My career as an auto critic literally started off with a bang. My first press car ever was a gleaming 1999 Mazda Protegé, that I picked up with my then-boss in January of the same year. Not ten minutes into the drive back to the office, a late model Toyota Corolla rear-ended my little Mazda on a busy traffic-laden highway.
From that moment on, many cars and trucks have had an impact (pun intended) on my career. Here are ten of them:
1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata
My first experience with Mazda's roadster kept me up all night (OK, maybe 2 hours of sleep) as I drove up and down highway and byways. To this day, it remains one of my absolute favourite cars. Every subsequent MX-5 I have driven has taken me to Heaven and back. I've got a soft spot for a MAZDASPEED edition...
2002 Nissan Xterra
This one scarred me with its fuel consumption numbers. In the dead of winter, I averaged a staggering 19L per 100 km! Also staggering was the number of snowbanks that got annihilated that week... It was quite a looker though but a rugged outer-shell will only take you so far...literally.
2001 BMW M3
I was lucky enough to be one of the first auto journalists in Montreal to take this one out for a spin. In no time flat, I was racing everyone on the highway on my way to Circuit Mont Tremblant for a BMWCCA club meet; I was a star! The Laguna Seca blue paint job was brilliant on this car.
From that moment on, many cars and trucks have had an impact (pun intended) on my career. Here are ten of them:
1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata
 |
My first experience with Mazda's roadster kept me up all night (OK, maybe 2 hours of sleep) as I drove up and down highway and byways. To this day, it remains one of my absolute favourite cars. Every subsequent MX-5 I have driven has taken me to Heaven and back. I've got a soft spot for a MAZDASPEED edition...
2002 Nissan Xterra
 |
This one scarred me with its fuel consumption numbers. In the dead of winter, I averaged a staggering 19L per 100 km! Also staggering was the number of snowbanks that got annihilated that week... It was quite a looker though but a rugged outer-shell will only take you so far...literally.
2001 BMW M3
 |
I was lucky enough to be one of the first auto journalists in Montreal to take this one out for a spin. In no time flat, I was racing everyone on the highway on my way to Circuit Mont Tremblant for a BMWCCA club meet; I was a star! The Laguna Seca blue paint job was brilliant on this car.