Avante Mazda, Richmond Hill

In the heart of Richmond Hill there is a dealership fuelled by a passion for automotives and reinforced by a transparent, customer-first philosophy. This dealership is Avante Mazda. And under the compassionate guidance of owner Frank Serpa, Avante Mazda has grown into one of the most trusted dealerships in Canada, and is certain to have the right car for you.

Serpa has been in the auto industry all his life. Starting in 1977, at age 15, he worked his way up the ladder from a simple clean-up boy to mechanic, parts and service manager, and eventually to owner in 1995. Raised in the industry, Serpa fostered a resolute desire for customer satisfaction. “After being in the business from ’77 to now – 34 years – when a customer leaves my dealership with a car, whether new or used, and are extremely happy, I still get those little goosebumps that make it all worthwhile.” Read more

Infiniti QX56

In today’s quest of lessening one’s carbon footprint on the automotive landscape, most manufacturers tend to shy away from the full-size SUVs and offer instead downsized and improved fuel-efficient vehicles. Infiniti on the other hand, continues to play in the premium full-size body on-frame SUV segment with its second generation QX SUV. Larger and more imposing than before, the all-new QX56 boasts loud styling, big power, lots of bright work and high-end equipment to satisfy the most discerning buyers. This niche segment is made up of players from Cadillac with its Escalade, Lincoln Navigator, Lexus LX570 and the luxuriously appointed military grade-style Mercedes G-Wagon. There’s other large SUVs, like the Mercedes GL and Audi Q7, which are more car-like thanks to their unibody type construction. Read more

Mazda3

All it takes is a drive around the parking lot to know that the Mazda3 is not your usual compact econobox. The car in question is the 2.5-litre sedan with six-speed manual transmission. The snug driver’s seat, sporty controls and direct steering give out clues that the Mazda3’s chassis is more substantial. Well, a quick banzai run through some twisty roads reveals the true nature of the Mazda3: it’s a driver’s car and it enjoys an enthusiastic drive.

The steering has just the right amount of feel and feedback from the front tires and combined with the taut suspension, allows the chassis to be entertaining and fun in the corners. There’s very good body control, which gives lots of confidence to the driver. Even the brakes have a nice feel for easy modulation when driven hard. Equally enjoyable is the smooth-revving 2.5-L four-cylinder that makes a nice racy growl at high revs. The throttle pedal Read more

Cadillac SRX Turbo

Cadillac’s latest entry in the hugely competitive crossover luxury segment is the SRX five-seater crossover SUV. The mid-size luxury SUV segment includes competitors such as the Lexus RX350, Lincoln MKT and Buick Enclave. There’s also the smaller Mercedes GLK and Audi Q5 to add to this group. Newly released in 2009, the Cadillac SRX designers thoroughly revised the entire vehicle from its seven-seater predecessor. Heavyset, the overall length has been reduced a parking-lot friendly 4.6 inches.

Continuing Cadillac’s art and science design theme among its model lineup, the polarizing SRX crossover SUV gets noticed thanks to its sharp creases and angles that boldly stand out. Hard to miss is the huge chrome grille punctuated by a large oversized Cadillac badge resting between two huge headlights, giving the front-end a look that is unmistakably Cadillac. It looks like the stylists Read more

Ford Escape Hybrid and Jeep Wrangler

Ford Escape hybrid
SUV practicality without fuel consumption worries.

With the fuel efficiency gains of gas electric hybrid power, it wasn’t long before SUVs started adopting this green technology. Ford was one of the early adopters, after Toyota, to equip its popular Escape compact SUV with a hybrid system. Ford launched the Escape Hybrid early in the decade and since then the model has been updated and modernized to its current form. Having driven the Escape on an extended trip, the 177-combined horsepower of the 2.5-litre four-cylinder gas and electric hybrid motor feels energetic and gives surprising acceleration. At one point, with no highway traffic and the gas pedal floored, the Escape impressed by reaching “hello, officer!” speeds effortlessly. The only downside was the aural whine of the engine as the continuously variable transmission Read more

Maple Acura

“Every time they turn that key, they’re smiling, they’re saying ‘wow this is my car’ and they enjoy the drive,” says Dominic D’Elia, general manager of Maple Acura. “That’s our main goal.” With a dynamic team of individuals, this brand new dealership is able to give its customers the best service possible.

When you walk into Maple Acura’s modern 25,000 sq. ft. facility, you instantly feel at ease. From the receptionists to the sales and service people, the spacious dealership is recognizably unique. Although Acura has a great reputation for building vehicles that impress their owners year after year, the Maple dealership prides itself on something different. “We have the same products as every Acura dealership, but what they don’t have is our team,” says D’Elia. “Our business focuses on the people.” Read more

Lexus RX450h hybrid and Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon

Not too long ago a hybrid gas electric vehicle was viewed as some sort of science experiment. Fast-forward a decade and hybrid vehicles are now all the rage and moving into the premium segment. Lexus was one of the pioneers in offering a hybrid in its line-up of luxury vehicles so it was only natural for Lexus to offer a hybrid version of its popular RX350 SUV in the form of the RX450h hybrid.

Style-wise, the RX450h is almost indistinguishable from its gasoline-powered sibling, the RX350. Only a trained eye will spot the hybrid’s specific styling cues, such as the unique wheel design, subtle blue hybrid badging and light blue tinted tail lamp lenses. A cool exterior feature is the available LED headlamps that give the RX450h a high-tech appearance. Read more

2010 Toronto International Auto Show Highlights

In 1769, Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot invented the first-ever self-propelled vehicle. It ran on steam, and it topped out at two miles per hour. Even back then, engineers like Cugnot faced the same problem we have today: How do we create an environmentally friendly car without sacrificing speed and power?

While efforts are being made to answer that billion-dollar question, environmentally conscious cars, along with carefree speedsters (and everything in between) were on display at the 2010 Toronto International Auto Show. With over 1,000 cars to choose from, we selected four – three Japanese models looking for attention, and one class-leader looking for redemption.

Let’s take a closer look at the 2010 Lexus IS C250 and 350 convertibles. The C badge means drivers will enjoy a Read more

Introducing the 2010 FX35 and FX50

In a league of true contenders, performance matched with style of high artistic valour provides FX with a formula of necessity needed to compete. The “Performance Inspired” design of the 2010 Infiniti FX35 and FX50 is a package of fluid motion, class-leading safety and technological superiority that sets it apart from the competition.

“The combination of no-hesitation acceleration, radical design, and the handling and performance of a sports car has not been achieved by any of the 2010 FX’s competitors,” says Nader Maher, sales manager of new vehicles at a local Infiniti dealership.

Maher’s confident Infiniti pride stems not from a sales perspective but from personal experience. He explains how he (a five-year owner of the FX brand) will be upgrading to the 2010 FX50 in the coming weeks. “You never feel insecure in an FX,” he says. Read more

Get into Gear with a Hands Free Solution

On Oct. 26, 2009, Ontario joined the growing number of jurisdictions around the world to introduce a distracted-driving law. Among other things, the new law makes it illegal to drive while using any kind of hand-held phone, PDA or other device such as a GPS or MP3 player. The period between the introduction of the law until the end of January 2010 is being used to educate drivers about the new law before police start issuing fines on Feb. 1, 2010.

While the law does apply to all devices, the most common cause of hand-held-device-related accidents is people making phone calls, texting and performing other operations on their cellphones while driving. Numerous studies on the effect of distracted driving have shown that sidetracked drivers are up to 20 times more likely to have an accident than more focused drivers. Over 90 per cent of all accidents are caused by driver error, Read more

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