Automotive News Canada - July 2022 - 40

40
07.22
40
FINAL ASSEMBLY
* JULY 2022
LETTING LOOSE A BIT ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE
What didn't change? How it feels to win
A 2018 crash could have
ended driver's career . . .
CANADIAN RACING DRIVER ROBERT
Wickens took his first IMSA Michelin
Pilot Challenge series victory in June,
marking the first time that the 33-yearold
has been atop the podium since he suffered
a spinal cord injury in a race in 2018.
The Hamilton, Ont., native won the Tioga
Downs Casino 120 in Watkins Glen, N.Y.,
on June 25, behind the wheel of a Hyundai
Elantra N TCR fielded by Indianapolisbased
Bryan Herta Autosport.
Wickens has no use of his legs, so the
car is equipped with hand controls in
addition to regular foot-operated controls
used by 39-year-old co-driver and fellow
Canadian Mark Wilkins.
Wickens suffered a thoracic spinal
cord injury in an IndyCar Series race in
Pocono, Pa., in August 2018. Last summer,
he returned to the cockpit of a race car for
a test with Bryan Herta Autosport, sampling
hand controls for the first time. He
has since been taken under the wing of the
Hyundai-backed touring-car team.
The lifelong racer told Automotive News
Canada that returning to victory lane still
felt familiar, despite the extraordinary circumstances
surrounding it.
" Winning still felt like winning, "
Wickens said. " Obviously there was a lot of
emotion. In the closing laps, I just wanted to
yell from excitement. "
Wickens was again in the winner's circle
in early July at Canadian Tire Motorsport
Park in Bowmanville, Ont., a circuit that
both he and Wilkins consider their home
track.
His last win before the Tioga Downs
Casino 120 was in the German touring car
series DTM in 2017.
While Wickens' return required dedication
and hard work, he said Hyundai has
also been instrumental.
" The fact that Hyundai was willing to
commit to me, a driver that hasn't shown
what he can do with hand controls, " he
Robert Wickens, left, with co-driver Mark
Wilkins. Wickens lost the use of his
legs in a 2018 crash, but hand controls
for the car made it possible to return to
racing and win the Tioga Downs Casino
120. PHOTO: BRYAN HERTA AUTOSPORT
said. " They just believed in me, believed
in the story and believed in giving me
an opportunity to get my career back on
track where it belongs. " - ANC
A coast-to-boast for EVs
Climate champ Suzuki
says charging network
goes the distance
CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL
activist and academic David Suzuki
drove to Toronto from Vancouver in a
Volvo C40 Recharge electric vehicle to
promote EV adoption and spark public
conversation about charging infrastructure.
Canadian
kids - along with their vivid imaginations - were drawn to Toyota's
appeal for sustainable-vehicle solutions. Aryan Shakya conceived an " Eco-Friendly
Realistic Safe Smart Car " powered by sustainable energy. PHOTO: TOYOTA
KIDS PICTURE
A CLEANER WORLD
Toyota Canada CEO is
'truly impressed' by entries
such as a 'Crabby Car'
for collecting beach trash
NINE CANADIAN CHILDREN WERE
named finalists in this year's Toyota
Dream Car Art Contest, an international
competition that challenges youngsters to
design a vehicle that can make the world
a better place.
The Canadian finalists included fiveyear-old
Candice Bie of Hamilton, Ont.,
who drew a " Crabby Car " for collecting
garbage on beaches and in oceans, and
11-year-old Aryan Shakya of North York,
Ont., who drew an " Eco-Friendly Realistic
Safe Smart Car " powered by sustainable
energy.
The nine children each received a $250
gift card and will advance to the competition's
World Finals.
" I'm truly impressed by the creative,
innovative and world-changing ideas presented
by Canadian youth, " said Larry
Hutchinson, CEO of Toyota Canada. " With
their vision to design a future that is more
sustainable for our people, animals and ecosystem,
it's clear to see that these are the
leaders of tomorrow bringing forward their
world-changing ideas. " - ANC
'
As a queer person, I can say
we don't hibernate. We we don't hibernate. We
don't only come out in June.
JOY QUAILE, senior manager, digital customer experience
product and corporate strategy at Hyundai Auto Canada,
referring to Pride month. See story on Page 35.
Suzuki and his wife, Tara Cullis,
drove the 4,100 kilometres to attend
the June world premiere of their play,
What You Won't Do For Love, at the
2022 Luminato Festival. Scheduled
stops at charging stations along
the route were used to meet with
Indigenous leaders, farmers, academics
and politicians to discuss green
policies and environmental activism.
Suzuki said the journey was helped
by Canada's growing public EV
charging network.
" It was an uplifting journey. We
David Suzuki and his wife, Tara
Cullis, with a Volvo C40 Recharge:
What range anxiety?
PHOTO: VOLVO CAR CANADA LTD.
found it is possible to make the long
trip with regular fast-charging sites,
freed of mileage anxiety. "
The Luminato Festival is an
annual arts and culture celebration
dedicated to performance, visual
and media arts. This year's event,
June 9-19, featured a fleet of electric
and hybrid Volvo support vehicles
- including the all-electric XC40
Recharge and C40 Recharge - to help
the operations team. - ANC
A stamp of approval for EVs
'Responsibility to
Canadians' drives
Canada Post's plans
for an all-electric fleet
WITH $1 BILLION SET ASIDE TO
reduce its environmental footprint
and reach net-zero emissions by 2050,
Crown corporation Canada Post will
replace half its vehicle fleet - currently
14,000 - with electric alternatives
by 2030, and go fully electric by 2040.
" We have a responsibility to
Canadians, and to their children and
grandchildren, to help lead the way to
a more sustainable future, " Canada
Post President Doug Ettinger said in
a statement.
Canada Post has already begun
testing a
low-speed
EV on a
postal route
coverBy
2040, Canada
Post wants its entire
vehicle fleet -
currently 14,000 - to
be electric.
PHOTO: CANADA POST
ing neighbourhoods
west
of
downtown
Ottawa,
evaluating
performance
and safety over a year. The
vehicle has a maximum speed of 40
km/h and an estimated range of 112
kilometres. - ANC
16.6%
FCA's Canada's
second-quarter sales
increase, which bucked the
10.8-per-cent slide across
the new-vehicle market.
See quarterly results on
Pages 38 and 39.
'
Automotive News Canada - July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - July 2022
