billions of dollars of invest-ments they have made, and consumers can have 100 per cent confidence in them.”

Adams suggests the numbers should be looked at more as a comparative tool, espe-cially with the upcoming changes to testing procedures.

“I think increasingly efforts are being un-dertaken to try and make those numbers more real-world so that there isn’t the disparity be-tween what a consumer actually gets on their vehicle and what’s on the label,” he said.

Even in the midst of Hyundai and Kia’s false mileage claims, Sommerfeld still has faith in the Korean companies. She credits both brands for owning up and admitting their error.

“(Hyundai and Kia) did the right thing, and it’s not going to cost them. People will forgive them,” she said. “Even knowing what I know, I’d buy another one.”

Crunching the numbersIn many cases, the differences between fuel economy numbers for the affected Hyundai and Kia cars vary by tenths. For example, a six-speed-manual Elantra was orignally had a combined rating of 5.9L/100 kilometres. The new, revised numbers rate the Elantra at 6.2L/100 kilometres. Hyundai and Kia are also offering an incentive through their dealer network.

11DRIVEMAGAZINE.CA

Go waterless....

Ryan Knight’s customers are amazed when told that their car was washed without running water.

“A lot of them can’t believe it until they see it,” Knight said. “I can

tell them about it, but it usually takes seeing the product in action to make them believe that it does work well…and it doesn’t scratch or leave streaks.”

Knight, 29, and his brother own and operate the Detailing Knights, a Brampton-based car detailing company Averaging about two jobs per day around the greater Toronto area, the Detailing Knights wash their clients’ vehicles on-site using waterless car washes.

Unlike soap washes, you only need a micro-fiber cloth or two and the waterless car wash to clean your vehicle. The product comes in a bottle and is sprayed onto the surface of the car, then wiped clean with the microfiber cloth.

This method does not require any water oth-er than the liquid product itself- hence it being “waterless”.

“We actually switched to waterless in 2009 once we found that the waterless meant…less water waste and we were able to be more

mobile,” Knight said. “With the waterless car wash product, you actually get a higher quality clean because it’s applied by hand, section by section, and leaves a protective polish in the solution so the paint actually looks how it’s supposed to look rather than using water, where you’re slowly washing away the clear coat – that’s why cars dull over time.”

Ciara De Jong, manager of research and policy at the Toronto Environmental Office, says neither automotive soap nor washing your car is prohibited in Toronto.

However, the water used to wash the car run down the vehicle and driveway can dump harmful contaminants into the storm drains.

“To my understanding, it’s more the diesel and oil and all the things that are on your drive-way that end up being washed into the sewer,” she said. “It’s [also] a huge amount of water to wash your car. It’s not very efficient.”

Waterless car washes have been on the market for over a decade and according to De Jong, are “a good alternative.”

“With traditional washing of cars with water, we find you’d be wasting about 100 gallons of water or more,” Knight said. “With the


OR GO HOME!

DECEMBER 201212

We put waterless car washes to the test against this GMC Envoy. It took about half a bottle, but got the job done.

waterless car wash, you’d only be using about six ounces.”

De Jong says that even though waterless car washes are not 100 per cent waterless, they do use much less water.

When shopping for one, she also suggests looking for green options.

“Look for the ones that are 100 per cent biodegradable, environmentally friendly, ones that use reusable microfiber cloths to wipe on and then wipe off the product.” she said.

Two years ago, Sunny Yashpal created one of the few waterless car washes available on the market,goclean waterless.

Goclean waterless car wash is a non-toxic, biodegradable product that can be sprayed on a microfiber cloth and then wiped on the vehicle to clean it, he said.

“One of the ideas behind the product was bringing a product into the marketplace that’s very user friendly,” Yashpal said. “You can use it on all kinds of surfaces- windows, met-al, plastic or the wheels.”

When launching his product, Yashpal said there was a need for reasonably-priced prod-ucts because waterless car washes were fairly expensive. Goclean waterless is available at Canadian Tire for about $15.

Unlike other products that use toxic compo-nents to clean vehicle surfaces, Yashpal says his product is plant-based and is not harmful to the surface it is sprayed on to.

“We try to make the product as user friendly as possible, as green as possible, because that’s what our branding is- to make green products,” the 26-year-old said. “It is a product that readily biodegrades when you do apply it to a surface.”

The St. Thomas-born entrepreneur said that aside from washing your car, it also leaves behind a film that protects the surface of the car from further grime build up.

“Basically, it’s a film that is left on the sur-face of the car called a polymer film, and that

is plant-based as well,” he said. “So it helps protect the paint and repel dirt and grime builds…It works on the windows too, it helps keep fingerprints off the windows.”

Yashpal says while other products also leave behind a protective layer,most of them stay on too long and yellows headlights and other plastics on the vehicle over time.

Since switching to waterless washes, Knight says washing cars takes half as long than with traditional soap and water.

“[It’s] much easier because when we were using water and soap and waxing before, it would take us about four to five hours mini-mum,” he said. “And now when we switch to waterless, we’ve cut it down to two hours or less.”

13DRIVEMAGAZINE.CA

” - Ryan Knight

Scan the code above to see if gocleanwaterless actually works.

“With waterless car wash, you’d only be using about six ounces (of water).

theSTICKSHIFT

SAVING

Manual transmissions are arguably the kings of driving

fun and control. However, with automatic transmissions

stepping up their game, they’re becoming the heir to the throne

Nick TragianisDRIVE MAGAZINE

DECEMBER 201214

Glenn Donovan, a music teacher at Loretto College School in Toronto’s west end, distinctly recalls his first car – it was a chocolate brown 1971 Chevy

Impala good for 380 horsepower. He affectionately calls it the ‘Chevy

Monster’, although that monster had an automatic transmission. Today, Donovan tackles his commute from Richmond Hill in a dark blue, 2004 Mazda3 sedan – with a five-speed manual.

“Let me put it this way, there’s nothing more exciting than having that connection than to be able to drive a manual,” he says. “You feel like you’re in more control over the road that you’re on, rather than when you’re in an automatic.”

These days, drivers like Donovan are a rare breed. With decreasing popularity and advancements in technology and efficiency, manual transmissions are slowly losing edge over automatics.

Ben Mirecki, president of Carpages.ca, an online hub of used car listings and automotive news, says automatics are quickly catching up.

“I think automatics have definitely gotten a lot better in terms of fuel economy,” he said. “In in the past, they did drink more gas because of their need for power in operation.”

Norris McDonald, the editor for the Toronto Star’s Wheels section, went as far as calling the stickshift “dead”.

“When I say that the stickshift is dead, this is what I mean – most of the driving that is done in the world is in urban areas. As a result, it’s much easier to drive in that environment,” he said “An automatic is just so much easier to handle in that kind of stress. You’re creeping and crawling, you’re starting and stopping. It’s tolerable if you’re in an automatic.”

Mirecki says manuals account for roughly less than 10 per cent of vehicles listed on the website, and that automatics net better resale value.

“There’s probably a much bigger market for automatic transmissions. I would say go with the automatic if resale value is your primary concern,” he said. “You’re opening yourself up to a much bigger market than if you’re trying to sell a stickshift.

Many vehicles with automatic transmissions are available with a “tiptronic” mode, which gives drivers the option of manually shifting through gears.

While innovative, Mirecki believes they’re

not a substitute for the stickshift.“A lot of the (lower-end cars with tiptronic

transmissions) aren’t designed to be very responsive,” he said. “You shift from second to third, and it’s five seconds before the car does anything. When you’re talking about control, that’s useless.”

Control continues to be a key advantage for manual transmissions, especially in winter driving conditions.

Donovan says with a “good set of dedicated winter tires, the Mazda3 moves like a tank.”

“I found that in the winter, the fact that it is a manual gives you far more control over the drivetrain rather than an automatic,” he said. “A few years ago, we had a substantial snowfall. Almost everyone in the parking lot of my old school was stuck. I just meandered right on through in a low gear.”

One of the pitfalls of the stickshift is its behavior in gridlock, according to Donovan.

“The only thing I find a pain in Toronto is bumper-to-bumper traffic. You can literally spend an hour clutch-in, clutch-out. It drives me nuts.”

Heavy traffic also drives McDonald “nuts.” He has a variety of racing experience under his belt in the Formula 2000 series, as well as open-wheel racing.

One of his most memorable drives was in a 2011 Dodge Challenger, returning from Oshweken Speedway near Brantford, Ont. last July.

“I’m on the 403, and there’s these signs that say, ‘Construction ahead, seek alternate route,” he said. “(The signs) weren’t kidding. I’d have to periodically stop it, get out of the car, and jump around because I’d have a cramp in my left foot.”

Manuals still have one more trick up their sleeve – they’re still fun to drive, according to Donovan.

“One of the reasons I went back to manual after years of naught is because it was becoming boring and complacent in an automatic,” he said. “Seriously. I was daydreaming half of the time.”

McDonald couldn’t agree more, even with his preference for automatic transmissions for commuting.

“That has nothing to do when you’re in wide-open spaces or down in the Niagara Peninsula,” he said “You really enjoy the art of driving, the skill of driving, the rhythm of driving, and the whole sensory experience of controlling the car and the motor. That’s when a stickshift is a joy.”

15DRIVEMAGAZINE.CA

Although it has seen its fair share of small problems, Glenn Donovan loves his 2004 Mazda3 sedan. His favourite part of driving his car? The fact that the stickshift offers more control over an automatic transmission.


Steve Penny can still remember the time he helped a Vietnam-ese engineer regain his confidence behind the wheel.

The man had suffered through a tragic accident that killed several family members on the way back from the U.S. one Christmas.

“He was extremely traumatized,” Penny said. “He was so terrified of getting in the vehicle that we only approached the vehicle for the first two to four meetings… we didn’t even get in the car.”

Penny, 55, has been helping drivers get back onto the road for over 10 years. He has been a driving instructor with Young Drivers of Can-

ada for 23 years, and is a part of a program called the Driver Reintegra-tion program.

It took over 20 hour-long sessions, which spanned out across three to six months, to successfully reintegrate the engineer back onto the road. Like most of his rehabilitation clients, Penny taught him defensive driv-ing technique, which consists of space management, traffic, and how to spot problems.For the last few lessons, Penny followed the man on his way to work to make sure he was safe.

“We had little walkie-talkies in the car so he could communicate to me in case he panicked,” Penny said. “In the end, he was a success

on driver anxietyGetting a gripGetting back behind the wheel after an accident can be the toughest challenge of all

DECEMBER 201216

because he got back to work- he was successful in driving again.”Shirley Rolin, a driver rehabilitation therapist, knows about the chal-

lenges of getting back behind the wheel after an accident. Aside from having clients who have a loss of mobility due to a collision, she also has many clients who have had a heavy dose of driver anxiety.

“I had one lady that, when I went to see her, her arms were crossed and she said ‘There’s nothing you can do to get me into a vehicle. I will not go in a vehicle. I do not want to drive.’” Rolin said.

On day one, her client would only go into the vehicle if she was laying down in the backseat. After 20 hours worth of sessions, she went from not wanting to be in a vehicle at all to driving one confidently and independently.

“Through treatment, she ended up buying her own vehicle and pre-ferred being the driver rather than the passenger.” Rolin said.

Rolin has been an occupational therapist for 30 years and a certified driver rehab therapist for 15. Her driver desensitization program helps clients get back on the road -and their lives.

People suffering from driver anxiety, Rolin explains, fear that every time they get into a vehicle, that particular accident will happen again.

“You can get rear-ended once and never think about it again, but you can also get rear-ended and every time you’re in the vehicle, you are checking your rear-view mirror because you think you’re going to get rear-ended again,” she said.

The first step is to go through an assessment, which can conducted solely by a therapist such as Rolin, or can be coupled with a bio-feedback therapist. Kim Salmon, 43, has been certified biofeedback therapist at the Health Recovery Clinic’s Mississauga location for about six years. Her job is to evaluate the client’s physical response during assessment.

Salmon said she uses “surface electromyography” during assessment, small pads placed on the skin to measure results. She also looks at the client’s sweat response, using “two little electrodes that wrap around the finger to measure pore sizes”, as well as “peripheral temperature…and heart rate.”

After assessment, Rolin can begin in-car sessions with hand-picked instructors. Everything during the in-car sessions is tailored to fit the client’s needs to slowly and safely reintroduce them back onto the road.

“If you have a fear of speed, we’ll first of all talk about different ways of making yourself feel comfortable in the vehicle,” she said “Some-times people don’t want to go on the highway and sometimes people don’t want to go near trucks… We figure out what their issues are and we focus our treatment to adjust that.”

Then, the client is eased onto the road one step at a time.“We always start with residential (areas), then we work our way up

to four-lane traffic,” she said. “If the client would like, we go onto the highway… We set goals for ourselves so the client knows where they’re going.”

However, in every situation, Rolin stresses the client is never thrown into a surprise situation, and everything they will be doing is explained before they step into the vehicle.

“We’ll talk about it,” she said. “Maybe we’ll do it as a passenger first, so then when they actually do it, it’s not as anxiety-provoking because they know what’s going to happen.”

17DRIVEMAGAZINE.CA

Scan the code to the left to check out Drive Magazine’s drivery axiety video.

SLOWTRAFFIC KEEP

RIGHTPsychologists and

authorities say as the population rises and

people lose patience, road rage has

nowhere to go but up

There’s nothing that upsets Gary Ward more than a slow driver in the left lane. However, Ward isn’t a road rage instigator - he’s calm and collected behind the wheel - unless someone provokes him.

Nick TragianisDRIVE MAGAZINE

DECEMBER 201218

Gary Ward was cruising along Highway 401 near Pickering in the left lane – locks of hair flowing in the wind, blasting tunes from the speakers of his Mazda3, as he says

– when a tractor trailer pulled in front of him.There’s nothing that upsets him more than

someone who “pulls into the passing lane and just sits there with no regard for anybody.”

“I try to get around him, but by this time, there’s traffic,” he said. “The highway is full, but I was able to get around the truck driver. I slowed him down to about 5 miles per hour going up a hill, and you could hear him struggle.”

Going up a slight incline, the truck was so close to Ward’s car that all he could see in his rear-view mirror was the grille and headlights.

The IT technologist at a Centennial College campus has hit the road in anything and everything including a security van, a taxi, a tractor trailer, and his Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle.

He is one of the many drivers on GTA roads who are beginning to show an influx of road rage. Dr. Arunkumar Pillai, a psychologist who specializes in driving fear and anger management, says the number of drivers losing their cool on the road has nowhere to go but up.

“As the population increases, people become more impatient. They try to make use of their lost time in traffic,” he says. “People lose anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour out of their day. They try to cut off and sneak into any available space to make up their time.”

Const. Clint Stibbe, an officer with the Toronto police Traffic Services division, sees this first hand.

“Coupled with the impatience is the fact that our schedules are tight. If you’re already five minutes late, you’re never going to be on time,” he said. “No matter how fast you drive, you’re not going to make it there on time but people still drive aggressively in order to try.”

Stibbe says this sort of driving is a slippery slope. He says in the midst of road rage, it’s simple for a driver to look short-term, thanks to a “gotta get them” attidude.

“You’re driving aggressively – you’re im-patient – because you’ve got a deadline, and that multiplies,” he said. “You drive faster and faster, trying to turn back time, but it’s never going to happen.”

Stibbe recalls an incident involving two drivers while off-duty one day. A driver cut another off while changing lanes. The second driver pulled out of his lane, cut in front of

the offending vehicle, and slammed on the brakes. After watching this go back-and-forth between the two drivers, he called for backup and pulled the drivers over.

“When I spoke to both of them, one driver apologized. It took him five minutes to realize he did something wrong, but it got to a point where even he believed he’s gone beyond what is safe,” he said. “The other car contin-ued driving aggressively. When I stopped and spoke to him, he said he didn’t know what happened.”

After moving to Canada in 2007 from India, Pillai hasn’t dealt with instigators in his practice.

Pillai has, however, dealt with road rage victims.

“One of my patients was going to work early this morning. She was going 100 km/h on the highway and got cut off,” he said. “She didn’t see the other driver coming, and she got clipped on the front of her car and crashed.”

Pillai says the driver who cut his patient off was speeding, likely in a rush and going “more than 130 km/h on the highway.”

According to a poll commissioned by Kanetix, a Toronto-based insurance company, 83 per cent of men and 72 per cent of women admitted to being combative on the road. Stibbe says both sexes have tenancies to push the envelope.

“We see it from both men and women, but the response you get from men in general when they’re caught doing something wrong is far more aggravated than a woman,” he said. “I treat everybody the same way when I stop them. Some apologize, others get defensive. Not that it’s a type of road rage, but it shows the anger in the individual, and that usually transfers into their operation of a motor vehicle.”

Stibbe believes a driver’s tendency to lose their cool on the road stems from their demeanor.

“If they’re the type of person with a short fuse, which I’ve seen, you’re going to go nuts regardless,” he said. “It stems from their disposition in general, and is augmented by the vehicle. Now they have a voice to express themselves like using the horn or cutting people off.”

Ward says he’s usually a calm and collected driver and doesn’t instigate road rage. In fact, with passengers, he keeps his rage to himself. That said, if a driver ticks him off when he’s alone, “shit happens.”

“It’s not a problem, but once I pulled into a war surplus store. When I went in, they had this World War II Jeep there,” he said. “It still had the rocket launcher on it. If I had the mon-ey to buy that, I would. The problem would be getting ammunition.”

Dr. Arunkumar Pillai has practised psychology since 1997. Specializing in both driving fear and anger management, he says road rage stems from an increasing population density and a lack of patience.

19DRIVEMAGAZINE.CA

Seeing is believingBlind spot indicators are the latest in making roads safer

Photo courtesy of Nissan CanadaDECEMBER 201220

One safety feature that has made its way down from high-end brands to more affordable ones is blind-spot indicators.

These camera- or radar-based systems are installed on either the side mirror or the back of the vehicle. The radar or camera scans the driver’s right or left blind spot for movement on the road. If the driver indicates they are going to change lanes when a vehicle is detected in the blind spot, the car will flash a light on the appropriate side or make a noise.

Brian Spivak has been working in administration at Gyro Mazda in East York for about 20 years, but has been involved with Mazda since 1976.

He currently drives a 2011 Mazda6 and considers the blind-spot monitoring system installed in his vehicle “extremely helpful.”

“It’s one of those products that when I drive a car without it, I miss it,” he said.

Most Mazdas have this safety feature as an add-on, and is not integrated into their standard package. The system is offered with the 2013 Mazda6 GT-I4 luxury package, but is standard with their GT-V6, which starts at about $37,000.

However, Spivak said the 2014 Mazda6 coming out next spring will have blind-spot indicators as part of its basic package.

Nissan Canada launched their blind spot indicator system in 2011 as an add-on to their

vehicles. Their camera-based system is an option in their 2013 Altima, which starts at $28,400.

It’s a product Nissan Canada’s Tim Franklin says is a “rapidly growing popular feature”.

“We haven’t added it as standard equipment yet,” said Franklin, senior manager of product planning at Nissan and Infiniti Canada “[With] our Infiniti JX, which we just launched this year, so far we’ve tracked almost 50 per cent of our customers have chosen the model with the blind-spot warning.”

Both Spivak and Franklin believe the safety feature will become more and more common and will soon be installed in all vehicles.

“Twenty years ago we didn’t have to have right-hand mirrors. Twenty-five years ago we didn’t have to have seatbelts, and 15 years ago we didn’t have to have airbags,” Spivak said. “I think it’s one of those things that as technology advances, and it becomes less expensive (like any product)… it will be most likely become standard equipment.”

“We are working harder and harder on making it more affordable as technology ages,” Franklin said. “This technology will be no different than CD players. At one point,it was $700 for a CD player in a car and now you basically can’t buy a car without one.”

The 2013 Altima has a camera mounted on the rear of the car. When the driver changes lanes and the system detects a vehicle, an indicator light blinks on the side the vehicle is detected and a chime sounds twice.

Blind-spot indicators are not yet a mandatory safety feature in Canada.

However, Transport Canada spokesperson Maryse Durette recalls when electronic stability control (ESC) was first introduced by manufacturers several years ago.

ESC became increasingly popular and Transport Canada made it mandatory in all vehicles in 2011 because it was deemed “useful and a good safety feature in vehicles.”

“ESC is an example where a manufacturer brought a technology forward [and] it was really helpful on the road and more and more manufacturers added that technology,” Durette said. “Blind-spot indicators, at this point, have not yet reached the wider range vehicles being manufactured in Canada.”

Nevertheless, Franklin suspects “acceptance will continue to go up” and Nissan will still offer it as an optional package for its vehicles.

“It’s a very nice feature,…I’ve got it on my minivan and we’ve come to really rely on it and enjoy having the feature,” Franklin said. “I do believe it will continue to grow and grow in popularity. Whether it will be standard equipment at one point, we’ll see.”

21DRIVEMAGAZINE.CA


“”

This technology will be no different than CD players. At one point, it was $700 for a CD player in a car, and now you basically can’t buy a car without one.

- Tim Franklin

The 2013 Nissan Altima has a camera-based blind-spot indicator system. Scan the code to the left to check out how it works.

TORONTO’SELITE

Each year, Bloor Sreet is closed off from Bay Street to Avenue Road for the annual

Yorkville Exotic Car Show. Nearly 160 cars line the streets

on Father’s Day, in support of Prostate Cancer Canada.

This year’s show took place on June 19, 2012. The cars

were aplenty - anything from Porsches, to Ferraris,

to classic Corvettes, and everything in between.

DECEMBER 201222

EVE

NT

SNORTH AMERICANInternational Autoshow

Marking its 25th year, the largest autoshow in North America will open its doors to the public from Jan. 19 to Jan. 27.

WHERE: DETROIT, MICH.

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR: The all-new, highly-anticipated, 2014 Chevrolet Corvette.

MONTREALSalon D’Auto

Showing off cars in its 45th year, you can check out the Montreal show from Jan. 18 to Jan. 27.

WHERE: MONTREAL, QUE.

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR: We don’t know yet. Check back frequently on their website, www.montrealautoshow.com, for the latest.

CANADIANInternational Autoshow

This year’s theme is the Legacy, commem-orating its 40 years of automotive history. Doors are open from Feb. 15 to Feb. 24.

WHERE: TORONTO, ONT.

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR: The Auto Exotica exhibit, where cars like Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Lamborghini gleam in the spotlights. There’s also the Eco Drive showcase, presenting the latest and greatest in fuel economy and efficiency.

23DRIVEMAGAZINE.CA

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check out our website, or go to drivemagazine.ca.

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