If you are not into drag racing, the name Buck Kinney may not ring a bell, but for those who follow the sport, you aware he is a living legend. In his day, he set world records in two different classes and held the distinction of being the first Canadian racer to be inducted into the NHRA Northwest Division Six Hall of Fame. Buck has always loved racing, and now in his seventies, he still goes to the track as a spectator and participant as he can still make his way down to the finish line at the street legal on Friday nights in his street/strip Malibu that runs an 11.50 at 132 mph.

Krause Publications has expanded its growing catalogue of automotive titles with a real gem dedicated to fans of the American muscle car. Muscle Car: The Art of Power takes a look at forty of the most popular, and significant, cars of the Muscle Car Era as determined by author John Gunnell.

The year was 1963, and the Beatles release their first album, Please Please Me, Alcatraz is closed, Martin Luther King Jr. gives his “I have a dream” speech, and President Kennedy is assassinated.

I was driving one of my favourite winding roads through the mountains the other day, when I noticed that my brake pedal was starting to feel soft heading down the steep declines. This required me to slow down, and conserve braking to cool down the discs, as well as the brake fluid that actuates the calipers. A bit annoying this was; however, on a track, this would be downright infuriating as valuable time is lost by overheated brakes.

In late April, Bill 118 was passed in Ontario. This bill bans the hand held use of electronic devices by drivers of motor vehicles in that Province. This is similar to bills that have been previously passed in Quebec and Nova Scotia, and is what will inevitably occur in most other provinces across the country. The intent of the bill is to reduce the number of car accidents that are caused by drivers who are not paying attention to the road because they are using unrelated electronic devices.

Towing a trailer may be one of the most stressful driving situations for some truck owners. For one thing, it is not easy to manoeuvre around corners and change lanes with that extra length behind your truck. Backing up also can be challenging. Not to mention, towing up a steep hill can be tough on your truck.

It is no surprise that the new Volvo XC60 premium mid-size crossover has a full suite of safety features, Volvo being rightfully well-known for them. But we can all be told about them and think, okay, that’s nice. It is when you actually experience them that the light bulb goes on and you think, wow, that really works.

What would you say if I told you there was a pickup that averaged over 11.7 L/100km (20 miles per gallon) in the city and still gave you the ability to tow your 5,000-pound boat to the lake on the weekend?

My guess is that you might say that I’ve been sniffing the fuel savings. But, it is true. The new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Hybrid 1500s both sport GM’s new two-mode hybrid system. You heard it right. GM has introduced the first (and only) full-sized hybrid pickup on the market.

Last year, I was handed the keys to a then-new Chevrolet Tahoe for a week-long test. I drove it five times.

Because even before gas broke the dollar-per-litre mark, piloting the 5.3L V8-powered Tahoe proved to be an activity my bank account couldn’t survive. Cruising about town in the most relaxed manner I could manage, the onboard computer still spat out a fuel consumption figure of 16.8 litres per hundred kilometres.

Hybrids now cover the full array of vehicles, from compact to family sedan to full-size truck. Now we come to a hybrid segment not well known, that of the luxury flagship hybrid. It’s a strange breed, this one, almost an oxymoron in itself, as one tends to think of a luxury flagship as a massive road-going land yacht, overflowing at the seams with techno goodies to please their wealthy owners. Not your average tree hugger’s mode of transportation.