Highlights From The Canadian International Auto Show Media Day
Yesterday I got the chance to participate in Media Day for the Canadian International Auto Show. This is a unique event where you get to see awards being given out and product launches that the general public doesn’t get to see. I live Tweeted the entire event using a ZTE Axon smartphone which I reviewed last year and won my IT Nerd Best Smartphone Of 2015 because it did so much at a low price. It was a very grueling day that started with breakfast at 7:30 AM. Then moved on to the awards for AJAC’s best car and utility vehicle of the year:
No surprise here that Honda’s 10th generation Civic won this award. They sell a ton of them in Canada and I expect that to continue with this new iteration of the Civic.
Now it was off to the press conferences. To give you an idea of what happens at one of these press days. You’re marched from press conference to press conference with each one lasting about 15 minutes. By the end of the day, you’re exhausted as there’s very little time to catch your breath before moving on to the next press conference. But you do get lunch served to you:
If the RS series cars from Audi aren’t enough for you, now they’ve brought the “Performance” series to Canada. The RS7 Performance brings race track level performance to a car that seats five. But if you just want an out and out race car that’s street legal, there’s the new R8.
The new QX30 from Infiniti is another entrant into the growing luxury compact crossover space. I have to admit it is eye catching and I think they’ll sell a ton of them if sales of the QX50 are anything to go by.
GMC wants you to see how well their products are built. That’s why this display caught my eye. You can actually walk underneath this pickup truck so you can see what goes into one. It’s a compelling display.
Many people think the minivan is dead Fiat Chrysler think otherwise as they launched the new Pacifica which is made in Windsor Ontario. To add to that, they’ll also have a plug in hybrid version which is a worlds first.
Mazda is going shake things up with the new CX-9. It’s a seven passenger SUV that is powered by a 2.3L Turbocharged 4 cylinder engine that puts out over 300 pound feet of torque. Yet it uses 87 octane gas. That’s a bit of a game changer.
Another crossover that will shake things up will be the XT5 from Cadillac. At a $45K starting price, it’s at a price point that will get people who normally would not look at Caddy into showrooms.
Toyota showed off the U Squared concept. I have to admit that the first thing that I thought of was that it looked kind of like the Honda Element.
If you want to experience a press conference from start to finish, here’s a video that I shot in 4K that covers the launch of the Chevy Cruze Hatchback and Bolt EV:
I’ve really only scratched the surface of what’s on offer at the Canadian International Auto Show this year. I suggest that if you’re in the Toronto area, pay a visit and see what’s new and exciting in the automotive world.
This entry was posted on February 12, 2016 at 8:52 am and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Highlights From The Canadian International Auto Show Media Day
Yesterday I got the chance to participate in Media Day for the Canadian International Auto Show. This is a unique event where you get to see awards being given out and product launches that the general public doesn’t get to see. I live Tweeted the entire event using a ZTE Axon smartphone which I reviewed last year and won my IT Nerd Best Smartphone Of 2015 because it did so much at a low price. It was a very grueling day that started with breakfast at 7:30 AM. Then moved on to the awards for AJAC’s best car and utility vehicle of the year:
The Mazda CX-3 is a worthy winner as I found it a very practical yet fun to drive crossover that sipped gas. You can check out my review of it here.
No surprise here that Honda’s 10th generation Civic won this award. They sell a ton of them in Canada and I expect that to continue with this new iteration of the Civic.
Now it was off to the press conferences. To give you an idea of what happens at one of these press days. You’re marched from press conference to press conference with each one lasting about 15 minutes. By the end of the day, you’re exhausted as there’s very little time to catch your breath before moving on to the next press conference. But you do get lunch served to you:
In terms of things that caught my eye, here’s a small sample of vehicles that caught my attention:
If the RS series cars from Audi aren’t enough for you, now they’ve brought the “Performance” series to Canada. The RS7 Performance brings race track level performance to a car that seats five. But if you just want an out and out race car that’s street legal, there’s the new R8.
The new QX30 from Infiniti is another entrant into the growing luxury compact crossover space. I have to admit it is eye catching and I think they’ll sell a ton of them if sales of the QX50 are anything to go by.
GMC wants you to see how well their products are built. That’s why this display caught my eye. You can actually walk underneath this pickup truck so you can see what goes into one. It’s a compelling display.
Acura had the drool worthy NSX on display. You’ll be able to get one this year if your pockets are deep enough.
Many people think the minivan is dead Fiat Chrysler think otherwise as they launched the new Pacifica which is made in Windsor Ontario. To add to that, they’ll also have a plug in hybrid version which is a worlds first.
Mazda is going shake things up with the new CX-9. It’s a seven passenger SUV that is powered by a 2.3L Turbocharged 4 cylinder engine that puts out over 300 pound feet of torque. Yet it uses 87 octane gas. That’s a bit of a game changer.
VW announced the Beetle Dune which will be in showrooms later this year. I must admit that it looks kind of cool.
Hyundai is going to go very upmarket with a sub brand called Genesis. Their first vehicle from that sub brand is the G90 and it really looks good.
This was in the Honda Canada booth. Not sure what it was. But it looked cool.
Subaru took the wraps off the Impreza Sedan Concept. Which will likely be the next generation Impreza in the next year or two.
Jaguar rolled out their new F-Pace Crossover. Take it from me, it’s going to shake things up when it starts appearing in showrooms.
Another crossover that will shake things up will be the XT5 from Cadillac. At a $45K starting price, it’s at a price point that will get people who normally would not look at Caddy into showrooms.
Toyota showed off the U Squared concept. I have to admit that the first thing that I thought of was that it looked kind of like the Honda Element.
If you want to experience a press conference from start to finish, here’s a video that I shot in 4K that covers the launch of the Chevy Cruze Hatchback and Bolt EV:
I’ve really only scratched the surface of what’s on offer at the Canadian International Auto Show this year. I suggest that if you’re in the Toronto area, pay a visit and see what’s new and exciting in the automotive world.
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This entry was posted on February 12, 2016 at 8:52 am and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.