Hey! Just got back from this year’s Canadian International Autoshow. It was pretty good, we were always rushed because this year we were limited to 6 hours at the show, when you really need more to see everything. I don’t understand why the CEO (Head? King? I’m not sure what his title really is) of the autoshow organization said that you should take 2-3 hours to see it all. Is the guy a marathon runner or something? It takes at least a half an hour to travel between all three buildings! We made it through all three, even though we didn’t spend long in each.

I still like the Smart Car.  I know probably no one else does, but for commuting or going around in a city, how can you go wrong?  For commuting, the gas mileage is pretty damn good (3.2L/100 KM, though don't quote me on that...) and it costs like $15 to fill the tank.  It doesn't have a huge trunk, I know, but if you're going Christmas shopping, how great would it be to be able to fit into almost any parking space?  As long as you aren't buying bulky things, it ought to be OK (Stick to blow-up items for as many people as you can and you could fit ALL your Christmas shopping in this car :p ) (I know what you're thinking, you're sick minded.  I just thought everyone loved beach balls....)

I like the Honda Element too.  Yeah, I know it looks like a box.  No, that doesn't bother me.  If you're looking for a car that can actually do some of the stuff they do on commercials, this'd be it.  You put all the chairs flat, you've got two beds, you put the back seats flat, flip them up to the sides of the car, and you've got tonnes of room to put in all your crap (you could roll in a few bikes, no problem.  None of that having to lay them down junk).  There's just something to be said for an "adventure" car with a floor you can hose down.  The car may not be overly pretty, but if you actually want to DO things with it, this ought to be near the top of your list.

I hate the Hummer.  I hated the H1, I hated the H2, and I hate the H3.  I have NEVER seen a Hummer driven by anyone I would remotely associate with "wilderness enthusiest" or "offroader" or "hired assassin for eliminating targets in rough terrain".  These people look like soccer Moms and either they or their significant other makes too much money (I've never seen one driven by a man, seriously!).  If they wanted safety, they ought to get a Volvo, not a Gas Guzzler 5000.  I'm not some eco-nut here, I usually am more of a "let people do what they want" kind of guy, but come on, they're spending tonnes of money and wasting tonnes of gas paying for capabilities they've never even seriously thought of using.  It's the stupidity I hate.

There's far too many vehicles to go through any sort of a number of them, so we'll go on to the next part of the adventure.  Via Rail.

We took the train to Toronto, and I'm always bewildered by them.  Not in a good way, of course.  They go on a track, its impossible for them to take a better or a worse route, yet it was still late coming to pick us up.  Then it was even LATER dropping us off.  We were a half hour late walking into the Auto Show, without even a "sorry" from Via.  No use crying over spilt milk, we rushed into the show and tried to make up for lost time.  On the way back, the train was 15 minutes late pulling into the station (if only we had known in advance it would have been late!) but that was merely a sign of things to come.  During the route, on we were delayed for freight being moved about on two seperate occasions.  Lovely.  So, that set us probably 10-15 minutes behind schedule.  Then, as the crowning moment of stupidity, the desel-electric train had power problems.  40 minutes of just sitting there on the track with nothing to do, with only the emergency light shining.  Luckily, they managed to get it going again.   No wonder no one rides the train anymore...