Recent posts

#31

Member Test Drives and Product Reviews / Re: 2026 Mazda Mazda3 Sport GT...

Last post by Blueprint - Oct 08, 2026, 09:09 AM

Review is out: https://www.autohebdo.net/editorial/essai-routier/mazda/3/mazda-mazda3-sport-gt-manuelle-2026-essai-routier/

#32

Off-Topic / Re: Vacation Thread

Last post by Gurgie - Oct 08, 2026, 08:58 AM

I'm off to South America on October 31. Should be a really interesting trip as I'm going with my dad and two brothers. My dad is from Uruguay and all of our trips there have been heavy on family visits and this one is going to be a bit different as we'll get a chance to see more stuff rather than just staying with family in small villages. This will also be the first time the four of us are traveling together since we were kids. I think the last time I was in Uruguay was in 2017 or 2018 so it's been a bit.

Here's the itinerary:
- Fly to Buenos Aires where we will spend four nights
- Take the ferry across to Colonia del Sacramento, rent a car, drive to Montevideo (about two hours away) where we will stay for two nights
- Backtrack a bit to spend the weekend in Colonia Delta where my dad grew up, staying with my aunt and uncle.
- Go east of Montevideo to Punta Colorado for three nights. This is the coastline with resort towns that are popular with Brazilian tourists and where my grandparents used to vacation as well.
- Head across the country to Colonia Gartental to stay with another aunt and uncle for two nights.
- Spend our last night in Colonia del Sacramento before taking the ferry back to Buenos Aires to fly home.

Also have a vacation planned for next summer already, only because we had some Air Canada credits that were expiring. We're flying into Vienna and out of Dubrovnik (which is a new destination for AC) and also plan to spend a few days in Montenegro.

Sounds like a fantastic trip, looking forward to some pictures of the adventures.

#33

Electric Vehicles (EVs) / Re: What's good economy for an...

Last post by Blueprint - Oct 08, 2026, 12:00 AM

My latest EV was the Trailseeker, impressed by the observed 16.1 kWh/100 km for the week, handily beating the NRCan numbers. Impressive for a jacked-up off-roady long roof that does 0-60 in 3.9s.

New Bolt in a few weeks.

#34

General Car Banter / Re: What Car Did You See Today...

Last post by Blueprint - Oct 07, 2026, 11:51 PM

That was factory?!?! Why the hell did we not get those, thats a bad ass looking minivan!!

Because 'Muricans wanted (want) something bigger, so we got (and get) a different Odyssey than the JDM unit.

#35

Show and Shine / Re: Firm's 2001 XK8

Last post by Firm - Oct 07, 2026, 04:52 PM

They certainly are good looking cars. My dad's Silver 99 is also a convertible, though my brother had an 03(?) black on black XKR coupe for quite a few years as well. This generation (the X100) is a much simpler car than the later (X150) like my 2010 XKR...The X150 feels a little more dialed in, whereas the X100 feels more like a traditional Jag - which makes sense as the X100 underpinnings are really just a refresh of the XJS which dates back to the 70's, where the X150 was an entirely new platform. The benefit of that is that the X100, especially the XK8 version without the complexity of the supercharger or expensive big brakes, is pretty low maintenance and easy to live with....Basic 4.0L (or 4.2L on the later ones) NA V8, pretty standard suspension setup (XKR has pricy electronic dampers, XK8 doesn't), good old ZF 5-speed auto.

Issue with these are minimal and well documented at this point. The strut mounts being the most common, but I just ordered a new set for $225 bucks, I'll DIY the install, but even if a shop did it, you'd be looking at maybe 4-5 hours labor....not a huge $ job. Wheels speed sensors are common issues (again, cheap and easy), and earlier models had issues with cylinder wall linings and plastic timing guides, but 01+ those were resolved.

I am really likin the simplicity of the old 4.0L here...Did an oil change on the weekend, took 20 minutes and uses a normal spin on filter. Did my XKR a few weeks before....took 2 hours, getting it on the lift, removing the undertray, fighting with the cartridge filter setup, etc.  The XK8 has a real dipstick too, so it's easy to confirm your oil level, vs the dumb electronic dipstick in the 2010. Probably one of the easier, more robust, of the Euro sporty/performance cars to own from this era.

#36

Electric Vehicles (EVs) / Re: What's good economy for an...

Last post by dkazzed - Oct 07, 2026, 03:29 PM

I have no information about my plug/charger usage, since there's no wifi in my condo garage, which effectively turns my smart charger into a "dumb" charger. When I'm in the garage I see a few wifi networks that I assume belong to people on the ground floor, but since I'm on the 2nd, no chance my signal is reliably travelling that far. I can't imagine my charger consumption is that much higher, since I don't idle much and also never pre-heat or pre-cool the car.

I find that at minimum when there are no battery heating or cooling requirements, the onboard computer is still using about 300-400W whenever the vehicle is charging, and then inefficiencies with the charge itself and there's on average 15% of efficiency losses level 2 charging, and 25% level 1 charging. In extreme cold, it spends a little bit of time warming the battery before actually charging, but usually the heat generated while charging will keep the battery warm, even when it's -32 out which was oddly the coldest Edmonton got last winter.

How I justified preheating was 55 kWh is $7.81, even with 103.9 gas last winter, that's like 7.5 Le/100km. A V6 SUV/minivan uses a lot more than that in the same conditions. I imagine your condo parking doesn't ever get really cold? Even with unheated parkades, we at least design it to keep it above freezing to avoid bursting sprinkler pipes.

#37

Electric Vehicles (EVs) / Re: What's good economy for an...

Last post by RRocket - Oct 07, 2026, 02:35 PM

Always 15-17 kWh/100km

#38

Show and Shine / Re: Firm's 2001 XK8

Last post by Blizzard - Oct 07, 2026, 01:12 PM

So sexy. Half of me wishes I lived in your area so I could buy this off you when you're done with it, and the other half of me is happy I don't, because I'd buy it and I've always assumed these cars are maintenance nightmares both in terms of cost and complexity.

Someone in my area growing up had a black XKR coupe of this generation which I always remember looking incredible. Really timeless and a rare example of a car that looks good with such a large rear overhang.

I'm always mulling over what I'll get as a second car when I have more parking in hopefully 1.5-2 years. I definitely want something older but I'm very indecisive, so I've been flipping back and forth between something like this, a Porsche Boxster or other similar roadster, or an actual vintage car (1980s or earlier) like an MG, old Fiat 500, or old Mini Cooper.

#39

Off-Topic / Re: We bought a beach...and a ...

Last post by Blizzard - Oct 07, 2026, 01:10 PM

Not sure what it's like out there, but here a lot of recreational trails whether hiking, XC skiing, snowmobiling, etc. are on private land and owners give passage rights, sometimes in exchange for lower tax bills from the city. Not saying you have to allow people onto your land, but maybe that's generally what people assume...?

#40

Off-Topic / Re: Vacation Thread

Last post by Blizzard - Oct 07, 2026, 01:06 PM

Just booked my flight to Florida for the holidays. I'll be leaving on December 23 and coming back on January 11. It's expensive to fly especially on the 23rd, but in my line of work it's the only time in winter where I can take time off work and have a real vacation without logging on every day.

I hate Christmas so the timing works, I'll be staying at my family's place and they'll cook a nice dinner but nothing more. Hoping for nice weather!