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

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Remember when Usain Bolt, fastest man alive, was signed as a brand ambassador by Nissan not long after last year's summer olympics in London? Bolt was taken to Japan where he got to try his hand at driving the company's range of high-performance GT-R models, and then subsequently gave his input on how to make one specifically for his tastes. The 'Bolt Gold' GT-R, as it was known, was auctioned off for charity late last year.

Well, as a thanks for all his help, Nissan surprised Bolt with a new GT-R that's essentially a replica of the 'Bolt Gold' version, although now based on the even faster lighter-weight 2014 mode. With 545 horsepower and 463 lb-ft of torque from the twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V6, a six-speed automated dual-clutch gearbox and all-wheel-drive, the Nissan sprints to 100 km/h well under three seconds. 

The interior is a riot of white leather with a bumpin' Bose audio system, while the exterior has specially matched Rays alloy wheels. 

Bolt took the keys during a handover ceremony at the Jamaican training facility he calls home. 

This image was taken from the Help Find Tim Bosma Facebook page.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

In what's probably everyone's worst fear about selling their vehicles privately, a Hamilton, ON man went missing earlier this week after two men came to take his pickup for a test drive. Timothy Bosma, 32, had placed ads for his 2007 Dodge Ram 3500 on Kijiji and Autotrader near the end of April, and apparently finally figured he might have a buyer. Two men, who remain unidentified, came by late in the evening on Monday to presumably take a look at the truck and, when asked to take it for a test drive, Bosma agreed and went along with them.

That's the last anyone has seen or spoken to them. Hamilton Police's homicide division is heading up the search, even though it officially remains a missing persons case. Bosma's cell phone was being tracked by police, but had been shut off not long after he disappeared. Unfortunately, all communication between Bosma and the two men was done over the phone, meaning there's no electronic 'trail' for police to use.

The suspects descriptions are as follows:

- The first male is white, six-foot-one-inches to six-foot-two-inches tall, weighting about 180 lbs with light to medium short brown hair. He is unshaven and was wearing blue jeans, an orange long-sleeve shirt and running shoes.

- The second man is five-foot-nine-inches to five-foot-10-inches tall with a small to medium build, in his early to mid-20s. He has dark hair and was wearing a red hooded sweater with the hood up over his head.

 Bosma was last seen wearing dark jeans, work boots and a long-sleeve shirt. The missing vehicle is a black 2007 Dodge Ram 3500 with a Cummins turbodiesel, Ontario licence plate number 726 7ZW.

If you have any information about the case or see the vehicle, contact etiher the Hamilton Police or Crimestoppers.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

One of the more bizarre trends in the car business is that regardless of fuel-price spikes and worries about household debt levels, automakers keep adding more and more luxury pickup trucks. Ford bolstered its F-150 line with a Limited package, Toyota added its own Platinum trim to the Tundra, and now Chevrolet is joining the frey with its redesigned 2014 Silverado.

The new High Country mimics what GMC has done with its Denali sub-brand, meaning a truck that'll shame plenty of luxury vehicles with the levels of chrome, look-at-me styling and toys. Rather than the more urban flavour found in Denali models, the High Country goes, well, country. The High Country gets its own chrome grille with chrome bars to match its 20-inch - wait for it - chrome wheels. (See the pattern here?) It gets colour-matched bumpers (gasp!), but the exterior mirrors, door handles and side mouldings are chrome too.

The interior uses what Chevrolet calls "authentic" materials. Strange choice of words... Otherwise, the High Country gets plenty of toys, meaning an eight-inch MyLink touchscreen radio with upgraded Bose audio, heated-and-cooled saddle-brown leather seats, and park assist. Options include a power moonroof, navigation, rear-seat entertainment system, and a premium package which includes things like a heated steering wheel, some active safety systems and trailer brake control.

Engine-wise, the High Country uses the same next-gen 5.3-litre EcoTec3 V8 with 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque while the larger 6.2-litre version will be available; every Silverado now uses a six-speed automatic transmission and the HC will be available with either rear- or four-wheel drive. 

Do you like what Chevrolet's done with the High Country? Prefer offerings from Ram or Ford or Toyota? Find the whole thing an enormous waste of time? Let us know!

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

NASCAR's new 'Gen 6' racecars have come under plenty of criticism during their first season on track. Drivers have called them unfinished or difficult to pass on the bigger tracks, but there's still plenty of time left to get them up to speed. Recently, though, it seemed like the perfect combination of track conditions, car setup and tire compound allowed at least a couple drivers there to hit top speeds of 214 mph at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

That's pretty darned fast, especially since Indy has always been a painful race to watch because of tire degradation. Last year's pole sitter, Denny Hamlin, was quickest at 182.293 mph, but to put that into perspective, that's the average speed around the two-mile facility. Although average speeds from the test weren't revealed, Jeff Gordon said that they were definitely faster than last year.

Although 214 mph might sound fast, speeds are still higher at tracks like Talladega even with the power-sapping restrictor plates required at the two Super-speedways on the calendar. The plates were put into effect in 1988 after several huge crashes put both drivers and fans at risk of injury, reducing average speeds to around 190 mph. However, Rusty Wallace ran an un-restricted Cup car to a top speed of 228 mph back in 2004, and Bill Elliot's pre-plate qualifying run in 1987 saw an average speed of 212.809, which remains the fastest NASCAR qualifying lap ever.

Chevrolet Code 130R Concept. Photo: John LeBlanc

By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos

Save for its ill-fated Corvair from the 1960s and the equally unremarkable Monza a decade later, General Motors’ Chevrolet brand has never had a compact, rear-wheel-drive performance sports coupe to sell below its iconic Camaro and Corvette. But a report from Automotive News says the idea of a smaller-than-a-Camaro Chevy two-door is being considered.

"A really nice, light, rear-drive car that's inexpensive — we know that rings a bell," so says GM North America president Mark Reuss.

If you remember, Chevrolet unveiled a pair of compact coupe concepts at the 2012 Detroit auto show: the rear-wheel-drive Code 130R (seen above) and the front-wheel-drive Tru 140S. The Code 130R looked like a mini-Camaro or a BMW 1 Series, while the Tru 140S was obviously designed to take on import-brand small coupes like the Hyundai Veloster or Scion tC.

At the show, Chevy officials said feedback from customers was going to help them decide which concept to move forward with on the path to production. And although Reuss won’t say the Code 130R concept is heading to production, "Really strong" feedback on the concept from young people has fueled his desire to bring a small, RWD Chevy coupe to showrooms.

Needless-to-day, the favourable attention Toyota has garnered (from driving enthusiasts and enthusiastic media) for its rear-wheel-drive Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ clones is influencing GM’s decision. And any product that will get smartphone-loving young buyers into a Chevy showroom would be a huge accomplishment.

What do you think? If you are under the age of 30 years, would you consider a small, fun-to-drive Chevy coupe? Or is the GM brand too associated with aging Baby Boomers?

Source: Automotive News

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Every spring, after the freeze-thaw cycle has completely cratered Canada's concrete and asphault, the various CAA regions jump into action. In an attempt to kick-start the annual pavement-fixing construction season - otherwise known as 'summer' - the clubs hold a contest to see exactly which stretches of infrastructure are in need of the most attention.

The CAA Worst Roads campaign is back for 2013, running from May 1 to 31 in British Columbia, Ontario and the Atlantic regions. Anyone can vote for which roads are in the absolute worst shape with suspension-breaking potholes to nausea-inducing whoops. Pretty much any public road in those provinces are fair play and results are updated daily. In the end, the tallies are released to every level of government in hopes that the exposure will finally shame someone into fixing them properly.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan released their results back in April, while Alberta and Quebec apparently opted out of the contest.

So which road do you use or know of that you'd qualify as the worst? Around Fredericton, there are plenty, but a couple recent discoveries include Highway 615 out towards Bright, NB and Highway 105 from Mactaquac to Nackawic. Reply in the comments and tell us about why your picks are so terrible.

Toyota Me.We Concept car

 By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos

Last week in Paris, Japan’s Toyota revealed its new Me.We Concept. Unlike most show cars these days, the Me.We doesn’t brag about having a gazillion horsepower or is jammed with leather-this or power-that or more infotainment goodies than you’ll find at home. Instead, the Toyota concept is more like what an Apple iPod is compared to your grandparents’ hi-fidelity home stereo system; taking the less is more approach.

Volvo's next-generation City Safe system now detects cyclists and pedestrians too.

While there are some folks who feel any added piece of safety technology is only making us worse drivers by becoming more reliant on them, others feel quite differently. The arguments both ways can get heated and - unfortunately - there's very little hard data to back up the claims on both sides.

Apparently, that's no longer the case, at least for one small fraction of what's available. The idea behind forward collision warning systems is pretty simple: through an array of sensors and/or cameras, the car's computer will somehow alert the driver when another vehicle's closing speed is too great.

Depending on the system, some will do more than just beep and flash: they'll apply the brakes too, avoiding the collision altogether. But whether any of them are worth the investment remains to be seen.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

When I was an impressionable teen, cars were cars and trucks were trucks. The only SUVs at the time were based on trucks and were celebrated for their truckishness. Beyond the seminal Jeep Cherokee and full-size offerings from GM and Ford, the SUVs people my age really wanted were the Japanese mid-sizers from Toyota and Nissan. The 4Runner and Pathfinder were cool and capable when things from Japan were just built right and the Big Three hadn't turned the quality corner yet.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

When it came to Saturday-morning cartoons, very few of us put any critical thinking towards the shows we were watching. It's a hard to do that when you're seven or eight. You just stare at the television with a big smile on your face and anything that happens on the shows is right. It's just accepted. When Wile E. Coyote accidentally runs straight off a cliff and doesn't start falling until he looks down, that's fine. Those are the rules.

But when you grow up and start applying things like, well, logic and - gasp! - science, well the cartoon universe starts to show its true colours.

That's exactly what Kyle Hill did in a guest blog with Scientific American regarding Fred Flintstone and his wood-and-stone 'car'. Hill started making some general assumptions about things like how much the car weighed, how fast Fred could conceivably get the machine moving (40 km/h), and the condition of the roads. All of these played into figuring out if Fred's two - admittedly huge and probably thickly calloused - feet could conceivably stop the 865-kg machine. 

Basically, Hill deduced that if Fred's feet were impervious to heat that he could stop the car in about eight metres, which isn't too shabby. But if we do take friction and its biggest byproduct - heat - into account, essentially Fred's feet would have ignited and burned, much like a failed landing gear on a commercial airplane.

Hill described the feeling Fred would encounter as similar to "standing on a belt sander, with an adolescent African elephant on your back."

In another exercise he links to in the original SA post, Hill also solves a physics question about how far Batman and the Joker would slide after a collision while fighting, which is another cool thing we never thought of either.

What do you think? What show/comic scenario would you like someone to try and answer using 'real' science? Or is this just a waste of time and we should leave our childhood heroes alone? Let us know!