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Many young people today are exploring career options and wondering what profession will best suit their skills and ambitions. A career choice is a big decision to make, and it can take months or even years of schooling, research, and thoughtful deliberation.

Whether it’s banking, computers, science, mining, engineering or the trades, most industries are desperate to fill their thinning ranks with ambitious young men and women with drive, enthusiasm, and entrepreneurial spirit.

The retail auto industry is no exception.

Unfortunately, the public often has an outdated image of the car business, believing that it consists mainly of salespeople and service technicians. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Today, new car dealerships employ 184,000 men and women across Canada, from all backgrounds and nationalities. They work in a diversity of professions in administration, accounting, fixed operations, new and pre-owned sales, human resources, digital marketing and business development.

Many professions in automotive are highly specialized and require post-secondary schooling and technical training. The advent of electric vehicles, self-driving tech, artificial intelligence and telematics underscores the urgent need for skilled workers in our rapidly changing industry.

With all of the new technologies and developments occurring in automotive, I am more excited about our industry today than ever before. I’m also excited to see young people entering the dealership world and achieving success in careers they never imagined.

Of course, one of the many important considerations in choosing a career is financial compensation. Another outdated stereotype of the car industry is that it doesn’t pay very well. Again, nothing could be further from the truth.

The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) recently released a report that compared wages between employees at dealerships and employees in other industries. The report confirmed that employees at dealerships across Canada earned on average more money per week than workers in other industries.

According to StatsCan, in 2021, the average weekly earnings for Canadian workers was $1,131 while the weekly earnings (with overtime) at all dealerships was on average higher.

A few other findings from the CADA Study are worth noting: the medium age of all dealership employees is 38.8 years, 43 per cent of all finance and insurance managers are women, and 31 per cent of all service advisors are women.

Clearly, the CADA report provides clear evidence that the retail car industry pays attractive wages, that it’s a relatively youthful industry, and that it’s made significant progress in achieving gender parity.

If you are a parent or caregiver of a student, a student attending high school, or someone looking to change careers, I urge you to explore the retail automotive industry.

Our industry is brimming with career opportunities (and unlimited opportunities for advancement), and it has immediate openings for men and women with a wide range of skill sets.

For all things automotive, be sure to check out the 50th Anniversary of the Canadian International AutoShow, which takes place Feb. 17 to 26, 2023, to see the latest electric vehicles and specialty cars on display and learn about the latest trends driving our industry. AutoShow tickets go on sale Nov. 15 at autoshow.ca.

John Stewart is president of the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association and is president of J.J. Stewart Motors in Norwood, Ontario. This column represents the views and values of the TADA. Write to president@tada.ca or go to tada.ca. For information about automotive trends and careers, visit carsandjobs.com.

Retail auto industry offers rewarding career paths

USA-Drag-Racing Rivalry over 40 years. Don"Snake" Prudhomme and Tom"Mongoose" McEwen

Don (The Snake) Prudhomme

For many people, nicknames hold little significance other than to point out a humorous attribute or physical trait. Sometimes, though, they have real meaning and tell a story.

Don Prudhomme was called The Snake because of his cobra-quick reflexes, but it was his will to win that proved to be the biggest factor in his remarkable career in drag racing. He simply hated to be second.

“I raced for the sheer thrill of driving and winning,” he once told a reporter. “I certainly didn’t get into drag racing for money because it just wasn’t there at the time … just trophies. That didn’t do much for me, but the winning certainly did.”

When the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) named him the league’s third greatest driver as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, he only half-jokingly asked for a recount. “A drag racer is never happy if he’s not No. 1,” Prudhomme said at the time. “I’m not happy with it.”

Happy or not, The Snake had a remarkable 40-year run in drag racing, ending in 1994, and everyone has recognized his success and longevity as a driver and team owner. It normally takes a lifetime for someone to gain legendary status in their chosen field. The Snake had achieved fame and notoriety while barely out of his teens.

He grew up in the San Fernando Valley, just north of Los Angeles, Calif., where it was cool to have the hottest set of wheels in town. On Saturday night, a bunch of the boys would gather on some straight stretch of blacktop to see who was king of the streets. Then they would spend the next six days working on their cars after school to try again the following weekend.

“The image of drag racing was grease and leather jackets and a package of Pall Malls rolled up in the sleeve of your T-shirt,” Prudhomme once told the “Indianapolis Star.”

After testing his fangs racing between orange groves, The Snake was ready to strike. In 1960, he quit his job at a paint shop to work for “TV” Tommy Ivo, who was an established drag racer and the sport’s first touring professional.

In 1962, he served notice that there was a new kid in town. Prudhomme bought his first dragster from Ivo, replaced its Buick engine with a supercharged 392-cubic-inch Chrysler V-8, and took on a field of 90 entries at the prestigious Smokers March Meet in Bakersfield, Calif.

He won. He was just 20 years old, three years younger than legendary drag-racing great Don Garlits was when he won the same competition.

Prudhomme would best Garlits again a few years later, becoming the first drag racer to sweep the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., and the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Ind. These were the only two national events at the time.

Following the Bakersfield meet, Prudhomme was asked to drive what would become the famed Greer, Black and Prudhomme Top Fuel dragster in the highest class in drag racing. The car was so dominant, recording a 230-7 win-loss record between 1963 and 1964, that it usually only made headlines when it was actually defeated.

The dragster consistently ran the quarter mile, the yardstick in drag racing, in the high-seven-second range, and at more than 190 miles per hour. It became the stepping-stone to his renowned ride with team owner Roland Leong and his Hawaiian Punch Top Fuel dragster, which The Snake drove to sweep the NHRA’s national events in 1965.

By the time he retired from driving at the end of the 1994 season, The Snake had racked up 49 NHRA victories in the Top Fuel dragster and Funny Car closed-body divisions. He also became the first driver to record four straight NHRA Winston Funny Car championships.

While no drag racer has gone undefeated during an NHRA season, Prudhomme came closest in the mid-1970s when he won six of eight national events in 1975 and seven of eight in 1976, driving his nearly unstoppable Army Monza Funny Cars. Overall, The Snake won 389 of 589 races for a winning percentage of 66.

When he ended his remarkable career, Prudhomme did so in a cloud of vaporized rubber, winning three NHRA races and finishing second in the points. “I don’t think anything will replace the thrill of racing,” Prudhomme said, following his last race. – Otto Stein, Wheelbase Media

[caption id="attachment_172463" align="aligncenter" width="2048"]<img class="size-full wp-image-172463" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/wh-DragRacing-Parks-Oct22-scaled.jpg" alt="Wally Parks" width="2048" height="2560" /> DAYTONA BEACH, FL — February 1957: Wally Parks, founder of the National Hot Rod Association and Hot Rod Magazine, poses with the “Hot Rod Magazine Special.” The car, a Plymouth Savoy built in just two weeks, was driven by Parks in Speed Trials on the Daytona Beach-Road Course. Parks averaged 160.175 mph on his two-way run, beating all of the factory-entered cars in its class. (Photo by ISC Images &amp; Archives via Getty Images)[/caption]

Wally Parks

If you wanted to try drag racing in Goltry, Okla., the folks there would likely tell you it’s probably impossible to go much faster than the speed limit through this town of about 295 people. Finding that necessary straight line is the problem.

The way the old State Road 45 does that hard right onto Main Street when you approach town — some folks call it a “coat hanger”— just isn’t conducive to doing more than the limit. The turn is about as exciting as Goltry gets.

Perhaps ironically, Wally Parks — the founder of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), the governing body of drag racing, and a drag racer all about straight-line speed — was born there. “Sure. He’s the father of drag racing,” said one man at a table inside a cafe on Main Street. “Nothing else needs to be said.”

Except that over the years, Parks’ foresight and determination helped turn drag racing into a legalized sport, becoming one of the largest participant forms of motorsports in North America. The TV deals, major sponsorships and big money associated with it can be credited to Parks. His blood always boiled for racing.

“No one could have conceived what has happened,” Parks once said of the NHRA’s growth and success. “We weren’t planning or marketing geniuses or anything like that. Things happened and we went with our instincts.”

After moving to California as a kid, Parks began racing fenderless Model T and Model A roadsters in high school and then modified and raced his own Chevrolet while working at a General Motors assembly plant. When the Second World War began, Parks also did a stint as a military tank test driver and served in the South Pacific.

Following the war, Parks helped organize the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), a sanctioning body for speed trials on California’s dry lake beds. Parks had a vision for drag racing and began putting together the first hotrod shows for owners to display their machines.

In 1949, he also helped organize the first SCTA “Speed Week,” for which participants raced for the first time against a stopwatch at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. That popularity spread to the Santa Ana Drags on an airfield in Southern California in 1950.

But the turning point came with the help of another racer, Robert E. Peterson, when Peterson and Parks formed a publication in 1951 called “Hot Rod Magazine.” Parks finally had a forum to “create order from chaos,” as he once said. It was exactly what the hobby needed.

Hot-rodding had been a taboo subject in the 1940s and 1950s. Teenagers often raced on public roads and Parks was determined to change the image through standard quarter mile-length races, from a standing start, between cars in the same class.

That year, the NHRA was born and drag racing began to flourish. Within a decade, the association was in every state and had moved overseas.

Parks was a tall man with a deep voice and continued driving up until the 1960s but spent more time growing the sport in new markets and through new methods. He left publishing in 1963 to take over the NHRA operation full time and was named to numerous racing bodies.

Today, drag racing has grown to include tracks from New York to California. Many of them are multi-million-dollar facilities built to handle 100,000 spectators and more than 1,000 entries. The NHRA claims to be the largest motorsports sanctioning body in the world with about 40,000 competitors.

Almost until his death in 2007, Parks could still be found at certain NHRA events, and he even occasionally drove. Once, he even drove a rebuilt 1957 Plymouth to celebrate a “Hot Rod Magazine” special edition. “Just for the fun of it,” Parks said at the time. – Steven Reive, Wheelbase Media

Legends of the drag strip

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Buick had a lot to gain, but also plenty to lose when it revealed a trio of new products in 1959 — the LeSabre, Invicta and Electra.

For years, General Motors’ normally conservative Buick division had maintained its traditional names, including the Special, Century, Roadmaster, Riviera and Limited. These were titles that become icons of success. They were the status-symbol cars of the day.

Each and every September and October throughout the 1950s, Buick, along with every other North American automaker, would trot out its offerings for the coming year. More often than not, the public was treated to a barrage of fresh models that instantly rendered the previous ones dated and obsolete.

The economic downturn of 1958, which saw both sales and profits in the auto manufacturing sector unexpectedly nosedive, led to much handwringing among executives at the Big Three automakers as the 1959 model year approached.

This was especially the case at Buick, as the division was preparing to unveil a completely new lineup of redesigned and rebranded cars. The traditional names — every one of them — had been discarded in favour of three new labels: the price-leading LeSabre, sporty Invicta and luxury-oriented Electra.

Would traditional Buick buyers accept the new model series? Would new and more youthful customers be attracted to the trio of unfamiliar names? Only time would tell.

The styling of the 1959 Buicks was a radical departure from the familiar. Gone were the slab-sided behemoths of 1958 that appeared weighted down by massive amounts of chrome trim (up to 20 kilograms worth on some models, not including the bumpers). In their place were cars sculpted with clean, crisply angled lines, “delta-wing” tail fins and only modest amounts of brightwork along the doors and fenders.

The one carryover from the previous year was the “Dynastar” studded grille that closely resembled dental braces. By Buick standards, the cars were daring in the extreme.

Body styles for the new Buicks ran the gamut, from two- and four-door coupes and hardtops, four-door wagons and two-door convertibles. The four-door hardtop was particularly striking with its panoramic wrap-around front and rear window glass that gave passengers an unobstructed 360-degree view and made maneuvering these giants in tight spaces a little easier.

Along with a completely revamped series, the 1959 Buicks offered one additional power option. The base 250-horsepower 364-cubic-inch V-8 was standard in the base LeSabre. However, new that year was a 401-cubic-inch V-8 that was installed in the mid-range Invicta and top-of-the-line Electra. The bigger powerplant was rated at 325 horsepower, 50 more than the LeSabre-based engine. Connected to either engine was a choice of two automatic transmissions: two-speed Flight Pitch; or optional three-speed Triple-Turbine Dynaflow unit.

At the very pinnacle of the Buick lineup was the Electra 225, a model so named because it was 5.8 metres (or 225 inches) in length and rode on a wheelbase that was stretched about 7.5 centimetres beyond that of the LeSabre and Invicta.

To help launch the new Buicks, the division embarked on an aggressive print and TV advertising blitz that featured actor Dale Robertson, star of the TV western series “Tales of Wells Fargo.” At the end of each episode, Robertson was shown driving his Electra convertible off the studio lot. That year, an Electra 225 was also selected as the official pace car of the yearly Indianapolis 500 race, further contributing to the car’s positive publicity.

Whether it was the saturation marketing campaign or the attractive styling (or both), sales of the 1959 Buicks went through the roof. In fact, Edward Ragsdale, Buick’s general manager, was quoted as saying, “Our dealers could have delivered five times as many if they had them in stock.”

The popularity of the LeSabre, Invicta and Electra paved the way for even sleeker and more graceful looking Buicks. Although still king-sized, they helped chart a new course in North American automotive design.

Buick’s redesign in 1959 broke with the past — but did it work?

Rolls Royce Ray3026.JPG

The total number of Rolls-Royce vehicles built over more than 100 years barely equals a month’s worth of production at General Motors today.

But what the company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in opulence and pedigree. As a direct result, the Rolls-Royce marque enjoys a loyal following among the elite of society.

With sufficient funds, well-heeled customers can order their Rolls-Royce any way they please, including the use of custom coachwork, specially constructed interior appointments and unique paint. Hand over the cheque and your whim is the company’s command.

Over the years, Rolls-Royce motorcars have been used not only as luxury carriages, but also as armored vehicles and ambulances during the First World War. Rolls-Royce-powered aircraft also helped Britain turn back the Luftwaffe, as Nazi Germany attempted to control the skies over England in during the Second World War.

Rolls-Royce automobiles such as The Silver Ghost, Phantom, Silver Dawn and Silver Wraith have helped establish the company’s tradition of excellence. But it is the Silver Cloud series that became the backbone of the company. Over a 10-year period from 1955 to 1965, nearly 7,500 Silver Clouds were produced, the closest thing to mass production of a Rolls-Royce automobile.

The Silver Cloud I, launched in 1955, was a big, 5.4-metres-long and hefty 2,000-kilogram piece of rolling sculpture. Power came from a 4.9-litre six-cylinder engine that was originally designed in the 1930s. To enhance the car’s mystique, Rolls-Royce declined to provide a horsepower rating for its engines (about 175 is a fair estimate), simply describing output as “sufficient.”

The first Silver Clouds (mostly sedans, but also a limited number of specially made coupes and convertibles) came with a four-speed manual transmission or four-speed Hydramatic automatic that Rolls-Royce built under license from General Motors. However, after a year and a half, the far less popular manual gearbox was dropped from the list.

On the inside, each Silver Cloud had the finest Connolly leather hides covering overstuffed chair-like seats, Wilton wool carpeting and burled-walnut interior trim. Included inside the trunk, or “boot,” was a tool kit that allowed the owner, or perhaps the chauffeur, to perform rudimentary maintenance or repairs.

<img class="size-full wp-image-172054" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/wh-RollsRoyce-Lady-Oct8-scaled.jpg" alt="Rolls Royce" width="2560" height="1670" />

The Silver Cloud’s body, attached separately to a girder-style chassis, was beautifully crafted by the Pressed Steel Company of Oxford, England. The rear roof-support pillar on the sedans was designed extra-wide to allow privacy for those occupying the rear seats. To reduce weight, the car’s doors, trunk and hood were hand-formed of aluminum. The latter was hinged along the middle, allowing access to the engine from either side of the car.

After applying 12 coats of hand-polished paint, the famous Rolls-Royce Flying Lady mascot (the actual name was the Spirit of Ecstasy) was attached to the top of the Silver Cloud’s distinctive silver-coated radiator shell.

Despite the relatively large number of cars produced, each Silver Cloud took three months to complete. Once on the road, though, the fortunate owner was treated to a smooth, quiet ride and the silent purring of the well-dampened powerplant. Stopping power was provided by drum brakes, deliberately selected instead of discs since they tended to not squeal.

The Silver Cloud II replaced the initial version in 1959. The car featured a new 6.2-litre V-8 engine (worth about 200 horsepower) that was similar to a design Cadillac had adopted 10 years earlier. About 300 of the more than 2,700 Silver Cloud IIs made were special longer wheelbase limo models, with custom bodies by coach builders such as H.J. Mulliner and James Young.

The Silver Cloud II gave way to the Silver Cloud III in 1962. Aside from a slightly lower hood and radiator, this model came with quad headlights, which was roundly criticized by Rolls-Royce purists. The aluminum V-8 also received a slight increase in horsepower (estimated at 220) that produced zero to 60 miles per hour in 11 seconds and a maximum speed of close to 120 miles per hour. Not bad for a car weighing well in excess of two metric tonnes.

Ultimately, all good things must come to an end, and so it was with the Silver Cloud when the last of the series IIIs left the Crewe, England, factory in 1965. The car’s distinctive long hood sensuous fenders and gently sloping rear deck were replaced by the much blander-looking Silver Shadow.

Today, the automotive division of Rolls-Royce is owned by BMW. To possess a “base model” Phantom, you’ll have to cough up many times the price of a final-year Silver Cloud.

Then, as now, the price of trumpeting your success and good fortune doesn’t come cheap.

Rolls-Royce today

After Rolls-Royce was founded in 1906, the company became involved in both the production of carriage-trade motorcars as well as the design and build of piston-driven, and ultimately jet aircraft engines.

Unfortunately, although the auto side of the business remained profitable, it was the failure of the aircraft division in 1980 that forced Rolls-Royce into bankruptcy. The automotive group, consisting of both Rolls-Royce and Bentley, was eventually purchased by Vickers.

The new owner entered into a joint venture relationship with BMW in 1995, which ultimately led to the Germany-based carmaker purchasing the Rolls Royce name outright. At about the same time, the Bentley brand was acquired by Volkswagen. Both reconstituted Anglo-German automakers began producing all-new (and thoroughly unique) models beginning in 2004.

Rolls-Royce’s luxurious silver lining

Future site of Highway 413 sign

The most interesting thing about a new EKOS poll of residents in Scarborough, Etobicoke, Richmond Hill and Brampton is what it tells us about suburban drivers.

This much-maligned group is often portrayed as obsessed with commute times and highway expansion and oblivious to protection of nature or livability of communities. But the data points of EKOS’ survey — fielded in August and commissioned by the David Suzuki Foundation — offer a strikingly different story.

Conducted in the run-up to this fall’s municipal election, the poll asked respondents about issues that candidates should prioritize.

Overall, 75 per cent of suburban residents agreed candidates should support greater protection of the Greenbelt. But among motorists, support for this protection rose to 79 per cent. In other words, it’s more popular among motorists than the general population.

The pollster asked if candidates should bring more nature to the city, including pollinator-friendly plants and trees. Among suburbanites in general, support was at 80 per cent; among motorists it rose to 83 per cent.

The EKOS poll was conducted from Aug. 12 to 21, 2022, and surveyed a total of 862 adults. The survey has a reported margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

EKOS asked whether candidates should boost public transit budgets and make communities easy and safe to cycle around. Again, most folks who rely on the car were supportive, with 70 per cent endorsing the former and 75 per cent the latter. The myth is that motorists oppose transit funding and bike lanes and only want money for roads. The reality is that, like most of us, they see value in low-carbon transportation.

This poll is in line with a November 2021 EKOS survey that probed residents’ views throughout the province. It found that 74 per cent of motorists agree the Greenbelt is “no place for a new four- to six-lane highway.”

The Ontario government justifies Highway 413 — which would destroy part of the Greenbelt — by suggesting it has the backing of drivers. In particular, it looks to suburban drivers to give it the political cover needed to move ahead with this multi-billion-dollar project.

But is Queen’s Park correct in assuming this support? It turns out the majority of car users endorse alternatives to the automobile and want Greenbelt protection enhanced. This hardly sounds like a demographic keen to see nature paved to make room for expressways.

If anything, the motorists of Richmond Hill, Brampton and the inner suburbs sound like converts to environmentalism.

Which brings us to a fascinating and far-reaching question, one that should be of interest not only to municipal candidates but provincial and federal politicians as well: If even drivers can’t be relied upon to support 413, who does embrace it?

The latest polling from the all-important Toronto suburbs suggests not many of us.

Those running in the Oct. 24 city election take note: the right thing to do is also popular with voters. It’s time to call for Highway 413’s cancellation. 

Gideon Forman is a climate change and transportation policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation. Davidsuzuki.org

Suburban drivers’ support for Greenbelt spells trouble for Highway 413

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The Mustang has become a near mystical icon for generations of drivers needing a sporty departure from everyday transportation. Its combination of looks, performance and price have kept it going strong where others have tried and ultimately faltered.

The original coupe and convertible Mustangs were churned out by the hundreds of thousands. But it was the late to arrive and slower selling fastback that has come to represent the era of the “ponycar.”

Proof of that fact appeared in the fall of 2004 when a completely new 2005 Mustang appeared with — you guessed it — a fastback roofline as one of its key styling ingredients. Same goes for the 2015 model, which marked the 50th anniversary of the Mustang.

The first Mustang 2+2, as it was officially branded, arrived almost without warning in October of 1964, six months following the launch of the coupe and convertible styles. As with the others, it was available in no-frills basic trim with a meek 120-horsepower six-cylinder engine matched to a three-speed manual gearbox.

By far the most popular choice was the optional 289-cubic-inch V-8 offered in 200-, 225- and high-output 271-horsepower strengths and with a floor-shifted four-speed manual transmission or three-speed automatic.

There were also some special 2+2 touches, including larger wheels, standard front bucket seats and a rear bench that could be folded flat for those times when extra cargo space was required. A passthrough opening into the trunk allowed skis or other bulky items to fit inside, which made the fastback easy to live with. Since the 2+2 had no rear “quarter” windows like the coupe, the rear-pillar-mounted louvers provided fresh air for back-seat riders.

A GT option package, available on all Mustangs beginning in mid-1965, gave the fastback even more appeal. Along with the high-output 289 engine, the GT came with a firmer suspension, quicker steering, front disc brakes, extra gauges (including a tachometer), unique wheels, grille-mounted fog lamps and racing stripes that extended along the rocker panels.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-171923" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/wh-MustangHistory-Fast2-Oct1.jpg" alt="Ford Mustang" width="1200" height="577" />

By far the hottest — and rarest — of the Mustang fastbacks were the 516 GT-350 models constructed by Cobra sports car builder Carroll Shelby. These specially prepared quasi-race cars might have been few in number, but for the enthusiast crowd they were the absolute ultimate. More importantly, they helped position the fastback among performance buffs as the most desired Mustang in the herd.

Professing to be a four-passenger car, Mustangs in general, and the 2+2 in particular, had back seats that were best used for small children or pets. It hardly mattered to anyone contemplating a Mustang purchase that rearward accommodations were little more than an afterthought. Buyers, especially the baby boomer crowd, loved the Mustang based on power and looks alone.

In its first complete year, Ford sold an astounding 559,451 Mustangs. Of that total, a little more than 77,000 — not quite 14 per cent of production — were fastbacks.

Interestingly, and without explanation, while Mustang sales topped the 600,000 level in 1966, the fastback dropped to less than half its first-year mark. In fact, the more expensive convertible outsold the fastback by nearly two to one.

Still, the die had been cast. Subsequent Mustangs with their cascading rooflines would become famous for packing the most potent engines in Ford’s arsenal.

[caption id="attachment_171924" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]<img class="size-full wp-image-171924" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/wh-MustangHistory-Shelby-Oct1.jpg" alt="Ford Mustang" width="1600" height="791" /> 1st Shelby being built, Los Angeles, CA, 1965. Shelby Mustang GT350 at the Shelby American Los Angeles Airport facility. CD#0777-3292-0895-9.[/caption]

Today, the fastback that began it all is considered a highly prized collectible for its fetching beauty. And the current-generation Mustang’s styling has cemented it as a winner with a new generation of fans who worship its intoxicating mix of heritage and horsepower.

Ford’s newest ponies

The new seventh-generation 2024 Ford Mustang publicly debuted at the Detroit auto show last month. Still offered in base four-cylinder and V8 coupe and convertible versions, the GT’s 5.0-litre Coyote V8 will make over 480 horsepower and become the most powerful Mustang GT ever. A new performance version above that, the Mustang Dark Horse edition, will be offered with over 500 horsepower. Ford didn’t release any specific power or acceleration figures for the base Mustang but did say that the 2.3 turbocharged four was an all-new and more powerful design. – Michael Bettencourt, Wheels.ca

Mustangs: The ultimate pony-car

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The true stars of the so-called muscle car era of the late 1960s and early 1970s were usually far less glamorous modes of transportation.

In the case of the Dodge Dart, the number of its famous GTS and 340 Swinger models that were built pales in comparison to the thousands upon thousands of its four-door grocery-getter models that filled suburban driveways.

Today, it’s the high-performance cars that everyone remembers. That’s why car companies built them: brand image. And it worked like a charm. Dodge, on the other hand, was Chrysler’s performance brand in the late 1960s and early 1970s, producing the Dart, Charger, Super Bee, Coronet and Challenger.

The Dart began as a member of the low-cost group of 1960s compacts that included the Ford Falcon and Fairlane as well the Chevrolet Corvair, Chevy II and Pontiac Tempest. All were innocuous automobiles that stressed interior and trunk space while holding power and price to a minimum.

But change was in the air. The 1964 Pontiac GTO rocked Detroit like a meteor and the shockwave rippled right across the country. Based on the mid-sized Tempest chassis, the GTO’s philosophy was surprisingly simple: small car, big engine and jazzy looks. Pontiac figured on 5,000 first-year sales. Shockingly, the division sold more than 32,000 before running out of time and production capacity.

Competing manufacturers struggled to come up with their own version of GTO, which is considered to be the first “muscle car.”

Dodge was tackling this new and untapped market from two angles with hardware at its disposal. A fastback roof was grafted to a Coronet body and, voila, the 1966 Charger was born, with one significant advantage over the 389-V8-powered GTO: buyers could pick a 383-, 440- or the 426-cubic-inch Hemi V-8.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-171542" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/wh-TheDart-Scoops-Sept3.jpg" alt="Dodge Dart" width="1125" height="816" />

Dodge was also fiddling with the Dart, but it wasn’t until the second-generation model was unveiled for 1967, and the injection of real image and horsepower in 1968, that Dodge could finally say it was ready.

Success and Dodge’s image hinged on the Dart GTS hardtop fitted with a high-revving 340-cubic-inch V-8, underrated at 275 horsepower (315 was closer to the actual number). Most importantly, with the high-flowing cylinder heads, 350-375 horsepower was within easy reach after a few simple upgrades to the intake and exhaust systems were made.

A physically larger 383-cubic-inch V-8 with 300 horsepower could also be had in the baby Dodge, but the lighter weight of the 340 made for a better handling package.

The GTS trim package featured a unique hood with dual chrome-trimmed “340 Four Barrel” humps, bucket seats, rallye wheels, red-line sidewall tires, dual exhaust with chrome tips, sport suspension, 15-inch wheels and an optional Hurst-shifted four-speed gearbox. A special “Scat” stripe was wrapped around the tail to signify membership in Dodge’s elite Scat Pack, granted only to Dodge cars that could cut a 14-second or quicker quarter-mile acceleration time.

A fully loaded GTS cost about $3,200, a little more than the no-frills 383-powered Plymouth Road Runner, which was a runaway sales smash. So, for 1969, Dodge brought out the Dart Swinger 340, its own no-frills street stormer that sold for about $400 less than the previous year’s GTS.

It was performance that just about anyone could afford and performance that flew well below the radar of insurance companies that began clamping down on premiums for high-horsepower equipment.

The 440 and Hemi were in sharp decline after 1971 and the Dart became a recluse for buyers seeking hassle-free speed. In fact, by the early 1970s, the compact Dart line had become Dodge’s bread-and-butter brand and was split into two distinct series: Dart Swinger coupes and Custom Sedans, plus a shorter-wheelbase Dart Demon fastback, which was the mate to Plymouth’s Duster. Most came with the fuel-sipping 225-cubic-inch six-cylinder, but the 340 V-8 remained a popular option.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-171543" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/wh-TheDart-Swinger-Sept3.jpg" alt="Dodge Dart" width="800" height="874" />

After receiving sufficient flack for the Demon name from vocal groups who saw little humour in the devilish cartoon character planted on the Dodge’s fenders, the car was renamed the Dart Sport for 1973.

At mid-decade, the Dart enjoyed unprecedented sales success even though the era of high performance was by then only a fond memory. Stringent government smog controls all but killed the hot little 340 and subsequent 360-cubic-inch V-8s.

The Dart disappeared in 1976, replaced by the frumpy Dodge Aspen, but for more than a decade it has served the needs of young and old alike, who, strangely enough, appreciated it for entirely different reasons.

The Dodge Dart once hit a bullseye

Sam Posey

It took a whole lifetime for Sam Posey to really show the world he was more than a racecar driver. In fact, he has done a lot more after racing and he has done it with unique style.

Wide World of Sports broadcasting legend Jim McKay called him one of the “wittiest, classiest and smartest athletes” he had ever interviewed.

Posey’s varied interests and talents make him a renaissance man, but the folks at Lime Rock racetrack

in the heart of the Connecticut hills like to think of him as a local hero. He grew up at his grandfather’s estate close to the track where he won a Trans-Am title in 1969.

A renaissance man? The art dealers from New Orleans to New York think his “Seeing is Believing” artwork reveals techniques that “focus the viewer’s attention in a way few fine arts painters would dare to create.”

But what makes Posey tick?

“Le Mans,” he once said. The 24-hour endurance race in France is, “A total experience which can be compared only to the Woodstock rock festival.”

Painter, driver, architect, broadcaster and legend, Posey is still a renaissance man rolled into a 78-year-old body; a constant mix of art, gas pedal and worldwide announcer. That he holds an enormous love for the outskirts of the industrial French city, and its billiard-table smooth Mulsanne straightaway, might say more about what he never attained.

Put simply, Posey is a man nearly as well known for what he didn’t do on the course than what he ultimately did off of it.

Born in the heart of New York City 12 months and 22 days before D-Day, Posey lost his father to the Second World War but quickly gained a love for the American racing scene. Using his family’s prosperity, he became one of the most well-known figures in American motorsport, more as a result of his versatility and omnipresence at U.S. tracks than because of his results on them.

It’s a never-ending resilience, “a zest for life,” he once said. “Just have never quite lost it.”

And even if the early results were hardly overwhelming.

By 22, Posey had made his first start at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving for the Bizzarini team in a Chevrolet, only to be disqualified for crossing a white line in the pits. He would eventually finance his own cars in the Can-Am circuit and Trans-Am racing before finally falling into a win as a late replacement at Lime Rock in what would be engineer Carroll Shelby’s last win for Ford.

From that point on, from Daytona to Argentina, and most parts in between, Posey bounced around from endurance race to endurance race with cars that would either overheat, break down or get caught in bad weather.

Before he was 30, he tried his hand at Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race in Florida and the 1,000 Kilometres of Buenos Aires. He gave Formula One a go at Watkins Glen in New York state in 1971, the year he turned 27. Posey beat out Dutchman Gijs van Lennep for a ride, but 14 laps later, slipped into more of the usual: a breakdown and engine failure in his Ford Cosworth V-8.

A year later, he qualified quicker than the likes of Formula One legends Niki Lauda and Graham Hill, but finish 12th out of 18, two laps down at Watkins Glen. He never saw Formula One again. At least not behind the wheel.

“Which just made me appreciate it that much more later on,” he said.

Posey went on to race in Formula A, take one run at the Indianapolis 500 (finishing fifth, two laps down, but ahead of Mario Andretti), drive Formula 5000 cars and the Sebring, Fla., 12-hour endurance event.

In the end, racing became secondary, with Posey a victim of evaporating sponsorships, cars that expired and checkered flags that were few and far between.

It was time to really shine, an “afterlife,” Posey called it in an interview shortly after his retirement.

And the racing afterlife turned out to be a good one.

Throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s, his voice became synonymous with Indy 500 telecasts on ABC, alongside Jim McKay, Paul Page and American legend Bobby Unser. Popular and accessible among car clubs and organizations, he became a regular keynote speaker and helped his son John begin a racing school.

He earned a solid reputation and even took home an Emmy, Posey’s voice hardly fading as Indy drifted further and further away from the mainstream.

But the afterlife also meant many other things.

In 2001, he was singled out in a Washington, D.C., art association exhibit for his move into printmaking. He was involved in commentating the grueling 3,200-kilometre Tour de France cycling race and even wrote a book on model-train building.

Look in the racing history books, and Posey will be there. Look across the track at Lime Rock and you’ll know Posey was there. Look in an art museum . . . he was there.

“Racing was a passion,” he once said. “But it’s just one.”

You know his driving and you know his voice, but that’s far from the whole story when it comes to Sam Posey

wh-UsedSupercar-Main-Sept10

You might have bought a lemon at one time or another, but when it comes to a used supercar, the taste can turn incredibly sour – even to the point of being financially ruining.

When confronted with the price of a new luxury or sports car, a used exotic supercar for half the original price might seem pretty tempting. Heck, why not spring for an older, low-kilometre Ferrari instead of newer Corvette? It’s what you’ve always wanted, right?

Well, owning a used 15-year-old Ferrari is not to be confused with owning a used 15-year-old Toyota Camry, and people are in for a rude awakening if they think it is the same.

Lance Hedrick, owner of Hedrick Motiv Werks near the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, knows this story all too well. With decades of experience in the auto repair business, and at least 30 years fixing and maintaining supercars, Hedrick is fully aware of what kind of money it takes to maintain an older exotic vehicle.

Beyond the purchase price, Hedrick said there are unforgiving maintenance and repair costs that many buyers either overlook, or simply don’t expect. The fact is that although a car might seem like a deal at half its original sticker, parts and labour for maintenance and repairs are still at full price or even greater. After all, hourly rates don’t go down over the years, they go up.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-171312" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/wh-UsedSupercar-Engine-Sept10.jpg" alt="Used Supercar" width="1000" height="658" />

Add the cost of fuel and insurance, and the annual expense of owning a Lamborghini, McLaren or Aston Martin can financially ruin what was supposed to be a good deal. As such, Hedrick said he earns a good living working on everything from the AC Shelby Cobra and Saleen S7, to the 1972 Pantera DeTomaso and 308 Ferrari.

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA) the average cost to drive one of these supercars can reach 20 times that of a typical vehicle driven the same distance. Of course, supercars generally don’t travel as far, so the cost per kilometre is likely skewed higher.

Surfing the Internet reveals numerous sources that estimate $20,000 (U.S.) or more per year, depending on the vehicle.

“People wanting to get into these cars a lot of times don’t know anything about the mechanical attributes of them,” Hedrick said. “They don’t have buckets full of money, but everybody wants one of these cars. They’ll see what they believe is a decent price, but they haven’t done their homework.”

While many of his wealthy clients fly in on private jets and don’t seem to care much about paying $2,000 or more for an oil change for their Ferrari, it’s a near-vertical learning curve for the first-time buyer of a used supercar.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-171310" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/wh-UsedSupercar-Oil-Sept10.jpg" alt="Used Supercar" width="1000" height="512" />

These machines are often so finely tuned and fragile, even the slightest mishap during an oil change or lube job can result in a four-figure repair that might go undetected and unreported. Hedrick said it was commonplace to find damage on the underbody from careless jacking of the vehicle, or just “laziness” from a previous mechanic.

Bent tubing and cracked welds that allow moisture into secure areas are two of the most common issues Hedrick said he encounters when working underneath one of these vehicles. “You wouldn’t believe what I see. And most of it is caused by people trying to work on the car that don’t understand the car.”

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-171313" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/wh-UsedSupercar-Battery-Sept10.jpg" alt="Used Supercar" width="1000" height="720" />

Hedrick also warned potential supercar buyers against the fallacy that low kilometres plus low price equals a great deal. High-performance vehicles need to stretch their legs, breathe and roar. It’s good for the engine, and for longevity.

“Rubber deteriorates, so do the hoses, belts, and the metal,” Hedrick said. “You’re not ever bringing the engine up the temperature to percolate the moisture out, so it starts to develop corrosion.”

Hedrick said it is not unusual for homeowners in his area of the U.S. to have a supercar “trophy” stashed in their garage as more of a status symbol or showpiece than to drive.

“I had one customer who maintained his car, but he never really drove it, which is the worst thing you can do,” he said. “Lack of use is definitely something to look out for if you are shopping for one of these vehicles.”

Hedrick used the example of a brake rotor accumulating a fine layer of rust after a wash or rain as to why regular use helps to keep the engine parts clean and operations smooth. “Amplify that buildup by 10 times inside of a motor and you can be talking about big time repair costs even though the car was never even used,” he said.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-171314" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/wh-UsedSupercar-Tires-Sept10.jpg" alt="Used Supercar" width="1600" height="2010" />

“The problems that never really had a chance to come to the surface, that are inherently there in the car, you’re going to end up bearing the whole brunt of it being the second owner of a low-mileage car.”

If you’re still brave enough to spend your money on a used supercar, Hedrick said the No. 1 rule, aside from researching common problems and maintenance costs, is to make sure all maintenance records are available, accurate and well organized.

“It’s just like buying an airplane,” he said. “You’re going to need those records because the maintenance of these vehicles is some of the biggest expense. If you can’t verify the maintenance records, the car itself doesn’t really have that much value.”

So, you want to buy a used supercar? Here’s what you need to know about maintenance

2022 Ram 1500 TRX Sandblast

The automobile business might have its ups and downs with various economic cycles, but the one constant is that buyers love their pickups.
In 2021, five of the top six best-selling vehicles in Canada were full-sized pickups, led by the perennial sales leader, the Ford F-150. The story was much the same in the United States, where the F-150, Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado ranked one, two and three, respectively.
Trucks have been best-sellers for decades and will continue to be, especially with automakers leaning into electric power and new models. Here are some of the latest developments in the world of pickups.
2023 Chevrolet Colorado
The next generation of Chevrolet’s midsized Colorado will make more buyers question whether they really need to spend the money for a full-size pickup and give up the driveway space to park it.

<img class="size-full wp-image-171296" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/wh-NewTrucks-F150-Sept10.jpg" alt="New Trucks" width="1000" height="592" />

The 2023 Colorado — crew cab only — ratchets up its off-road game with new models while dropping its three different engine choices for one engine with three different outputs.
The base 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine puts out 237 horsepower and 259 pounds-feet of torque, while the top version is rated at 310 horsepower and 430 pound-feet. Note that this is the same engine offered in the Silverado and the related GMC Sierra.
Ford F-150 Lightning Pro SSV
With its F-150 Lightning electric pickup already a commercial and critical hit, Ford is building a special version just for law enforcement.
Known as the F-150 Lightning Pro SSV (short for Special Service Vehicle), the new model features some of the police-specific features found in the gasoline-powered F-150 Police Responder. Those include heavy-duty cloth front seats with reduced bolsters for easier ingress and egress, steel intrusion plates in the front seatbacks, a new instrument panel and available LED warning beacons for the roof. The rear seats are vinyl for easy cleaning.
Ram TRX 1500 Sandblast Edition

<img class="size-full wp-image-171297" src="https://wordpress.wheels.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/wh-NewTrucks-Colorado-Sept10.jpg" alt="New Trucks" width="1000" height="589" />

The company calls the TRX 1500 the quickest, fastest and most powerful mass-produced pickup in the world. (It comes with a supercharged 6.2-litre V-8 that makes 707 horsepower.) Now it’s getting a little more style with as new trim level known as the Sandblast Edition, which, not surprisingly, comes in an exterior colour called Mojave Sand.
Features exclusive to the Sandblast Edition include black 18-inch wheels, a dual-pane panoramic sunroof, spray-in bedliner, a leather-and-carbon fibre flat bottom steering wheel, a heads-up display and special interior and exterior trim. The new variant was slated for sale summer, which means it could be on dealer lots now, or at least available to order.
Tesla Cybertruck
One of the most eagerly anticipated new pickups is the radical Tesla Cybertruck. First announced in 2019, the expected production date was sometime in 2021. That didn’t come to pass, but during a recent Tesla conference call to discuss second-quarter earnings, company CEO Elon Musk said production would likely begin next year.
“Our team continues to focus on Cybertruck production readiness and some future platform design,” Musk told investors, according to website Teslarati.com. “We are expecting to be — still expecting to be – in production with the Cybertruck in the middle of next year. And we’re very, very excited about that product. I think it might actually be our best product ever,” Musk said.

Thieves also like trucks
It turns out that full-size pickup trucks are not just popular with consumers. According to Équité Association, which tracks auto thefts in Canada, full-size Ford pickups were at the top of the list of stolen vehicles in 2021. Full-size Chevrolet and GMC trucks rank third, ahead of Ram trucks. The only non-truck in the Canadian top-five theft list is the Honda CR-V.

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