2013 Archives - Page 2 of 2

My First Ever Car Review – 2013 Honda Civic

Dec 10 2012

It was published last week.

How it looked in print, across Canada, in the big newspapers that you have to unfold to read, ha.

Favourite line:

… the 2013 is noticeably more upscale than previous Civics, bringing a subtle classiness to the car.

I gave them high report card marks. Not because it’s my first one and I’m being a pleaser, but because I like it that much.

I would, and do, compare other cars to the Civic.

Non-car nerds: the industry turned its thumbs way down at 2012 Civic, so this 2013 was heavily anticipated.

I’ve been driving different press cars for 16 months now, but have never written about it so technically, so filled with specs and math.

Until this, I’d written news and opinion pieces only.

All my columns: Keri on Driving All my news articles

I had to get 3 months under my belt at the paper, before I was allowed to do a review.

After this printed, now I feel like a real auto journalist.

Remember the embargo 3 weeks ago?

It was for this. I went to Honda Canada one morning, walked into a classroom-type setting, with some of Canada’s biggest auto journalist names. I was the only girl.

We were informed of the changes to the new model, then were each given 15 minutes to test drive AND photograph the car (this is normal in the industry).

I was like omg :O ermahgerd. So I went last, and kept the car for 45 minutes and 300 photos.

Despite all that, the paper still had to use some stock images (gallery here), because my photos were weak, and it never occured to me, to check for my relection in the paint. Rookie move.

I’ll leave you with a video; click here to watch me drive the high-end version of the Civic (HFP), on a track, at an airport, with great enthusiasm.

Understanding ‘Car of the Year’ Testing & Results

Oct 31 2012

AJAC – Auto Journalist Association of Canada – hosts this annual event, ‘Test Fest.’

They bring in 180+ new model vehicles, and auto writers from across Canada, to the Niagara Falls Drive Centre, for a full week of testing and voting to determine ‘Car of the Year‘.

(read my original ‘Test Fest’ post here)

This is the vehicle I’m driving in the video, the all-new Mercedes B250.

Nice car, it is a Mercedes, and note the asterisks:

That’s how you choose drive, park, neutral; different eh.

It’s billed as a “family car”, but I don’t understand where all the stuff goes, the stuff that comes along with a family. This car would work best if your family also had a van, too.

As a new auto journalist, this was my first time at ‘Test Fest’, and was blown away by the logistics, and high level of authenticity of it all.

So I wrote about it for this week’s ‘Keri on Driving’ column.

(read it online here)

Favourite Line:

The last one – “Even I wouldn’t listen to me”

29 years of results are posted http://www.AJAC.ca. Go search your car, see how it fared.

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Back to ‘Keri on Driving’ – Index

Best Ever Acura ILX Promo Photo Come ON

Oct 16 2012

How do you compete with stuffed animals going to school?

Can’t.

It’s a brand new vehicle, so that means brand-new Google everything.

I tagged the crap out of this post.

Acura ILX – ‘Entry-Level Luxury’, starting at $27,790.

Found on a country road, mid-Northern Ontario.

The New 2013 Ford Escape On the Track

Sep 1 2012

That something, with that centre of gravity, would corner so well surprised me. Technically it’s a cross-over vehicle, but it drives like a car.

(worst YouTube thumbnail luck for a track video, ever)

The gentleman in the interview is Nick Lacasse, Product Marketing Manager for Ford Canada. Very basically, he manages all the SUVs that come to Canada. Welcome to my blog, Nick!

The interview is from the LA Auto Show 2011, they had kindly invited me along. Click to watch the video, ‘Exploring The 2011 LA Auto Show’.

That’s Ryan Durrell, my partner in the video above, we’re a good team.

Click to watch when we experienced for the first time, a Ford Focus parking itself.

I think the look of the Escape will always be in vogue, because it’s not really in vogue to begin with. I mean that as a compliement, it has classic lines, so it’ll always be in style.

Check out the previous version of the Escape, 2012 or earlier, I think you’ll see what I mean. It’ll be easy to spot them, because the Escape the been the best selling SUV in Canada.