A biweekly roundup of automotive news, good, bad and just plain weird:
Son surprises father with 1957 Chevy
Seeing as Father's Day is just coming up on the horizon - don't forget to get your crayons out - here's a feel-good story of a bond forged of Detroit Iron. Mike King of Louisville, Ky., made a promise to his old man when he was just an eight-year-old boy: Dad, I'm going to get you that '57 Chevy you always dreamed of.
Roger King worked hard all his life, but never quite was able to get the funds together for such an extravagance. On his 57th birthday, his son called him out to the driveway to help set up a game of toss football, and then rolled open the garage.
There, inside, was a teal and white '57 Chevy that King Jr. bought two years ago out of New Hampshire, and had been keeping tucked away in secret for just this day. He'd been able to put the funds together by working overtime.
It's a great story, so kids everywhere, get on it - 1957 Chevys in all your Dads' driveways by Sunday. Chop chop.
If you can't make that happen, us Dads will probably settle for a Hot Wheels and a beer, or maybe you can put the iPad down for five minutes and endure a corny Dad joke or two.
Latest victim of globalization: the Kei car
If you've ever been lucky enough to visit Japan, you'll have noticed that their traffic is very different than ours. No, it's not just the volume, nor the driving on the left, it's the tiny little shoeboxshaped micro machines you see everywhere.
These are the Kei cars, a strictly regulated class of vehicles that uses small footprints and tiny engines to dodge some of Japan's road taxes. They're cheap to run and extremely popular, comprising 40 per cent of all vehicles on Japanese roads.
But now they're an endangered species. Because the Kei car is more about a tax loophole than lightweight efficiency, they are of limited use in other markets. Thus, Japan's factories are spending an inordinate amount of energy churning out cars that can only be used in the home market. The government believes that spending R&D dollars on such a niche market is a waste, when the money could be used to improve cars that can be used both at home and exported for profit.
It's a fair point, especially with Korean and now Chinese automakers in ascendancy, threatening Japan's former dominance of the import market. It's also just a bit sad.
Many Kei cars have been imported into British Columbia under our 15-year grey market rules, and while they don't exactly look all that safe (most are the size of golf carts), they are immense fun. For bombing around the streets of the city, a tiny Subaru Sambar or Nissan Figaro sure beats a Smart Car for charm and personality.
Increased taxes mean the Kei car might be on the wane. Too bad, but at least we'll still be able to import and enjoy them for a while longer.
Vancouver gets Alfa Romeo franchise
No doubt the folks at Fiat of Vancouver are pretty thrilled to hear that they'll be the first Western dealer to get the ability to sell the re-launched Alfa Romeo brand. One of just four selected dealers in Canada, and only 86 across all North America, the dealership will be getting the new Alfa Romeo 4C in extremely limited quantities.
Even if you grew up in an era where owning an Italian car meant that you spent more time with your mechanic than your family, this is very exciting news. Fiat and Alfa Romeo have come a long way since those days, and their cars make for a nice alternative to mainstream drudgery without the mechanical instability of the past.
Consider the 4C Launch Edition that each dealership will be given to display proudly in their showroom. Lightweight at less than 1,150 kilograms, the midengined two-seater promises turbocharged thrills from its 1.7-litre engine. With 240 horsepower on tap and plenty of readily available torque, it should sprint to 100 kilometres per hour in the mid-four-second range.
Basically, we're talking about a baby Ferrari for the price of a Lotus Elise. That's not cheap, nor is it especially luxurious, but it's a chance to own something extremely unique. You'll have to be quick though as hardly any of these cars will be available for the first few years.
VW kills off entire movie theatre filled with texting teens - for safety
It's very simple, and very shocking. Before the premiere of a movie in Hong Kong, VW played a short video clip, with one text-based twist.
When the screen rolls up in the packed theatre, there's the point of view of someone driving along a straight road, without anything very exciting happening. Next, VW's IT guru uses a mass broadcaster to send a text to everyone in the theatre.
Naturally, because we're all hardwired to reach for that phone when the chime sounds, the moviegoers all pull out their phones and check the message - BAM, the on-screen car swerves off the road and crashes. There are more than one or two stunned faces in the crowd.
The screen next displays a warning: "Mobile use is now the leading cause of death behind the wheel." Judging from the looks on the audience's faces, the promo was pretty effective.
Enforcement of cellphone laws, education, and shocking spots like this all seem to be having at least some effect. If you find it too tempting to check your texts when you're behind the wheel, then put your phone on silent or, better yet, put it in your bag and chuck it in the trunk.
Watch this space for all the week's best and worst of automotive news, or submit your own auto oddities to [email protected] Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendan_mcaleer.
