Minivan renaissance?

OK, so it's not a trend ... but one noteworthy mention at this year's Canadian International AutoShow is the debut of a minivan. That's right, it's not a crossover, wagon or small SUV, it's a minivan, and it's new.

In addition to announcing price reductions on several of its models, Volkswagen made the Canadian debut of its new minivan: the Routan (pictured). And, as of Thursday night's opening gala event, it's getting a good deal of attention.

Patrick Saint-Pierre, of VW public relations, says Volkswagen decided to go back to the minivan market at the request of its dealers after the end of the line for the EuroVan.

"Many American brands have left the minivan market, but import presence keeps rising, as does their share of the market," says Saint-Pierre. "So we thought this was the perfect opportunity to seize."

With the demise of minivans from General Motors and Ford, and the popularity of CUVs, does the Routan have a chance?

“I’ll take 0-per cent financing for 200, Alex…”

I’ll give you this: if you’re coming down to the ‘Dome to make a decision on your next new car, figuring out the financing isn’t as easy as watching Mr. Trebek on Jeopardy. What you will find is the Canadian auto industry still evolving when it comes to dealing with our Loonie that is stubbornly staying on par with the U.S. dollar.

Last year, we saw unheard of low financing and cash incentives. But every manufacturer was waiting to see which one of the big players would blink and actually drop MSRPs. Well it’s finally happened.

Toyota Canada recently announced price reductions from $750 on the Toyota Yaris to $8,100 on the Lexus GX series.

So when you’re trolling the show floor comparison pricing, go ahead and ask any sales folks, “So, when will you be dropping your prices—just like Toyota?”

Import or domestic?

Whether you're a fan of domestics or imports, 2008 is shaping up to be an amazing year if you like performance cars.

On the domestic side, we're seeing the launch of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, a 620-hp supercharged dynamo that will be introduced later this summer. Dodge has unveiled the production version of its Brampton-built Challenger - and it's packing a 425-hp, 6.1-litre Hemi V8 with attendant exhaust rumble. Ford's officially on the fence about whether the Shelby GT500KR Mustang will be available in Canada, but I know of at least one dealer that's already taking orders.

The imports have an equally exciting story to tell. The big headliner this year is Nissan's 485-hp GT-R, a Godzilla of a car that should make life for Porsche's 911 Turbo very interesting indeed. But there's also the latest iteration of BMW's awesome M3 (this time with 414 hp of V8 power); Audi's car-of-the-year R8 and turbocharged TTS; Porsche's Cayenne GTS, Mercedes' McLaren SLR Roadster and other toys.

They're all here at the autoshow, waiting for you to drool all over them.

I'd like to thank my mom, eh?

Limited to the invited press on hand, the AJAC Annual Awards—the Academy Awards of the Canadian auto industry—traditionally kicks off the media days here at the Toronto show. Without the aid of any Hollywood script writers, here's a sample of this year's reception speeches:

Uptown Cars Downtown

While there may be only a few on the actual road here in Canada, swing by the Ferrari, Maserati and Bentley, and Rolls Royce booths. Six figures buys a lot of car - heck, for 800 bucks you can buy a Maserati little toy car. I don't know if they'll let you get close enough for a sniff test, but if you can, ask if you can smell the leather in the Maserati. I swear it must be from the cows they get the Kobe beef from - it even smells more expensive. I must admit, all I could imagine was a Happy Meal spilled all over it. Can you say 'not their target buyer?'

I gave the NASCAR demonstrator thing a try - I decided it was driving itself as it careened wildly into walls. When a crowd gathered, I declared it must be malfunctioning and ran away.

Wear comfy shoes, drink lots of water and plan to spend the day. Bring a little extra cash, there are some nice booths if you like the logo'd stuff of your favourite brand.

Nemo Electric Truck

One vehicle you won't see in any Canadian International Auto Show publicity - or even in Wheels' special Auto Show section - is the Nemo.

This "electric urban truck" was invited to appear at the show the night before the press day, when a show floor space unexpectedly opened up. I don't know how the heck they got it here from Montreal in last night's snow storm, but here it is, on the 700 level of the South Building, just outside the Media Room.

Nemo was engineered and is being built in Ste-Therese, north of Montreal, right across the street from the shopping mall that used to be the site of the GM Camaro factory. Production begins later this year.

Given the range drawbacks of electric vehicles - the main problem of which has always been getting a long enough extension cord - Nemo has been designed for what the company calls "proximity work and transportation". A.k.a., theme parks, private factories, other non-public road applications. Plug it in overnight, and it's ready to go the next morning.

The single platform can be configured a million different ways - the one at the show has a small dump truck body, but it can be set up as a people mover, a flat bed, probably anything you could think of.

For example, Nemo company president Ken Johnson says ambulance operators tell him that about ten percent of all calls could be handled with something this small. Indeed, in something like a sports stadium or a gated community, a Nemo ambulance could get to places a full-size ambulance just couldn't reach.

A Nemo mini-fire truck? Why not?

The unit at the auto show is even painted orange - just like the cartoon fish.

www.nev-nemo.com for more information.
 

Where are the hybrids?

Detroit was a love fest for eco-friendly hybrids, and fuel cells and electric vehicles, but at this year's Toronto auto show the traditional combustion engine still rules.
Though there are a few hybrid standouts. BMW Canada today unveiled its X6 Concept ActiveHybrid. The two-mode hybrid crossover is slated to go on sale next year.
General Motors presented its Chevy Silverado Hybrid as well as the Tahoe Hybrid. The fuel-size SUV is expected to achieve mileage numbers on par with a mid-size sedan.
Finally, we're starting to see hybrids in big vehicles, a step in the right direction!

Hot Hot Wheels

Okay. This is fun. I just came from a Hot Wheels booth. I thought I had seen, bought or plucked out of the bottom of my foot every Hot Wheels in existence. I am wrong. I have just seen the coolest collection, ever. Set free any fan in this booth - and yeah, I know there are some of you that collect them just to look t them - but in our home, they've always been toys. More than 3 billion have been produced since 1968, and while they aren't all here, there are more than I've ever seen.

Go down a level to see a cool display of cop cars from '57 (I think) to a present day Bug. Hang around long enough and there's even some actual cops to talk to, too.

Right as you walk in, Volkswagon has a great display of rabbits - and long cages full of shavings promise critters come Show Day. With this show running this Friday until closing next Sunday (24th), they may want to separate the little beasts each night.

Mustangs everywhere

While much of your attention at the Ford stand may be diverted by the headline-grabbing 540-hp Mustang Shelby GT500KR (for "king of the road"), it was actually a couple of the less-extreme, less-expensive Mustang variants that really caught my interest. The 2008 Bullitt Mustang recreates the movie star car with a rorty exhaust, a clean exterior and a nicely upgraded cabin; it'd look great screeching around the streets of San Francisco. The second variation I liked a lot was the glass-roofed Mustang, which gives much of the feel of driving outside without ruffled hair - and without that awkward convertible roofline.

What's New?

The nicest thing about the Toronto Auto show?

It's a total car show. I know guys that don't think anything good was produced after 1965 (which bodes well for my older chassis) and for them, there is a spectacular display of classic  cars.  It's nice to see a history throughout the show, and it's also a great draw for the kids.

Interesting display for motorcycle fans, another thing missing from other shows. Speedracer is back, Porsche is here...I'm off to continue my trek.