Opposite Ends of the Spectrum Day

First, I tested Ford’s 1.0L engine in their Fiesta, the smallest engine available to buy.

It which claims some of the best fuel economy out there, but was surprisingly feisty. Really.

My review will be online tomorrow morning at Autonet, and will blog it next week.

Any day with track time makes me so happy, and did okay out there today.

During the event, two of my Autonet teammates, David Miller and Jeff Voth, and I sent a message to our editor, Dan Barron.

Who responded with this photo.

I love my job.

(meet more of my team here, and David, we need to make you a tag around here.)

Then the opposite spectrum part: off to a party for an engine about 4x the size.

Transformed in 10 minutes, from track attire to party dress, inside the hotel bathroom. I should blog some of my tricks for this, have it down to a science. That dress is 10+ years old, doesn’t wrinkle, and when in doubt, wear a suit jacket.

Up to Aurora for the Porsche Macan launch,
hosted by Pfaff.

Fancy times, ladies were in full hair and makeup, I was still covered in track dust #MoreSpectrum

I can’t put my finger on why, it’s not just that they carry luxury badges, but Pfaff is one of the classiest dealerships. Will blog that event next week, too.

Then, this.

Further proof of what I always say…

Thursday Night, best night of the week.

And the end.

I have to be up at 5am to keep the dream alive, TTY then.

 

 

Meet Autonet Teammate – Brian Makse

Finally we met at a Nissan dinner a few weeks ago*, welcome to my blog Brian!

He writes for Autonet.ca too, we both make videos, and we’re both the Featured Authors.

That’s where the similarities stop.

He reviews high performance stuff, Aston Martins and Lamborghinis, see the list on his site here.

He also races competitively, has driven the Nürburgring, and once broke 300 km/h on the Autobahn, nice.

photo BM_GALL_09.jpg

* – woah this photo is bad of us eh Brian, sorry about that, the 2nd one was even worse. We can amend next time we see one another IRL

(Note – because the team is all freelancers, we don’t really hang out, so this is a rarity. I’ve now blogged 82% of the team, nice. Meet more of my team here)

 

 

Meet Autonet Teammate – Jacques Deshaies

On the Hyundai Santa Fe XL California trip, my driving partner was Autonet.ca teammate Jacques Deshaies.

He’s an auto journalist for 15 years, stars on the TV show “Guide de l’Auto”, and collaborates on both LCN and TVA (shows on a big Quebec TV channel).

I learned a lot about doing this job while driving with him, and my photos for the paper are better than usual (he set them up). Also, I want your time management skills, Jacques ;)

He too loves to go fast, but the difference is he’s way way better at it.

Look at that back wheel.

He has his own race team in the CTCC – Canadian Touring Car Championship, and get this, is sponsored by Mazda Canada.  Good luck this season!

(Note – because the team is all freelancers, we don’t really hang out, so this is a rarity. I’ve now blogged 77% of the team, nice. Meet more of my team here)

 

Autonet.ca Covers the Canadian Auto Show

We used Scribble Live for the first time, and live blogged the 40th Annual Canadian International Auto Show! We crushed it (seriously, our feed was trending).

Find most of my stuff in the 2nd half of the feed.

(see the post on Autonet.ca)

Meet more of Your Autonet.ca team

Notre équipe français, salut!

From L to R – Alain McKenna, me, Marie-Eve Cote, Jacques Deshaies

You’ve met Dan and on the right is Jack Kazmierski, our tech expert.

Note – because the team is all freelancers, we don’t really hang out, so this is a rarity. I’ve now blogged 70%of the team, nice.

Click here to meet more of the team.

 

 

Meet an Autonet Teammate – Charles Renny

Meet Charles Renny, he’s been writing about cars for over 20 years, read his work at Autonet.ca.

He excels at simplifying the very technical. I like his approach – here, I’ll help you understand the difference between technical information and personal opinion, now go draw your own conclusion.

He’s also a professional driver, and motorcycle instructor.  And the President of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).  Welcome to my blog, Charles!

Note – because the team is all freelancers, we don’t really hang out, so this is a rarity. I’ve now blogged 65% of the team, nice.

Meet more of the team here, and here.