So long, 2017!
Reflections of a driven mind
Another year gone and another round of reflections on what went down in the past 365 days.
Also a time to consider all those “adjustments” to how to do things in the upcoming year.
One of the best things about year-end is a chance to get into my new day planner.
I know it’s “old school” but I spend a few hours transferring telephone, airline and hotel loyalty club numbers into a crisp new Brownline daily planner, like I’ve done for the past 39 years.
There is even a usage chart for our hardly-ever-driven personal vehicles.
Want to know if I did pushups or where I stayed on April 8, 1983? Not a problem, just check the shelf by my desk where every planner for the last 40 years is lined up, neat and tidy.
Perusing my about- to- beshelved 2017 planner, it didn’t take long to determine the basics.
This past year, I took 104 flights and registered 253 travel days, changing towns or cities 477 times for one reason or other, without leaving Canada.
It was our nation’s 150th birthday, so why leave?
Although I drove about 150,000 kilometres, our eclectic fleet of 12 vehicles logged less than 3,000 of those kilometres.
The rest of the distance was behind the wheel of a slew of rental cars and manufacturer press and event vehicles.
Flipping through my dog-eared, coffee-stained outgoing planner gave me a chance to consider seven superlatives of 2017.
Although some superlatives will be left in limbo until I’m really old, here are a few printable ones:
Scariest moment
This happened last weekend in Halifax. It was late and after driving visitors home, I stopped at a four-way stop sign in the north end.
I usually wait to make sure cars approaching an intersection are stopping but I didn’t even see the Cadillac Escalade barreling down.
A horn blasted and when I looked right all I saw was grill and Cadillac’s logo, looking way too big for my liking. No contact, but close enough to make me think, a lot.
Most surprising vehicle Although I’ve never owned a mini-van, the concept has always been one of my favourite modes of transport.
Sexy? No. Impress the guys at the track? Probably not.
But the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid I spent time in this year was comfortable, equipped and stylish beyond expectation.
With a combined gas/electric output of 260 horsepower, it’s no slouch either. Expensive, but very well done, FCA.
Most nostalgic moment When Ross Mcneil, owner of Duggers’ clothing store in Halifax, opened his garage door so I could photograph his car collection for a story Lisa was writing, my jaw dropped.
The black and grey Citroen 2CV with a roll-back top and dash-
mounted three- speed shifter brought me back to grade school.
There was one parked in the driveway of a house by my school and ooohhh the daydreaming about that French delight during algebra class.
Quickest car
The 400- horsepower, fivecylinder 2018 Audi TT RS that just arrived in our media car fleet takes top honours with a 0 to 100 kilometre per hour time of 3.7 seconds.
With Audi’s AWD Quattro system and launch control, the acceleration is akin to being fired out of a giant slingshot.
Shock and awe
My heart was pounding but as the speed increased with each lap of the 3.95-kilometre, 10-turn road course, I was getting more familiar with the quirks, dips and straight-aways of one of the fastest, most challenging tracks in North America, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
By the time we completed eight laps, I was feeling a bit like Sterling Moss, Parnelli Jones or even iconic Canadian racer Ron Fellows, whose name was incorporated into the logo on the side of the 640-horsepower Cadillac CTS V super sedan I was driving at the Ron Fellows Driving Experience.
Still smiling about that.
Roadie of the year
A young man from Enfield, Andrew Wilson, joined our team to help produce the national media launch for the Chevrolet Traverse in Shediac as well as the Buick Enclave in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. This smart, focused, polite young man with a can-do attitude proved his worth with everything we threw at him, and he builds a fine campfire, too. Thanks, Andrew.
Proudest motoring moment In August, our youngest daughter, Layla, called from Vancouver to announce she and friend, Zana Williams, had just completed their cross-country drive in their $2,500 well-worn 2004 VW Jetta.
Like a good helicopter parent, I had offered a 100 per cent full warranty on the Jetta while it made the trek from Halifax to Vancouver. It ended up costing me nothing.
Now, with another fun and productive year in the rear view, it’s time to look ahead and consider all the things I’d like to do with cars and trucks and people and places in 2018.
Happy New Year!