Vehicle reviews, car news, live auto show coverage and unique car topics blogged about on MSN Autos Canada.

By David Menzies for MSN Autos

Earlier this month, the Monster Jam folks were back at Toronto’s SkyDome doing their shtick – which invariably involves super-sized trucks cruising over an assortment of past-their-best-before date used cars (as many a fan pines for a Costa Concordia-like capsizing.)

However, there are some enthusiasts of this particular motorsport who aren’t content to merely sit in the stands and watch the likes of Grave Digger and Northern Nightmare do their stuff. Rather, some long for a daily driving vehicle that requires the driver to use a step-ladder to ascend into the cabin.
And if you happen to be of that ilk, why not consider the 1998 Ford Ranger (well, the body is that of a ’98 Ranger, at least) currently for sale at Auto Glory (www.autoglory.ca) in Richmond Hill, Ont.?

Just $16,000 takes away this street legal monster truck - a vehicle bound to command respect during rush hour and strike fear into the hearts of soccer moms at the local shopping mall parking lot.

Better yet, not even one of those “storms of the century” will be able to keep this creature at bay.

Alas, there are a few downsides when it comes to commuting via a monster truck, of course. Thanks to its high centre of gravity, you really don’t want to take a right turn at a fast clip. And you can forget about parking such a hulk in an underground lot. Finally, some might think those who drive such trucks might be (ahem) over-compensating for something else.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

There are plenty of sports car racing fans who denigrate the Grand-Am Rolex series for being too much like NASCAR because of the focus on driver safety and team equality. After this past weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona, though, it's hard to argue that they haven't built up an equitable series.

Despite having significantly smaller budgets than big-name teams like Target Chip Ganassi or Suntrust Racing, Michael Shank Racing used a combination of guts, driver talent and luck to win the 24 hour race on its eighth try. Both the winning #60 and the second-placed Starworks Racing entry were brand-new Ford-powered Riley cars that had barely turned a wheel in anger before pre-race qualifying on the Thursday before. Shank was doubly happy because his second entry, a much older Ford-Riley that at its best was two or three seconds a lap slower than the new-reg cars, remained on the lead lap after 24 hours and rounded out the overall podium.

The both big-dollar Ganassi entries - BMW-powered Rileys - had trouble with gearshifters and gearboxes, putting them too far behind to match the speed of the Ford-powered rivals. The heavily-favoured 'Corvette' prototypes had rough races as well - lots of unexpected teething problems that kept the big-guns in the garage early.

In GT, Porsche had a similar night, with the small Magnus Racing squad holding off bigger-budget squads from The Racers Group and Brumos Racing. Despite issues with front splitters affecting all 911 teams, the proven Porsches held off the relative newcomers from Ferarri, Audi and Dodge, along with proven winners from Chevrolet, Mazda and BMW. 

The GT field had over 40 cars entered, and promises to remain that competitive for the rest of the season.

For full results, click here. 

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Gotta love the minor differences between Canadian provinces and territories when it comes to annual vehicle inspections or certifications. Sometimes it's the smallest things that can bring nothing more than wasteful financial outlays.

Cousins of mine just moved from north of Toronto back to Fredericton right after New Years, and after a couple weeks getting their new house in order, decided it was time to switch over their driver's licences and get New Brunswick plates for their two vehicles.

The 2005 Chevrolet Malibu had no trouble passing the provincial inspection, but they were given a conditional fail on their nearly new 2011 Kia Rondo. Huh?

Turns out the dealer in Ontario had sold them on window tinting; the rear doors and cargo area were pretty dark, but it was the barely altered front door windows that the inspectors took issue with. Apparently, front-window tints are now illegal in NB after years of allowing 14 per cent tints. Not sure what inspired the provincial government to make the changes, but that's left them with a pricey bill. They have two weeks to get the tint removed and have the Kia reinspected...

I understand that they took it upon themselves to alter the vehicle beyond how it was delivered from the manufacturer... Have you ever had issues like this? Or bought an out-of-province car that needed to be alterered before you could register it? Let us know!

By David Menzies for MSN Autos

If you’re like me, you probably find yourself shaking your cranium whenever a traffic reporter notes that a car fire is in progress. Granted there are numerous flammable fluids in an average automobile, yet how exactly does a set of wheels ignite?

Well, in the case of one recent car fire, an electrical short as well as a trunk load of hair care products led to an impromptu bonfire.

Police in Cape Breton, N.B., say they think electrical problems triggered a chain reaction that lead to a hairstylist’s car becoming engulfed in flames earlier this month.

Police say the man was driving down MacDougall Street in Glace Bay when the hairstylist smelled smoke coming from the trunk of his somewhat-ironically-named Pontiac Sunfire.

The man pulled down the backseat of his ’99 GM compact and noticed that hair products he had stored in the trunk were ablaze.

By Jeremy Sinek for MSN Autos

Alliston, Ont. — If you’re a proud Canadian about to buy a 2012 Honda CR-V, you may want to check out the Vehicle Identification Number of “your” CR-V before you accept delivery. If the VIN doesn’t start with a “2,” it wasn’t built in Canada.

Honda’s facility in Alliston, Ontario, began building the freshly redesigned crossover in January, a few months behind the start of 2012 CR-V production at the original plant in Ohio. Previously all CR-Vs destined for the Canadian market were built at that Ohio plant. Now Honda Canada Manufacturing (HCM) will supply the Canadian market with CR-Vs and will send additional units south to supplement production in Ohio.

First drive: 2012 Honda CR-V

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Last week we brought you the sad news that Peugeot was canning its endurance racing program in light of recent economic issues, with a little addendum about Toyota readying its new competitor for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Now, we have a few more details and great photos of the TS030 hybrid that'll take the fight to Audi this coming June. It's designed and built by Toyota's European motorsports arm that used to run its Formula 1 team, and will be run by the French Oreca team, which has plenty of wins at Le Mans over the years.

Like the cancelled Peugeot, the TS030 is a hybrid-electric car that uses a gasoline-powered 3.4-litre V8 that is supplemented by a 500 kJ capacitor that gets recharged when the driver gets on the brakes. Apparently, there's still a question as to whether the Toyota will be rear- or four-wheel drive... the pair of electric motors could be mounted at either axle. Lots of testing will be done to figure out which would better suit the rigours of Le Mans.

There will be two cars entered in the car's race debut at the 6 Hours of Spa this coming September.

For a more detailed analysis of the car, its aerodynamics and driver feedback, check out this excellent article at Racecar Engineering.

By Jake Lingeman, AutoWeek

Mini is suspending work on the Rocketman, the United Kingdom's Car magazine reports. The company has a load of new products debuting, but the mini Mini won't be one of them.

This isn't too much of a surprise. Last June, Mini told Automotive News that it feared that a Smart competitor wouldn't be profitable.

Bing: More images of the Rocketman concept

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Showing some pretty amazing work with stickers and fibreglass, Ford released photos of its new NASCAR Sprint Cup racer based on its upcoming Fusion. We've already drooled over the production version revealed in Detroit at the 2012 NAIAS, but the overall style has been translated very well over to the strict hardpoints required in NASCAR. 

Ford's release says something about the Fusion being the car that “helped return ‘stock car’ to NASCAR.” We're not so sure about that. Especially since the OHV 5.6-litre pushrod V8 has nothing in common with the production model's DOHC four-cylinder EcoBoost engine besides the fact that it has pistons...

Bing: Why do Sprint Cup Cars look the same?

So what's your favourite current Cup design?

By David Menzies for MSN Autos

Last month, I was able to check out the new 2012 Hyundai Veloster for a week. The exterior looks great – kind of like what a CR-X might look like today if Honda hadn’t axed its wondrous two-seater back in 1991. The Veloster also has a slick interior and starting at $18,999, this three-door coupe is value-priced.

So, what’s not to love? Well, for a car that looks so greyhound sleek, the Veloster’s powerplant failed to rock my world. The Veloster came across as yet another car that belongs in the more-show-than-go category.

When my nosey neighbour asked how I was enjoying the sporty Hyundai, I noted that since the Veloster is a first-year model, I’d put off buying one for at least another model year. Because you just know that Hyundai will be coming out with a more performance-minded model – for those who care about such things.

And what do you know? At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this month, it was announced that a turbo version of the Veloster is headed for Hyundai dealerships this summer.
The new turbocharged 2013 Veloster will pack a 1.6L 4-cylinder engine that generates 201-hp and 195lb-ft of torque – a substantial increase over the 138-hp and 123lb-ft of torque offered in the standard 2012 model.

The upcoming Veloster upgrade is yet another example of the folly of buying a new car in its first model year. If you really want to be the first on your block with a new car model, you’re going to pay a price to be a trailblazer.

By Roger Hart, AutoWeek

Bobby Cleveland owns a record that most people didn't know existed and, frankly, probably never even thought about. But that really doesn't matter to Cleveland. He's gone faster on a lawnmower than anyone else on the planet. God bless America, and horsepower.

Cleveland took his modified lawnmower--and let's be clear here, the mowing deck is not attached to the rig--to the Bonneville Salt Flats in September 2010 and recorded a top speed of 96.529 mph (155 km/h).