Automotive News Canada - April 2017 - 30

30
30
04.17

FINAL ASSEMBLY
* APRIL 2017

LETTING LOOSE A BIT ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE

Pfaff cover story
Street cars versus
race car? Yes, please
PFAFF AUTOMOTIVE
Partners of Vaughan, Ont.,
made the May cover of Road
& Track magazine for its
intent to campaign the new
McLaren 570S GT4 race car
in this year's Continental
Tire Challenge racing
series.
"I blame J.P.
Canton, McLaren
North America's PR

Whitehorse Mustang
the first to get a VIN
Predictions are that it will sell
for more than $500,000 at auction
THERE'S A CANADIAN CONNECTION TO A RARE
Ford Mustang scheduled to be sold.
A 1965 Ford Mustang with the serial number 00002
is recognized as the first Mustang hardtop to receive
a Vehicle Identification Number and will be sold at
the Dana Mecum's 29th Original Spring Classic at the
Indiana State Fairgrounds, May 16-21.
Bob Fria is the 14th owner and restored the Caspian
Blue Ford. Along the way, he discovered the history.
Oddities included prototype sheetmetal stampings and
welds unlike those found on later Mustangs, according
to Mecum's website.
Fria, who eventually wrote a book about the car,
learned that between 150 and 180 pre-production
Mustangs were built between Feb. 10 and March 5,
1964. The one he restored was originally scheduled for
early assembly to allow time for shipping by rail to
Brown Brothers Ford in Vancouver. But the six-cylinder, three-speed stick with 13-inch tires ended up
being shipped in error to Whitehorse Motors Ford in
Whitehorse, Yukon.
The car is billed as the auction's main attraction
and will hit the block on May 20. Some websites have
predicted the car will sell in excess of $500,000. - ANC
Rare 1965 Ford Mustang, VIN No. 00002, spent
its early days in Whitehorse, Yukon.
(PHOTO: MECUM AUCTIONS)

director, for this," said Pfaff
Communications Director
Laurance Yap.
"Knowing that Pfaff
was going to be supporting
Motorsports in Action with
their McLaren 570S GT4 effort,
[Canton] reached out and asked
us if we would be interested in
being featured in a 570S 'street
car versus race car' feature that
he'd been pitching to R&T.
"We said yes, of course,
and provided Chris Green, our
tame racing driver (and Pfaff's
McLaren brand manager)."
- ANC

SAY WHAT?
You have
the security, go
out and buy a car.
And make sure
it's a Ford.
JERRY DIAS

The Unifor president addressed
Ford workers in Windsor, Ont.,
after the announcement that the
company will add an engine
program as well as 300 engineers
in Canada to boost connectivity
efforts.

Lots of VWs
Diesels go to NFL lot
to await news of their fate

THERE'S AN OLD NFL PARKING LOT
filled with vehicles, but it has nothing
to do with tailgating. No one is partying.
Instead, the massive lot at the dilapidated Pontiac Silverdome, the former
home of the Detroit Lions, has thousands of Volkswagen and Audi diesel
models occupying the pavement.
The vehicles are being stored there
after the automaker bought them back
from customers as part of a U.S. settlement in the diesel-emissions scandal.
Triple Investment Group, a subsidiary
owned by Triple Properties of Toronto,
owns the Silverdome and is responsible
for the storage.
Each vehicle is tagged: "This vehicle
not for sale."
The Silverdome, which has played
host to countless tailgate parties,
Wrestlemania, monster truck shows

THIS NUMBER

and one Super Bowl, is now one of several sites where Volkswagen is stockpiling vehicles the automaker has bought
back from customers.
The website Jalopnik reports vehicles are also being stored at a decommissioned California Air Force base
and a port in Baltimore, Md.
As part of a sweeping settlement
with U.S. regulators over widespread
emissions violations, vehicles equipped
with VW's 2.0-litre TDI diesel engines
have been repurchased from owners,
removed from dealerships and stored at
regional sites.
"These vehicles will be held and routinely maintained until it is determined
whether an approved emissions modification becomes available," VW said in a
statement. "If approved, the settlement
allows Volkswagen to modify affected 2.0L TDI vehicles so they can be
returned to commerce or exported."
Vehicles not modified will be recycled.
Meanwhile, Canadian diesel owners
await news of a settlement. - ANC

$500,000,000
The amount Ford Motor Co. will spend on a new
research-and-development centre in Ottawa,
and on 400 new engineers in North America,
including 300 in Ottawa.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - April 2017