New Car Reviews
First Drive > 2013 Ford F-150 Limited
First Drive > 2013 Ford F-150 Limited The new standard in luxury Review by Russell Purcell. Photos by Ford Ford’s EcoBoost V6 is an engineering marvel Loads of luxury in an exclusive package Expensive for a half-ton pickup Too fancy to get the job done The Ford F-150 has been the best-selling pickup truck in the United States for the past 36 years, and in Canada, the company’s venerable half-ton pickup has been a sales leader for no less than 47 years. At present, Ford offers 14 different models of the 2013 Ford F-150 ranging from…
BMW’s Sport Activity Vehicles: X1 & X3
TEST DRIVE :: We look at the 2013 BMW X1 and X3 SAVs…that’s right. SAV.
2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 3
TEST DRIVE :: Go green and ride in style — we review the popular 3-series 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 3
2013 Lexus LX 570
TEST DRIVE > The 2013 Lexus LX 570 shows us the large, luxury SUVs are still doing it for North Americans.
2013 MINI John Cooper Works Countryman All4 vs. 2013 MINI WRC
Kühtai, Austria — There are a number of specific reasons why a car manufacturer chooses to get involved in motorsports, but ultimately it all comes back to selling more cars.
2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
TEST DRIVE > The already thriving performance five-door hatchback segment with the likes of the Ford Focus GT, Mazda3 Sport, and VW Golf, just got a whole lot ‘thrive-ier’ with the all-new Euro-styled 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT.
Motorcycle Features
1996 Honda Magna
Most would take something ugly and make it beautiful. Not Dustin Gavel. His 1996 Honda Magna was an unloved monstrosity, wishing to make it more grotesque.
Custom 2007 Triumph Bonneville T100
So who takes a brand new 2007 Triumph Bonneville T100 and customizes it? This guy.
1971 Suzuki Stinger
A swarm of angry bees couldn’t part Stu McColl from his Suzuki Stinger.
TJ Cycle’s Honda XR500
Abused, beaten and broken. That’s how many motorcycles arrive at Mark Blundell’s Calgary-based boneyard. Sometimes, all they need is a little love and nurturing and they have a whole new life. Consider this early 1980s Honda XR500. Story by Greg Williams. Photos by Amee Reehal “It was a $50 purchase,” explains Blundell, owner of TJ’s Cycle New and Used Parts Emporium. ”It looked like crap, but it still ran. My heart bleeds for some of these vehicles, and I didn’t want to put it in the back yard for breaking – it needed to be a project.” Casting about…
1977 Honda MT125R
An Uncompromising Ride Honda’s Little GP Racer was a Challenging Restoration Story by Greg Williams. Photos by Amee Reehal Racing is only a hobby for Calgary artist Bill Rodgers, but going fast just got more exciting. He’s been modifying a 1970s Honda XL250 for 20 years, competing in AHRMA’s 350 Sportsman category. It’s completely outclassed – but because it’s well prepared Rodgers never finishes last. “It’s now at its apex in terms of development,” Rodgers says. There’s a new racer in the stable, though, that might give Rodgers an edge. Last winter Rodgers walked into Don Fergin’s Universal Cycle Services….
MadJap Kustoms Mythical Chopper
The Unicorn is Down But Not Out as MadJap and Jesus Imposter Resurrect a Mythical Chopper Story by Greg Williams. Photography by Amee Reehal There’s a unicorn, a rainbow and Jesus. To freak out the children, Jesus wields a sword, and he’s stabbing the mythical mono-horn beast. Dale Yamada of Mad Jap Kustoms prophetically dreamed the image, and wanted it airbrushed on his chopper build. When he shared his vision with Calgary artist Doug Veness the young painter suggested the unicorn should bleed Skittles. No, Yamada says, that would be going too far. Painted a bright white, the Unicorn is…
1975 MV Agusta
Reigniting the Passion — They say men respond to visual stimuli, but the late owner of this 1975 MV Agusta was aroused by the aural…
2002 Suzuki SV650
Some folks collect stamps. Others collect coins. Story by Greg Williams. Photos by Amee Reehal John Whitby’s hobby is far more interesting. He collects dysfunctional motorcycles. Working in his suburban two-car garage — already stuffed to the rafters with two hot rods, a metal lathe, welding gear and a half dozen other bikes — he takes them apart and puts them back together in a way the original maker never intended. But Whitby insists if he could afford one, and he didn’t already have a skunk works full of completed projects, he’d have a brand new dual purpose Triumph XC800….
1977 Honda CB750F2 Brat-Style Bike
Punk’d The do-it-yourself ethos of punk music inspired a man born long after the music itself had died. Story by Greg Williams; Photos by Amee Reehal As a teenager skateboarding to punk music, Marco Luk couldn’t have known how closely his future bike-building career would reflect the chorus of Minor Threat’s eponymous song: Make do with what you have / Take what you can get / Pay no mind to us / We’re just a minor threat Along with The Clash and The Exploding Hearts, Minor Threat is one of the 22-year-old fabricator’s favourite bands. And it’s a gritty…
1960′s Triumph Pre-unit Builds
Stripped, Slammed and Sinuous There are two kinds of vintage motorcycle enthusiasts. The first has garages full of half-finished projects and the second turns out pristine machines at a breakneck pace. We don’t need to tell you on which side of the divide Bob Klassen falls. Story by Greg Williams; Photos by Amee Reehal A freakishly fast sport bike it’s not. Nor is it a long and lazy chopper with chromed sissy bar and forward controls. Neither would be Bob Klassen’s style. But the bobber, as it turns out, is. Klassen became a believer in stripped-down customs after constructing his…
2001 Buell X1 Lightning Café Racer
2001 Buell X1 Lightning café racer Saturday Morning Special Story by Greg Williams; Photos by Amee Reehal John Whitby is a motorcycle-building machine. His friend and the owner of bike breaker TJ’s Cycle in Calgary, Mark Blundell, has Whitby figured out. It’s like this. Imagine a meat grinder. Pour a bunch of parts into the hopper and turn the handle. Just like magic, instead of hamburger, out pops a motorcycle. In less than two years Whitby completed a 1928 Model T rat rod and three motorcycle projects from the ground up. One of those bikes is the 2001 Buell…
Honda CB750
HONDA CB750 Story by Greg Williams, Photos by Amee Reehal Few machines have impacted the motorcycle market quite like the Honda CB750 Four. Arguments for other machines that have shaken the industry can be made, but when the inline four-cylinder CB750 was introduced in 1969 the motorcycle was literally a game-changer. And as a game-changer, Honda’s CB750 became the machine that set the pace for the early part of the 1970s. Calgary’s Peter Gilding was 13 years old in June 1970 when he first saw a Honda CB750. “I was so blown away by the four pipes and four mufflers,…
Lifestyle
Product Test
First Drive 2013-2014
Concepts
Tuner Features
Supercharged 1996 BMW M3 Cabriolet
Unsung Hero > The Tale of a Supercharged 1996 BMW M3 Cabriolet
1998 Acura Integra GS-R
Mad Cow A Crazy Integra GS-R Story & Photos by Amee Reehal (Originally ran in ModifiedMagazine, 2004) When you think of the Alberta Prairies (as you often do) you think of warm Chinook winds, rolling foothills, open blue skies, and the recent, isolated case of Mad Cow. Now you have one more thing to think about—this ’98 Acura Integra GS-R, a car so sick it puts The Mad Cow to shame. Both are completely insane, and whether it’s at the track or on your dinner plate, they intend to spank you silly. Many import enthusiasts have made the switch from…
Novitec Twin-Supercharged Ferrarri 360 Modena Spyder
Along came a Novitec Spider Story & Photos by Amee Reehal (Originally ran in Modified-LuxuryExotics, 2006) The 360 Modena Spider is a gorgeous car, no doubt. Are the streets of major cities riddled with them? As far as Ferraris go, yeah, probably. Novitec Rosso, the German-based authority on Ferrari refinement, steps in to take what is already a gifted vehicle and make it better. Zahir Rana, the owner of ZR Auto in Calgary, Alberta, is the Canadian distributor for Novitec, the outcome is one of the slickest tuned Modenas around—a 2002 Ferrari 360 Novitec Spider. A twin-supercharged Modena softtop,…
2008 Subaru STI Hatchback
A busy dad gets the mod bug…again. This time, with a 2008 Subaru STI Hatchback.
1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo
The Case Of The Missing MR2 — After an Evil Knievel–style street racing crash, Ryan Dandurand’s MR2 went into hiding during its lengthy rebuild.
1992 240sx SE
Timeless Story By Nick Chow. Photos by Amee Reehal There’s nothing like nostalgia to bring back fond memories and good times, like a classic Biggie track or the smell of sweet perfume. We see so many builds throughout the years that might be hot for a minute but a season later the style or trend has hit the recycling bin. Then there are individuals like Jeevs Sidhu who opt for a build that will always buck the trends, who would rather go with a project that will endure the times. The Calgary native has shown a unique sense of…
Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4
1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 Porsche Hunter Story by David Pratte; Photos by Amee Reehal You’ve no doubt heard of the Crocodile Hunter and Dog the Bounty Hunter. Well, there’s a new sheriff in town and his name is Warren the Porsche Hunter. I know, it doesn’t conjure up the same type of raw animal power as a croc or a K9, but it takes a bold man with a seriously fast machine to state he likes to go 911 Turbo hunting. These rear-engine autobahn burners are brutally fast off the line and not too shabby at high speeds, after all. Heck, if…
Track Ready Honda S2000
No Agendas An AP2 tuned to perfection, on it’s own terms. Story and Photos by Amee Reehal © In today’s market, there is no shortage of high-end, high profile show cars backed by reputable aftermarket manufacturers and suppliers displaying their wears or perhaps by unlikely corporations looking to reach out to a “younger” demographic. Gleaming rides plastered with corporate logos, supporting sponsor icons, and anything else that will garner attention. And rightfully so, this is the nature of the business after all, and a demo car is perhaps the most fitting marketing vehicle, literally. But once in awhile, a…
