More Car Girl Pics from the Photo Shoot...

Hey All,

Here are some more photos from the photo shoot. It's a link to Lee Anne's website. You can check out some of her other work, too. She's awesome.

http://flowerchildphotographyblog.com/

Chat soon!!

xoxo

TCG

Life In The Car Girl's Lane...

Madness. Sheer madness. So much much has happened and there is so much to write about but I'll use the Coles Notes version so you don't fall asleep!! Plus, it's my birthday so all is good!

In conclusion to my 'Baby Drama' story, my Baby is here with her Mama! Although it wasn't without a hitch. The exporting from the States was fine and importing was ok, too BUT she failed her Provincial inspection and needed work done. Canadian Tire wanted an absurd amount of money for minimal work and I said NO WAY! So that took a day of running around, getting new tires, getting her belt fixed and then insuring her. Luckily, no tears were shed in the process. Now, she's as happy as can be hanging out in my garage. Yay!

On another note, I've been traveling to and fro in our beautiful country. I was in Toronto, Ontario last week for a really cool event. Chevrolet launched their new compact car called the Cruze and, you know what? It's pretty awesome. It drives really nicely, has quite a nice interior and has 10 standard airbags (the most in its class) plus the styling isn't too bad, either.

For those who live in the Vancouver area, you can find my stuff in newspaper form. I write a column (or two, or three) for the Shifting Gears section of The Voice. It can be found here in Surrey and is all in English. Also, the www.shiftinggears.ca website is almost fully operational so you can check out my stuff there. And as soon as we have a spot on air, I'll be on TV again. Woot woot.

Otherwise, I'm off to Toronto again tomorrow. I'm heading there for an Autumn Adventure and checking out the 2011 Honda Odyssey. Can't wait. Although I'm not at the 'minivan' stage of my life just yet, it looks pretty ballin' in person and am curious to see how it compares with the 2010 model which I drove earlier this year!

Oh, and just in case you were wondering what the 'glam shots' on my post were, I'll tell you. Last week when I was in Ontario, I hooked up with an amazing photographer named Lee Anne Havens. She has a company called Flower Child Photography and I just happened to meet her at my friend Natalie's wedding earlier this year in Utah. I'm a huge fan of her work and wanted to do a shoot with her, car-related, of course, as I needed some new shots for the website I'm working on. Those are just a few images from many and I love them all! She is a genius with the camera and I was so stoked to work with her.

We had quite the adventure. But then again, when isn't it an adventure with me?! We shot some pics at the coolest locations. One location was at this elderly man's home/property called Ted Elmer. He has a personal collection of vintage cars which he is auctioning off on October 16th and we just happened to coax him into letting us use his location for the shoot. His son, Ray, who we initially talked to wanted some bikini shots of me with the cars, but that's not really my style!!! Can't blame the guy for trying. I did get a good laugh out of it.

There were about 10-15 vehicles on his property which I just died over. There was even a Dodge fire truck, in very good condition, that only had 5,000 miles on it. I was in automotive heaven.

We then shot at a garage. Al, a friend of Lee Anne's owned the joint and I had way too much fun with the hydraulic lift, power tools and the 'sexy lady' calendar that was on the wall. I can't wait to see those shots. Again, I was not in 'sexy lady' attire so don't get your hopes up. I wore my "I heart cars" t-shirt, which is now probably my favourite shirt in my closet.

My lovely companion in these photos is the 2010 Infiniti M37S sedan. She's a real beauty. I love how smoothly she drives and I felt so glamorous behind the wheel. PLUS, she had a navigation system that I would not have been able to live without, especially since I have no clue where anything in Toronto/Ontario is. I was really sad to drop her off before I went home but all good things must come to an end. Props (and thanks!) to Mark James at Infiniti for arranging this sweet ride for me.

Anyhoo, will keep you updated on all my car madness. Trust me, there's lots. But I love every minute of it and can't get enough :)

XOXO

TCG

The Car Girl Takes Over Twitter.... Sort of

Hey all,

I'm officially on Twitter. http://twitter.com/shiftinggearsas

It's automotive awesomeness taken to a whole new level!

Cheers,

TCG

Baby Drama!

Pictures are worth a thousand words, right? Well, here are my thousand words (probably more though!) to describe why my new-to-me Baby is behind bars in Blaine, Washington.

Yes, that's a 2001 VW Cabriolet to the left. She has a beautiful blue exterior coat with a tan leather interior and some sexy rims. Yes, she's a she and she is mine. Almost.

A family member had put her up "for sale" so the Man and I decided to "purchase" her. There were a few hitches, though.... First, she was located in Laguna Beach, California and somehow she would have to travel up the West Coast to be with her new family. Second, she would have to be exported from the USA and imported to Canada. Pretty simple, right? You betcha. I could have either put her on a car carrier or a train and waited for here in BC. But that was not good enough. I decided to buy a one-way ticket down to Cali and then drive her home. She's in good, working condition and she'd survive the 22 hour journey, so why not take that time to bond?!

Everything was going according to plan. I had sent all the proper paperwork to US Customs, organized the insurance I'd needed, got my recall letter from VW and all the other necessary items of business. I was literally good to go. So I went!

I boarded a very early flight to LA and arrived in style; bags in hand and under my eyes. I was so tired. It was fantastically sunny and warm outside so I said goodbye to the bags under my eyes and perked right up. Taco Bell, here I come... After being picked up at the airport, it was time to get all my paperwork organized. I went to the DMV in San Clemente and waited, and waited and waited. The lineup was so long but I guess that's what happens when a State is totally broke and public service agents are forced to take unpaid days off to cut back on costs.

Ding Ding. B36, register 09. Yessss, my number was called. Hours later and it was finally my turn. I went to the wicket and explained to the gentleman what my plan was, filled out the corresponding paperwork and Bob became my uncle. But something didn't seem right. He took the title to the car which was under my relatives name, which I assumed I would keep because the deal was done. I told him I'd be exporting it and I needed the title to take through customs. He said that the registration card that was given to me would be sufficient and that I would be mailed a new title. A new title? Wasn't the signing by the X's on the original title enough? Blondely, I believed him. While it didn't sit right, I let it sit and went on. Besides, if I had the registration card, that was my proof of ownership and that's what I needed to get through Customs.

Feeling awesome, paperwork in hand, I took my Little Princess up the Pacific Coast Highway to Newport Beach for our first drive together. That drive is to die for and I never tire of it. The water and the beaches are so divine. And of course, the road also leads to Fashion Island, which I paid a very brief visit to! If you were me, you would do it too.

Knowing that my drive ahead would be rather long, I went to bed relatively early. After all, my start drive time was 5:30 am because I wanted to beat LA traffic and I wanted to make it to Sacramento before dark. Clearly, my head was in outer space when I made this plan because I was in Sacramento by noon the next day! And yes, I beat the LA traffic but even at 6am, the highway was packed.

I was quite the driving nazi, only stopping for fuel when the tank was getting low and for food when my stomach was louder than the music playing. I didn't even take pee breaks because I wanted to make good time. Sorry, too much info, but it was essential to my story.

I ended up stopping in Willow, CA (I think that's what it was called!) for some more Taco Bell and a WiFi break. I had been on the road for about 6 hours. Luckily, there was a Starbucks there to feed my computer needs. I went in, set up shop and made a new plan. I had passed Sacramento and was now aiming for Eugene, Oregon. Keep in mind, I was flying solo on this trip so all driving was done by moi. I looked on priceline.com to see where I wanted to rest my head for the night. Alas, there were no 4-star hotels in Eugene so I had to make another plan. Portland was the only major city that could accommodate my princess-like needs. What to do? What to do? Keep driving or suck it up and stay at a 2.5-star hotel? For those who know me, 2.5-stars will not do. Besides, I had nothing better to do than drive, so that's what I did. Portland it is. The Benson hotel became my place of refuge for the night.

After plugging the hotel's destination into my handy Garmin GPS, I still had another 769 or so kilometers to drive!! My ETA was 10:10 pm! Oh my gosh, I still had so far to drive. Then again, what's another 800 kilometers when I've already driven 600+? I was a woman with a goal, and no one was going to stop me, not even the cops because, of course, I was driving the speed limit.

Around 8:30 pm or so I started seeing stars, and not the kind in the sky. I was so bagged but I was so close. Only 150kms to go and then I can pass out. Well, I made it. Checked in, made a few calls and passed out.

The next day was also an early start, but not as early. I was on the road driving by 7:20 am. I originally planned to make this a 3-day drive but wanted to cut it in half now that I knew I was a driving animal. While some might scratch their heads and ask, "Car Girl, why didn't you stop and tax-free shop in Oregon?" To that I say, "Because, when I have a goal, failure is not an option." Plus, Oregon isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I can always make a girls weekend out of it if I need a shopping fix.

I absolutely had to stop for food so I opted for drive-thru: Rotten Ronnie's it was. Somehow the bacon and egg McMuffin I ate tasted a lot greasier than here in Canada. Gross.

I made a plan to stop at Wal-Mart in Tulalip to get my Princess new wiper blades (she didn't see a lot of rain in Cali so hers were pretty shot) and some floor mats. Not having owned a car in quite some time, I felt like a proud new parent. All I wanted to do was spoil her and buy her accessories to pretty her up. Then the voice of reason kicked in and kicked me in the butt. I stuck with the wiper blades and floor mats and ventured North to the border.

So there I was, paperwork in hand with a cocky look on my face which read, "I did it! In your face." Then again, no one was trying to prove me wrong, or no one told me I couldn't do it so I'm not sure whose face I was addressing. I walked into US Customs and went to the window that said "Vehcile Export." I was so close to home I could smell it. Mmm, the Cloverdale manure.

I gave the officer my paperwork to which he said, "I need your title." I'm sorry, what? My title? I handed him the registration card that was given to me at the DMV and told him this was my title. "I can't accept that because we need the original title. Anyone can register a car, we need proof of ownership. Besides, they shouldn't have taken it from you. They don't know what they're doing in California." I was totally defeated. My smile turned upside down and I was fighting tears. Case and point, no title, no export. "What am I supposed to do?" I asked. He said, "Well, your car isn't going anywhere so I suggest you find a place to store it."

Oh, the agony. I walked out and immediately started to make calls. I was panicking and had no clue what to do. I called the Man, I called the relative, I texted my friend for sympathy, I even called the DMV for solace and a solution to my woes. Nothing helped. I was up a creek without a paddle, or in my case, stuck in the States without a title to legally export.

Then the floodgates of emotion opened. It happened so fast, almost like when my button popped off my pants years ago after eating too much food at the PNE. There was nothing I could do to expedite the export of my Cabrio. Having been on hold with the DMV for over 30 minutes each time I called, their suggestions were futile. I cried and cried and cried. Not only was I super tired, I had barely eaten anything so I could achieve my goal. I was completely alone and I was being separated from my Cabrio. If that wasn't enough to make you cry, than I don't know what is.

There I was, at the Canadian border, and I was WALKING through. I was so embarrassed and upset at the same time. I walked in to clear Customs and went to the next available wicket. I love Canada. With a puzzled look on his face, the CBSA gentleman asked, "Are you walking through?" I replied, "Yes, but not by choice." **Note, even in my times of trouble, I still try to keep my sense of wit in tact. "Really? Why is that?" asked friendly customs guy. "It's a long story," I said defeated. "Let me get comfortable." He literally rearranged himself in his chair and looked at me attentively. He wanted to know and I was more than willing to share. So, I shared. Ten minutes and a tear later I cleared customs and walked to my ride. Sometimes you just need someone to listen to you even if it's someone who can throw you in the slammer (not that he would because I wasn't doing anything illegal. I'm just saying!)

The solution to the chaotic problem was as follows: I put my Baby into a mini storage facility close to the border, got picked up, cried more, and am waiting for my title to come in the mail. One girl from the DMV said it could take 6-8 weeks but a more reliable source said otherwise. The waiting game is killing me BUT I know she is close to me and I can still visit her during visiting hours!

I thought I had all my ducks in a row but I guess a few of them flew south for the winter. Looking back on the situation, I'm glad it happened this way. There's nothing like a little bit of Baby drama.

The Car Girl On Assignment- 2011 Honda CR-Z

Edmonton, AB/ Vancouver, BC:

The weather is hot and sunny and it's a beautiful day to test drive the latest and greatest from Honda: the The 2011 CR-Z 2-door, sports-coupe, hybrid. Yes, it's a hybrid! And what a fantastic little car. It is captivating, fun to drive and a wonderful new addition to the Japanese auto manufacturer's lineup.

From the outside, you’ll notice that Honda incorporates the progressively raked roofline and the sharply truncated tail. Now if you feel like you’ve seen this before, you probably have. The 1980’s and 90’s CRX sports coupe had a similar flare. Also, the first generation Insight and FCX clarity fuel cell vehicle had similar styling. In my opinion. I love how the CR-Z looks. I give it two green thumbs up. I tend to find Honda 'plays it safe' when it comes to exterior styling. But that's changing. Earlier this year the Crosstour made it's street debut and was anything but conservative-looking. Kudos to them. While there are some extremely polarized opinions about its quirkiness, I give the Crosstour big HECK YES. Feel free to disagree. But that's enough about the Crosstour...

The interior fit and finish of the CR-Z is equally impressive, and it's not boring!! It is comprised of various soft touch materials and a lot of nice textures that blend very well together. I’m particularly taken with the cloth upholstered sport seats. They’re comfortable to sit in and, I think, they look very chic. Also, the 3-D display is very future forward and user friendly. It’s almost impossible to get lost in this cabin so that gets two thumbs up from me.

Under the hood of the CR-Z is a 1.5L, 4-cylinder, i-Vtec engine combined with Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist which is their 10-kilowatt, Direct Current Electric motor. It has an output of, brace yourself, 122 horsepower and 128 lb-ft of torque. Those numbers might seem modest, and they are, but the CR-Z still has a good amount of pep and get up and go when accelerating.

The best part about the CR-Z is that is comes standard with a 6-speed manual transmission! While that might not be so exciting for some, I think it's rad. The other hybrids available to us only come in automatics and I'm always up for a shift! Woot woot.

Another fantastic part about this two-door, two-seater is that there is tons of trunk space. Although it's small from the outside, it's big on the inside. There is also lots of head and legroom up front since there are no back seats. In total, there is 25.1 cu-ft of trunk space and that space goes a long way. After arriving back in Canada from my European vacation (more to come on this!) I was a little apprehensive when I went straight from the airport to Honda to pick up the CR-Z with all our baggage. We had 2 full-size suitcases, a large duffle bag, 2 large carry-ons, a laptop, backpack and purse. Was my anxiety without just cause? It sure was. All the luggage fit like a glove into the back. It was amazing on so many levels, one because it was 2am and I really didn't want to go home in a taxi and come back for the vehicle!!

Having had the opportunity to not only drive the CR-Z on city streets and on the highway, I also put it through the ropes around the Stratotech kart track (http://www.stratotech.ca/) in Sturgeon County, Alberta. This gave me the chance to really test its handling. Did I have a great time throwing it around the track? Yes. Did it handle well? Yes. Better, in fact. I thought the suspension would have been a little looser and a little sloppier in turns but I was wrong. Would I drive like I drove on the city streets? Nope, but when I have the chance to, I will!

There is only one trim of CR-Z, which makes things very simple. But fear not, Honda has made sure that it comes very well equipped. Complete with ABS brakes, Bluetooth, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and much more, the 6-speed manual transmission has an MSRP of $23,490. The CVT transmission has an MSRP of $24,290. For a 2-door hybrid, that will save you money at the pump, that’s not a bad deal.

As you can gather from the above, there are a lot of highlights about this vehicle so it was hard for me to find my top 3, but I did and here are my Highlights and Lowlights for the 2011 CR-Z.

Highlights:

1) Cool styling on both the inside and out

2) It's a HYBRID!!

3) Great on gas and gets lots of looks

Lowlights:

1) Looks a lot faster than it is!

2) C-pillars are wide and can inhibit visibility

3) TBD!!

An Interview With Canadian Racing Star Paul Tracy

I was recently at he Honda Indy in Edmonton, Alberta and caught up with Canadian open wheel racing star, Paul Tracy. We chatted about cars, racing, what’s in his garage and why he was grounded frequently growing up! Check it out…

The Car Girl: Thanks for joining me, Paul. What age were you when you first started to get involved in Motorsport?

Paul Tracy: My first race was when I was probably 5 or 6 years old. My dad came home with a go-kart and we went out to the go-kart track. There was a race, we entered it, and that was it. We ended up going back to the go-kart track every week after that.

TCG: Was Motorsport something that you had suggested or was it something your father brought into the home?

PT: My dad has always been a car guy. He’s always had exotic cars and different types of sports cars. It wasn’t really something I suggested but what had really prompted it was that I had a little mini-bike when I was a kid. I had it in the garage and I got in trouble for showing it to my friend. I had started it up and the throttle had stuck and it took off across the garage and went through the garage door. My dad took it away from me and then I got grounded and a couple weeks later he came back with a go-kart.

TCG: So that was kind of a blessing in disguise?!

PT: Yeah!

TCG: When you were growing up, what kinds of cars did you idolize? Was there something that you wanted to drive, i.e. I’m 6 years old now but I can’t wait until I’m 16 to drive…

PT: I don’t know. My dad always had nice cars. He had lots of different kinds of sports cars.

TCG: What kinds of cars?

PT: My dad had Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, every kind of car you can imagine. Rolls Royce’s, MG’s, you name it. He would buy stuff cheap and sell it for more. He’s always been into that kind of thing. I guess I’ve always dreamt of driving racecars not so much street cars.

TCG: When you turned 16, what car did you get?

PT: My first car when I was 16 was a Fiero. A 1984 Fiero.

TCG: What colour was it? Red?!

PT: It was red! I crashed it quite a lot. It lasted about 6-7 months before I had crashed it enough to where my dad took it away.

TCG: And then which car did you get after that?

PT: My dad gave me a pickup truck from his work, which was all beat up. I got grounded from having the Fiero taken away, and got a pickup truck after that. It was a Chevy.

TCG: I read that you were into collecting electric vehicles, is that correct?

PT: No, I don’t know where the ‘electric’ came from, maybe it was ‘eclectic!’ I have a bunch of old vehicles now, like a 1964 Lincoln Continental, a ’64 Buick Riviera, a 1951 Mercury, so I don’t know where that came out because I don’t own an electric vehicle. I heard that the other day too. Somebody made that up!

TCG: Could be worse, right?!

PT: Yeah!

TCG: I also read, correct me if I’m wrong, that you’re into motorcycles. What kinds of motorcycles do you have in your garage?

PT: I have a couple of different Harley’s, I have a Chopper and in the next couple of weeks, if no races come together, I’m going to a motorcycle rally with a couple of friends.

TCG: I know you have multiple cars in your garage, what’s your favourite car to drive for everyday purposes?

PT: Everyday, I drive a CL600 (Mercedes Benz). My wife has an S600 (Mercedes Benz). I like to drive my older cars but in the summertime in Vegas, it’s really hot, so it’s difficult to get them to run cool enough and not have a problem.

TCG: What advice would you give to kids or individuals looking to get into motorsport?

PT: It’s very, very difficult nowadays. It’s really hard to find sponsorship and keep sponsors happy. It’s not like it was in the 80’s and 90’s where sponsorship was easier to come by. Now, if you really want succeed and make it here, it’s not just the driving of a car, it’s a full-time job trying to find and raise the sponsorship and capital to do it. And when you have that, you have to over-deliver to the sponsors. What you say you’re going to do, you have to go over and above everything you say you’re going to do. Because if you don’t, they’re not going to come back.

TCG: I remember asking you this question in 2004 when you were in Vancouver for the Molson Indy race. I asked, do you prefer, Tim Horton’s, Kristy Kreme or victory donuts?

PT: I like Tim Horton’s!

Amazing Times at the Honda Indy in Edmonton

Hi All,

Well, it's been one of the most amazing weekends in my life and it's not even over! I know that's a bold statement to make, but it's very true. My weekend, which began on Thursday, started off with the testing out of the all new 2011 Honda CR-Z 2-door, sports coupe hybrid. I will post a separate review on this. What a great car to drive...

Then came the Honda Indy in Edmonton. For those who are not really into open wheel racing, you are missing out. Attending these kinds of events are so exciting and very cool. I haven't been to an Indy since it left Vancouver in 2004 so this was a definite treat. Three days of fast and loud cars, amazing drivers and more fast and loud cars is what I call a good time. But even non-enthusiasts can get a lot out of it. Racing is certainly VERY entertaining and there are tons of exhibits set up and great food to be eaten for those who want to come for the culture. Good times to be had by all. Not to mention it very is family-friendly.

Aside from the Honda Indy being totally awesome (insert teeny bopper hair twirling and giggling here) I had some pretty terrific experiences today. I had the opportunity to sit down with Paul Tracy- the renowned Canadian racing star- for a one-on-one interview (which too will be featured on my The Car Girls Garage shortly) but I literally had a once in a lifetime experience.

The news came to me at about midday when I was told that I had the opportunity to sit in a two-seater, indy-spec car and go around the track with a professional driver. How fantastic is that??!! I barely could contain myself. And for those of you who know me, you know that is quite a hard thing to do. But before I embarked on this adventure, I was hanging out trackside for the qualifying sessions for Sunday's race. There I came in contact with various team drivers and, to be honest, felt like a superstar!! It was wonderful. And for those Dancing with the Stars fans, I was within feet of Helio Castroneves! Hoo-ah.

All of this excitement, combined with an exceptionally hot day left me feeling totally exhausted but extremely pumped for what was about to happen...

As I went to go check in for my track experience, who was standing right in front of me also checking in? None other than Olympic gold medalist in mens curling, Kevin Martin. What a nice man. We got to talking (as I usually do) a he was there with his son, who I also ended up having a fairly lengthy conversation with. Turns out he is also the Grand Marshall of the race!!

I suited up, took a bunch of pictures and headed to the track. I chatted with Kevin Martin's son, and before I knew it, I was being outfitted with a face mask and a helmet. It was my time. I can't say I was nervous because that's not my style. Granted, the thought crossed my mind that something could go wrong but that soon dissipated. Besides, there was no turning back now! I had signed way too many waivers not to go through with it. In I hopped into a very tight seat. The staff strapped me down so there was very little wiggle room. I had 'oh crap' handle bars to hold on to and there was a tiny red button which was the 'STOP' button in case I was uncomfortable with the whole thing. There was no way I was going to be using that, I thought. Then off we went...

We took off in a flash and soon enough, we were speeding into turn 1 then turn 2 and so on. What a rush. It really makes you appreciate how much skill and ability it takes to be a race car driver and how exciting it can be. Truth be told, I wanted to go faster!! Then again, I'm a speed junky so that's no surprise. It really inspired me to want to become a race car driver even in my ripe, old age!! Heck, if I had the opportunity, I would do it in a heartbeat. However, that's not a reality. Maybe in my next life.

Before I knew it, we were back at the starting point. Sigh. But that also meant I was alive. Yesss. I could have done that all day but all good things must come to an end. I'm so grateful for the opportunity Honda bestowed upon me to be a part of all of this. It was truly one of the greatest days ever.

Stay tuned for a lot of great stuff coming your way from The Car Girl!

Cheers,

TCG