Published: December 25, 2017, 7:00 PM
Updated: November 21, 2021, 3:05 PM
2017: The automotive year in review
2017 was a banner year for automotive news and events. Here is a week-by-week summary of some of our favourite articles of the many we published over the year.
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Week 1 – 2016 is best year ever for auto sales in Canada
2016 was the best year ever for new-vehicle sales in Canada – the fourth record year in a row. Total sales of 1,948,899 new cars, trucks and SUVs were up 2.6% and almost 50,000 units from last year’s record tally, topping 1.9 million for the first time ever.
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Week 2 – Live from the floor of the North American International Auto Show
We were there reporting on news and new vehicle debuts as they happened, including the Volkswagen I.D. Buzz all-electric minibus concept. It was said to have a range of 270 miles, or 450 km, and 10 laser scanners that will let it be driven either manually or autonomously. It's still just a concept, but the future's arriving faster than anyone expected.
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The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) revealed the winners of two "Best New Technology" awards at the Montreal International Auto Show today. Mazda and Volvo were the winners for Best New Innovation Technology and Best New Safety Technology for 2017, respectively. Mazda won for its G-Vectoring Control technology and Volvo for its Pilot Assist II system.
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Week 4 – The most spectacular eye candy at the Montreal auto show
We put the spotlight on the bold, beautiful and occasionally bizarre automotive sculptures that stood out from the rest at the 2017 Montreal International Auto Show.
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Week 5 – World Car of the Year finalists announced
The finalists were announced for the overall World Car of the Year, as well as for World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, World Green Car, World Car Design of the Year and, for the first time, World Urban Car.
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Week 6 – Move over Prius – here comes the Kia Niro hybrid!
We took an in-depth look at the all-new Kia Niro – a hybrid-only crossover that slots into the Kia lineup between the Rondo and the Sportage.
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Week 7 – Art and the Automobile celebrates Canada’s 150th at CIAS
Canadian designed, built and owned cars were featured at the Canadian International Auto Show’s third annual Art and the Automobile exhibit, along with this 1951 General Motors Le Sabre concept car, which made one of its first public appearances at the Canadian National Exhibition in 1951.
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Week 8 – The 10 least-dependable car brands
J. D. Power released the results of its annual Vehicle Dependability Study and we put the focus on the 10 least reliable brands. FCA brands claimed four of the five lowest positions in the dependability rankings, with Fiat on the bottom rung of the ladder. Infiniti and Ford also performed poorly.
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Week 9 – Mercedes-Benz confirms pickup truck – but not for us
Mercedes-Benz confirmed plans to introduce a pickup truck by the end of 2017, but not for the North American market. It will be built in cooperation with the Renault Nissan Alliance, which will market variations of their own.
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Week 10 – Aston Martin Valkyrie ready to take flight
Aston Martin christened the production version of its exotic AM-RB 001 concept the Valkyrie and announced plans to build 150 of the hypercars, with deliveries to begin in 2018.
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Week 11 – New Mazda MX-5 RF flips its top
We had our first delightful experience with the Mazda MX-5 RF, which is not so much a roadster with a hard top as an enclosed two-seater sports coupe with a retractable roof.
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Week 12 – FIRST DRIVE: 2017 Mazda CX-5
We took our first drive in Mazda’s refreshed CX-5 compact crossover, noting that while it looks little different than its predecessorit has changed a lot. It’s all in the details – nearly 700 of them!
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Week 13 – Lexus Lane Valet displaces left lane hogs
Lexus revealed the development of a new technology called Lexus Lane Valet that would, at the touch of a button, automatically move “left lane hogs” into the adjacent lane when conditions are clear. Much as we loved the idea, we noted that the introduction date was April 1.
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Week 14 – 12 smart car-buys for your income tax refund
With income-tax season upon us, we identified 12 new vehicles with high retained value and documented dependability that would make wise purchase decisions for those fortunate tax-payers who were about to get a refund, among them the Honda Fit.
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Week 15 – Jaguar F-Pace is double World Car Awards winner
The Jaguar F-Pace was the big winner when the World Car Awards were presented at the opening of the New York International Auto Show, claiming both the World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year trophies. It was the first time in the 12-year history of the awards that a crossover/SUV won the overall title – a sure thing this year as the other two finalists were the Audi Q5 and Volkswagen Tiguan.
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Week 16 – Mini tops list of top British vehicles of all time
Perhaps surprisingly, the original Mini topped a list of the top British vehicles of all time, as determined by a survey conducted by Auto Express magazine. Surprising because that included the Jaguar E-Type, as well as the Aston Martin DB5, Land Rover Defender and McLaren F1.
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Week 17– Here’s every EV and plug-in hybrid available in Canada
With the drive to electrification in high gear, it’s hard to distinguish what’s already here from what’s just in the planning stages so we highlighted every EV and plug-in hybrid available in Canada at that time.
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Week 18 – TV star cars
We took a look at a dozen made-for-TV cars that became stars in their own right, as well the cars from which they were made.
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Week 19 – FIRST DRIVE: Canadian-built 2018 Chevrolet Equinox
We took our first drive in the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox, built at GM’s CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, which should be a strong contender in the compact SUV segment, we concluded.
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Week 20 – The historic cars of The Henry Ford Museum
The car collection of the Henry Ford Museum, in Dearborn, Michigan, ranges from horseless carriages to presidential limousines, with everything in between. We paid a visit and took our camera.
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Week 21 – FIRST DRIVE: Enthusiast-friendly 2018 Subaru WRX and STI
We took our first drive in the 2018 Subaru WRX and STI siblings, now differentiated from each other more than ever, and declared them high-value, high-performance standard bearers among compact sedans.
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Week 22 – All the new diesel models you can still buy in Canada
There’s no question that the popularity of diesels has fallen dramatically in the wake of Volkswagen’s dramas but there are still options out there for diesel devotees. We took a look at all the diesel-fueled models you can still buy new in Canada.
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Week 23 – Meet the “Duchess”: A 1941 Cadillac built for a King
One of the most significant Cadillacs ever made, the “Duchess,” is a custom-bodied limousine built by GM for England’s King Edward, after he’d abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson. It’s now part of Steve Plunkett’s collection, in London, Ontario, where we got acquainted with it.
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Week 24 – The autoeROTic art of a dead-car graveyard
One of our favourite galleries of the year was this photo essay but ace photographer, Danny Bailey, who artistically captured the tales of days gone by, permeating the hues of patina in the rotting corpse of a hidden auto cemetery on Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment.
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Week 25 – What we learned about going green from the 2017 AJAC EcoRun
The sixth annual edition of the AJAC EcoRun ran Parliament Hill in Ottawa to the capital of La Belle Provence, Quebec City. This year’s diverse fleet of vehicles demonstrated that there are numerous alternatives for Canadian consumers to consider, regardless of their budget, that will deliver optimum fuel efficiency and minimize harmful emissions.
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Week 26 – ‘All-American’ cars made in Canada, eh!
To celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday on July 1, we highlighted some ‘All-American’ cars that actually are built in the Great White North, including the spectacular Ford GT. While Canada may no longer have any cars it can call it own, it is a major supplier of several ‘All-Americans’.
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Volvo garnered huge publicity in the mass media by announcing that all new models it introduces from 2019 will be electrified. Unfortunately, much of that mass media failed to recognize the difference between electrified and electric, making of it a much bigger story than it really was. A hugely successful move for Volvo!
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Week 28 – The pros and cons of Dodge’s Hemi-powered Challenger R/T
Just how practical – or not – is the iconic 2017 Dodge Challenger R/T muscle car as an everyday driver? We took a deep-south road trip to find out.
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Week 29 – Behind the scenes at the Honda Indy Toronto
We got a glimpse behind the scenes at the Honda Indy Toronto for an up-close look at what it takes to prepare and maintain the IndyCars on a race weekend. (As well as what it takes to be a race engineer.)
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Week 30 – 100 years of Ford pickup trucks
It’s 100 years since Ford introduced its first truck. From that very first 1917 Model TT to the 2017 F-150 Raptor, we take a look at significant models in that century-long history of blue-oval branded trucks.
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Week 31 – Dodge Demon or Challenger SRT Widebody: Which is for you?
Built for two different purposes, these Dodge Challengers represent the apogee of the American muscle car phenomenon – and they’re built in Canada! Which one of these scintillating speed devils is the one you're likely to lust after?
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Week 32 – Classic cars to the fore at the Concours d’ Elegance of America
The Concours d’ Elegance of America at St. John’s is one of the three truly great classic car Concours held annually in the United States. And we were there with our camera.
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Week 33 – Volkswagen commits to making new Microbus
After nearly two decades of speculation, Volkswagen has finally confirmed production of a new Microbus — 40 years after the Type 2 went out of production. The new minivan, scheduled for 2022, will be electric and based on the I.D. Buzz concept.
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Week 34 – 20 vehicles that show naming rhyme and reason
From people’s names to word-blends, there is a strategy behind naming a vehicle. Car names are usually meant to convey some whimsical image in the buyer’s mind, but some are real or obscure references that play on a buyer’s thoughts. We explore some of the most interesting.
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Week 35 - Behind the closed doors of the GM Heritage Center
General Motors maintains a collection of some of its most historic vehicles within its Heritage Center but it is not open to the public. We had an opportunity to look behind those closed doors and photographed what we found.
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Week 36 – FIRST DRIVE: Mazda’s new Skyactiv-X technology
Mazda’s Skyactiv-X ‘Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition’ (HCCI) engine brings diesel performance and efficiency to gasoline engines. It’s scheduled to reach production by 2019, bit we got to try it now.
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Week 37 – FIRST RIDE: Audi’s semi-autonomous A8
We didn’t get to drive it – it pretty much drives itself. But we did get a ride in a new Audi A8 with Traffic Jam Pilot, which will take over the driving task completely in a traffic jam and let its driver watch a movie or just kick back behind the wheel.
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Week 38 – Cobble Beach classics surprise and delight
The fifth annual edition of Canada’s own Cobble Beach Concours d'Elegance was a spectacular showcase of distinctive classic automobiles with something to satisfy anyone who appreciates excellence of design and execution.
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Week 39 – 20 one-hit wonders of automotive history
In the world of music, they’re bands that soared with one song and then faded away. In the automotive world, these one-hit-wonders were vehicles that hit it big with just one model, shining brightly but briefly before flaming out – like this 1948 Tucker!.
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Week 40 – GM and Nissan map out electric-power futures
Two automakers on separate sides of the Pacific are rolling out plans for their electric futures – Nissan’s including a new Leaf for 2018 and General Motors’ to introduce two new electric vehicles in the next 18 months. “General Motors believes in an all-electric future,” said GM;s executive vice-president, Mark Reuss, adding that, “that future won't happen overnight.”
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Week 41 – 16 things that set the new Honda Accord apart from the pack
Now in its 10th generation, the all-new 2018 Honda Accord gets new looks, engines, technology and improved fuel economy that help separate it from the rest of the mid-size sedan pack. We got up close and personal to check it out.
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Week 42 – Testing is underway for North American Car of the Year
Testing of the 29 vehicles vying for top honours in the annual North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year (NACTOY) program got under way, with the 57 automotive journalists that form the jury were invited to drive the entries at Willow Run, Michigan. instead. Eight of these voting journalists – including our writer – are from Canada.
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Week 43 – Inside the Ford Piquette Avenue Museum – Home of the Model T
The success stories of Henry Ford’s Model T and the moving assembly line are well known but the car was born of more modest means, in a plant on Detroit’s Piquette Avenue, which is now a museum paying tribute to what was once the world’s most popular vehicle and its times. We took a look at what’s there, which includes much more than just Model T’s.
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Week 44 – The weird and the wonderful at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show
There were some way-out-there concept cars at the Tokyo Motor Show, plus plenty of other weird and wonderful vehicles to peruse. Which are weird and which are wonderful we leave to you to decide.
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Week 45 – Chevrolet introduces most powerful Corvette ever in Dubai
General Motors took its latest Corvette to Dubai for its public debut, choosing the perceived capital of the world’s rich and powerful for the unveiling of the new King of the Hill Corvette ZR1. New ZR1 has bold new look and 6.2-litre supercharged V-8 that now delivers 755 hp and 715 lb-ft of torque, making it the highest powered Chevrolet ever.
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Week 46 – 10 forgotten models that make great used-car buys
Tired of seeing the same cars and trucks on every corner? Don’t want to be one of them? You can still draw curious glances in a rare model nobody else is driving and these rare but non-collectible models typically can be found at discounted prices on the used-car market.
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Week 47 – Inside Ypsilanti’s orphan car museum
The Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum features cars that are automotive orphans, all with strong connections to that part of Michigan. Featured cars include Corvairs, Hudsons, Kaiser-Frazers and even a Tucker.
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Week 48 – 70 years of Ferrari at the Petersen
The Petersen Museum pays tribute to a Ferrari anniversary with a special exhibit of 10 of marque’s most important models, called “70 Years of Ferrari,” tracing the marque’s storied history of road and race cars.
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Week 49 – What cars do Canadians want from Santa?
A national survey asking Canadians what kind of cars they’d like Santa to bring them for Christmas produced some surprising results. Would you believe electric vehicles topped the list?
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Week 50 – 19 ways the new Jeep Wrangler is better than the old one
The long-awaited, all-new 2018 Jeep Wrangler is a thoroughly modernized version of the classic Jeep, made for today's world and today's customer needs. We dug deep to find out how the new JL model stacks up against the outgoing JK generation.
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Week 51 – 25 things you need to know about Honda’s new Clarity PHEV
Honda’s Clarity model, which was introduced to North America in the California market, finally is coming to Canada. There's no fuel-cell or pure electric version available here (yet) but the Clarity PHEV adds to a small, but growing list of plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles now available in this country.
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Week 52 – New-vehicle sales in Canada in 2017 top 2-million for the first time ever
It will be another week before the numbers are official but the hand-writing has been on the wall for several months. For the first time ever, new-vehicle sales in Canada will top 2-million for the year, making 2017 the fifth year in a row to set a new sales record. It’s a tough bar for 2018 to top, but bring it on!
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