Jim Kenzie's The Driver's Seat

Good Luck or Good Management? A Near-Hit in any event...

Near-Hit?

Which of course is to say, I did miss...

The driver of the blue BMW X1 - didn't catch the gender - seemed to think that just because the left and centre southbound lanes of Yonge Street just north of Finch yesterday afternoon were clogged, that the right-hand lane wouldn't have anyone in it.

Not sure how one would come to that conclusion; presumably (s)he also didn't realize that this is the Jim-only lane.

In any event, (s)he decided just to roar on through with a left turn, directly in front of me.

I wasn't going that fast - you always have to assume other drivers are idiots.

This one didn't disappoint.

I didn't even have time to lay on the horn. Just nailed the brakes as hard as I could, and tried to steer to the right to avoid the collision.

The Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS) on the brand-new new Hyundai Santa Fe XL I had just picked up went into action, pulsing as quickly as possible to maintain optimum stopping distance, and to allow a degree of steering - ABS is as much, possibly more, a steering system as a braking system.

The BMW driver eventually saw me, and did stop. But the Hyundai was still heading right for its nose, tires chirping as the brakes pulsed.

Just before we hit, I let off on the brakes. This allowed the front wheels to bite a bit more than the ABS was allowing, and the Hyundai just managed to dodge around the Bimmer.

If either car had had one more coat of paint, the near-hit (i.e., a miss) would have become a near-miss (i.e., a hit).

This 'lock/steer/release' technique is something we used to teach in the old Labatt's Road Scholarship program, which predated universal adoption of ABS. We know that locked brakes are usually the quickest way to stop, given few people can apply the theoretically-perfect 'threshold' braking accurately enough in an emergency.

But we also know that if the tires are locked, they can't steer.

So if a crash looks imminent, 'lock/steer/release' says to lock 'em up to slow the car down as much as possible, apply some steering lock anyway even if it doesn't help while the tires are sliding, then when the collision seems unavoidable, release the brakes.

With luck, the tires will regain cornering traction, and you'll avoid the crash.

Just like it did for me this time.

It takes some practice, which you should do on a snowy parking lot when winter returns (assuming it ever leaves...).

Even with ABS, as in this case, this technique has saved me a couple of times. It's a worthwile trick to have in your kit bag in case of emergency.

I bet the driver of that blue BMW has no idea how close it was...

Tell It to the Judge

Here's one way to try and get out of a parking ticket:

Run down the No Parking sign, then try to say you didn't see it.

Good luck with that one...

Rest in Peace, Peter Wright

Predictably, there was a huge turn-out for the Celebration of Life Friday at Mount Albert Lions Club Hall for Peter Wright.

"Much love, much laughter," is how his wife Lorie put it, as person after person got up to recount stories of their association with this man.

'That's how Peter would have wanted it."

Most of them - of us - were motorsport connections, since cars were his passion.

But some of his friends knew little about his love affair with cars and competition. They knew him from sailing, from fishing, or from riding dirt bikes.

No matter; the stories all ended the same, about his smile, his laugh, his positivity.

A video loop showed Peter running his beloved Datsun 240Z in a slalom at Picton Kartway. He executed every corner flawlessly, taking the car to within millimetres of the apex every lap, with nary a bobble at the wheel.

"Smoothness," said Mike Acerra, one of his erstwhile competitors. "That's what he was all about."

That's also what made him such a great driving instructor. "Smooth comes first, then fast" was his teaching mantra.

The shot to the left shows the Datsun with his orange 'Contact Patch' van in the background; 'Contact Patch' was the name of his tire service company which supported motorsport events around the province.

As the Celebration drew to a close, three things came to mind, and/or were mentioned by the speakers, things we should all remember at times like these. 

First, somebody should remember to tape these Celebrations. Repeat viewings can provide great comfort to those left behind.

Second, don't let friends and family grieve alone. Stay in touch, call them, invite them for dinner. Don't let the Celebration end today.

Third, as noted above, there was lots of love expressed for lots of people in that room today. If there is someone you love or admire, for whatever reason, don't wait until it's too late to tell them to their face.

Tell them today.

 

Hope You Were a "Snowcrastinator"...

Woke up at Kenzie World Headquarters this morning to another 20 mm of global warming on my deck.

Or what was left of my deck after the ice storm last Friday caused a dead tree to fall on it and crush it.

Aren't we all glad we are "snowcrastinators" who never got around to taking our winter tires off?

My Mother-in-Law says you can never trust the weather until the 24th of May.

She sure looks right this year...

 

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Arewn;'y we all glad what

Are We Finally Learning How to Park?

Is there hope for Toronto parkers?

That's me in the middle in the burgundy Lincoln MKZ, having almost got the Ryan Gosling parking spot - the one right in front of wherever it is you want to be, which Ryan Gosling (pick your own movie star...) always gets in the movies.

I say 'almost' because it was only one spot removed from being as close to the FourBucks I was heading for as I could have got - without taking a Handicapped spot, of course.

I was sitting there, waiting for 'Southern Cross' (my favourite Crosby Stills and Nash tune) to finish playing on the stereo.

The spots on either side of me came free almost at the same instant.

Seconds later, the Ford pick-up backed in beside me on my right - not easy with a big vehicle like that; the guy didn't even ding my door as he squeezed himself out of his truck.

Then a silver Saturn coupe pulled in frontwards on my left, but drove through to the next row of spots - the always-best, devoutly-to-be-wished-for 'pull-through' spot. You can just barely see the roof of her car directly above the Lincoln in this pic.

Finally, the guy driving the Subaru backed into the spot on my left.

So, a pull-through and three backed-in cars, all within the too-short span of 'Southern Cross'!

Is there hope people are finally learning how to park in this town?

(It would be presumptuous of me - perish the thought - to think they might have been following my good example...)

And, 90 percent of the other cars in this lot were still parked wrong - driven in frontwards.

But I am not above grasping at straws...

Peter Wright Takes his Final Chequered Flag

Peter Wright, one of the truly nice guys in the world of Canadian motorsport, passed away last Sunday from cancer. He was 66 years old. He is survived by his wife Lorie.

Peter was first exposed to motorsport when he navigated in rallies with his father in a Mini when Peter wasn't even old enough to drive.

He parlayed that interest and considerable talent into the Canadian National Road Racing GT1 Class Championship in his Datsun 240Z coupe in 1979.

He continued to compete at many levels, winning dozens of Solo/AutoSlalom competitions and Ice Racing championships.

He also founded Contact Patch, a mobile tire service company which supported events ranging from media and corporate tire testing for companies like Bridgestone and Yokohama, to private clients who wanted to try out their high-performance cars at race tracks and who wanted no worries about their tires standing up to the challenge.

His friend of 40 years standing, Jud Buchanan, invited him to try his hand at navigating again in the Ontario Winter Rally, with the promise that if he didn't enjoy it, Peter would pay for half the cost and it would never be mentioned again.

That led to him navigating for Buchanan in four Targa Newfoundland rallies in Buchanan's Acadian Canso coupe, which resulted in the team earning the coveted 'Gold Plate' for completing three consecutive Targas while meeting or exceeding the 'bogey' times for every stage in the week-long event.

When Porsche Canada initiated its Advanced Driving Program in 1986 - for some years, every purchaser of a new Porsche received a driver training program to make sure (s)he knew how to best handle their new car - Peter was signed on as one of the instructors. It was there that he discovered his true calling.

"He just loved to help people learn how to drive!'' said Buchanan. "He'd be the most cheerful guy every morning, and couldn't wait to get out on the track to impart his knowledge to others."

Peter was also the track manager for the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada Test Fest for 21 years, first at Shannonville Motorsport Park near Belleville, subsequently at the Niagara Regional Airport. Wind, rain, shine, even snow, he would be out there making sure every car was allowed onto the high-speed test track in a safe manner.

His ever-present grin and equally-ever-present pipe will not be forgotten.

Billy Joel sang, "Only the Good Die Young.''

He sure got that right.

***

A Celebration of Peter's life will be held at:

Mount Albert Lions Club (Main Hall)

5057 Mount Albert Road

Mount Albert Ontario

L0G 1M0

Friday, April 26, 2013, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Friends are invited to share their personal remembrances and tributes starting at 2:00 p.m.

 

OPP on the Lookout for Distracted Drivers

The Ontario Provincial Police are mounting one of their periodic blitzes on distracted drivers this week.

Already, I've seen more than the usual number of black-and-whites with 'customers' pulled off to the shoulder; whether they're just the Usual Suspect speeders or they've been caught applying make-up, shaving, texting, sorting vacation photographs AND eating their breakfast, I couldn't say.

Interesting tidbit came out of Manitoba recently though. It indicated that crashes due to DWT - Driving While Texting - actually INCREASED after the texting ban was imposed in that province, because drivers were 'lap-texting' rather than 'front-of-face' texting, trying to avoid detection.

This of course means that not only were their brains otherwise engaged, but their line of sight was compromised too.

Obviously, trying to work even a so-called 'smart' phone while driving is a dumb idea.

And as we all know by now, hand-held or hands-free makes no difference.

But I wonder if anyone's got any stats on how many crashes are due to drivers being distracted trying to figure out how to use the exact same touch-screen technology that comes in altogether too many new cars' dashboards?

It makes no more sense there...

 

Jaguar F-Type Driven!

Yes, I have driven the new Jaguar F-Type sports car, the first real two-seater Jag sports car since the E-Type, launched in 1961.

Fifty-two years is a long time. Has Jaguar managed to catch up?

I am not allowed to tell you what it's like to drive until next Wednesday.

But from the already-released details - supercharged V6 engines of 340 or 380 horsepower, supercharged V8 with 495 horsepower, and weight starting at 1,597 kg - I'm sure you can guess.

Prices start at $76,900.

The cars start arriving this summer. Start saving now.

Listen to, but do not necessarily be in a, RUSH

Gary Lee Weinrib and Aleksandar Živojinović (better known as Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush) are both big car fans.

No no, big fans of cars, not necessarily fans of big cars...

Not sure about Neil Peart - I think he's more into motorcycles.

I actually met Alex once, and he reads Wheels faithfully - or at least did at the time.

And Geddy has owned a variety of interesting cars over the years - at one point, a rare Renault Alpine Gordini.

Which has always made me wonder - how come in the Rush song 'Red Barchetta', Geddy pronounces 'barchetta' incorrectly?

'Barchetta' means 'little boat' in Italian; the word has often been used to describe smallish two-seat open Italian sports cars like the one he's singing about here.

Again in Italian, 'ch' is pronounced as a 'hard C', as in 'chianti' - 'kee-AUNT-ee'.

So, 'barchetta' is 'bar-KETT-a', not 'bar-CHET-a'.

I would have guessed a car fan like Geddy would have known this. If not him, then Alex, Neil (who is such a stickler for detail), the producer, a roadie - SOMEBODY - would have caught this.

Cool song though. Probably not ex-OPP boss Julian Fantino's favourite song though, because it is essentially about street racing...

BTW, I assume the 'alloy air car' in that song is a silver Porsche.

And that of course is pronounced 'POR-sha'.

BTW (2), Geddy did a great job throwing out the first pitch at the Jays' opening game last week (in addition to cars and wine, Geddy is a huge fan of baseball). Given how R. A. Dickey did later that evening (and again Sunday afternoon) maybe Geddy should have stayed on the mound...

Mimi and Lady Leadfoot go Topless

Does this mean winter is finally over?

We actually drove Mimi - Lady Leadfoot's Mazda Miata - top-down for the first time this year today.

Heater on, and one window down - for some reason, that seems to generate less turbulence than both windows either up or down - and aside from the hair getting quite a work-out, it was very pleasant.

We don't drive her in winter unless there's an emergency. We keep her outside, under a cover, with a trickle charger on the battery. She never fails to fire right up.

If there were some sort of award for the car that best discharges its responsibilities, best fulfils its brief, does exactly what it is supposed to do - do you understand what I'm driving at here? - then the Mazda Miata would surely win in a walk.

More accurately, it would win in a lovely drive through the countryside.

In a nutshell, it was supposed to be a two-seat British sports car that didn't break and didn't leak oil all over your driveway.

That was pretty much what Mark Jordan, a designer for Mazda North America, and Bob Hall, previously and subsequently a car journalist but then a product planner for Mazda, had in mind when they conceived the car on a cocktail napkin in a bar in Irvine California back in the 1980s; in profile, the original Miata looked more like the 1964 Lotus Elan than the Lotus Elan did.

Despite considerable upgrading and improving over the intervening decades, that's pretty much what the Miata still is today.

I.e., damn-near perfect.

Oh yeah, the company can try to call it 'MX-5' if they want, because the marketing people say that's how it is marketed in other countries.

Marketing people can be such idiots; like anybody over here gives a damn what they do over there.

It was originally sold in Japan as the 'Eunos Roadster'. Does that mean we should have called it 'Eunos Roadster' too?

Um, I don't think so.

The Miata Owners Club is still (I think...) the largest one-marque car club in the world, testimony to the affection people have for this car. Lady Leadfoot and I aren't 'joiners' per se, but might be talked into going on some of their cruises this summer.

We understand that the next-gen Miata will be a joint venture with Fiat through its Alfa Romeo brand. That company has no shortage of sports car heritage, although dead-nuts reliability like Miata enjoys has never even been hinted at chez Alfa.

Can the joint venture pull off a car that's as spectacular as Mazda was able to do on its own with Miata?

I hope so.

But I must say, I have grave doubts.