A Serious Threat to Old Guard Eco-Powers
When I returned from my first ever TestFest in the fall, it was difficult to put the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer OZ into perspective. For three days I was in literal perpetual motion, driving 2003 model vehicles over and through Ontario backroads, and on and, ahem, off Shannonville Raceway tracks.
 |
| After three straight days of driving the latest 2003 cars, technical figures and numbers started to blur together. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
BMW Z4. Nissan 350Z. Mercedes-Benz C32 AMG. Audi A4 Cabriolet. Acura NSX. 50th Anniversary Corvette. And on and on it went at the annual event that sees manufacturers provide the cars, keys and gas to an insatiable Canadian automotive press corps.
 |
| The sporty Lancer OZ Rally edition, priced around $20,000, should appeal to enthusiasts and young buyers alike. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
After 72 hours of driving, eating, driving, sleeping, driving, talking about driving then driving some more, the technical figures and numbers began to overshadow, in my humble estimation, the most important number in the buying public's mind: the number with the dollar sign at the front.
The aforementioned dream list of vehicles alone rings up a half-million dollar sticker price, give or take 20 thousand here or there. Ask the esteemed members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) to ante up for the high-powered pony ride, and you'd have a shorter lineup than a Canucks-Thrasher tilt at The Garage on a sunny Monday night. Put another way, by the time said scribes would have enough money under the mattress to buy one of these luxury vehicles, the Ballard Fuel Cell will be regarded as a crude piece of inefficient technology.