Welcome to our roundup of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam.
Here’s what you missed while you were away.
First impressions of the 2024 Mazda CX-90
2024 Mazda CX-90 Signature Photo by Stephanie Wallcraft
It’s not the brand’s first plug-in hybrid, but the CX-90 is Mazda’s first PHEV to be made available in North America. The three-row 2024 Mazda CX-90 SUV rides on the new large-vehicle platform and uses a new eight-speed automatic. At the entry level, the mild-hybrid powertrain comprises a 3.3-litre turbo six-cylinder making 340 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque, and an electric motor to add power at low speeds and boost acceleration with instant torque.
For the PHEV build, Mazda plugged in a 2.5-litre four-cylinder with an electric motor powered by a 17.8-kWh battery, good for a combined 323 horses and 369 lb-ft of torque. Dimensions haven’t been published yet, but the CX-90 is said to be larger in all dimensions than the outgoing CX-9 it replaces. Size it up for yourself here.
Pricing hasn’t been released, but Mazda Canada CEO David Klan did tell us Canadian pricing will run from roughly $40,000 to around $60,000.
These 10 car brands lost the most sales in 2022
2022 Jaguar F-Type P450 Photo by Graeme Fletcher
The issue with the automotive sales industry in 2022 can be summed up in one word: inventory. There simply wasn’t enough of it to go around, and as a result, overall auto sales fell nine per cent. Not all brands suffered the same, however, with some bearing the brunt of the crash. This list is dedicated to them.
We’re talking about Dodge, down 17 per cent, still feeling the sting from losing its trucks to Ram. Meanwhile, Volkswagen, whose passenger cars just weren’t doing it for North Americans, ended up slipping 22 per cent in 2022. Acura, at a 30 per cent fall, suffered some of the worst inventory issues.
Ultimately, it was two related British brands that fell the furthest. Land Rover and Jaguar lost 36 and 45 per cent of their sales year over year, respectively. If there’s a silver lining for Jaguar, it’s that 45 per cent only adds up to 826 fewer sales.
Ontario mayor floats idea of free Faraday bags to fight thefts
A pair of Faraday bags, for holding car keys Photo by City of Brampton
Automotive thefts via “relay attack” — where thieves use high-tech devices to intercept the signal transmitted by a car’s electronic key, then transmit it to another device to open the door and start the vehicle — are way up in Brampton, prompting one local politician to propose a high-tech solution to fight it. Free Faraday bags for everyone!
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown presented a motion at a recent committee meeting to distribute thousands of Faraday bags to owners in five areas of the city, in hopes the storage devices that block signals from passing through them, will help curb the rash of thefts that saw 95 cars stolen in the first week of 2023. Brown referred to the Faraday bag as “a $6 item that can protect a $60,000 car from being stolen in less than 60 seconds.”
Ford ups production, lowers price on some trims of Mustang Mach-E
2022 Ford Mach-E Premium. Photo by Jim Wells/Postmedia
Ford has good news for those looking to buy a Mustang Mach-E. It’s now cheaper (in some trims), and there are lots more coming soon. Most trims of the 2023 model year in Canada are now being offered at a reduced price, the brand announced this week. And the sale isn’t just for those still shopping but also applicable on orders that were delivered earlier this year, meaning some people will be getting a surprise cheque in the mail after taking delivery of their new electric Mustang.
The shift in strategy was enabled by Ford’s BEV supply. More materials to make more batteries means more vehicles for people to buy. Prices vary by trim, with discounts ranging from $4,750 to $8,500.
Canadian pricing for the 2023 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon
2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, Trail Boss, and LT Photo by General Motors
GM’s midsize trucks are pulling up side by side with added tech, power, and cost for 2023. And we’ve got the full price breakdown here.
The 2023 Chevrolet Colorado has three flavours under the hood and two- or four-wheel-drive setups on the base Work Truck. Tags run from $37,197 to just over $38,717, around $4,000 more than last year’s entry Colorado, which is essentially the theme here. But the added cash gets improvements like the superior 11.3-inch infotainment screen, eight-inch gauge cluster, and wireless Apple CarPlay. For the mid-range LT, it’s $43,997, and $1,000 more for the Trail Boss. The price for off-road trims Z71 and ZR2 go for $49,997 Z71 and $59,897, respectively.
The 2023 GMC Canyon is available exclusively as a 4×4 crew cab short-box with prices ranging from $48,497 for the Elevation, to $53,197 for the AT4, and $62,497 for the Denali. Details and prices at the link above.
This basic sedan was the most-ticketed nameplate in Ontario last year
The 2022 Hyundai Elantra N Photo by Hyundai Canada
After examining 100,000 insurance claims made in the Ontario in 2022, insurance rate company My Choice recently put together a list of the vehicles in which drivers received the most tickets in Ontario. Whittling down the list from over 300 nameplates, there were 10 that accrued the highest number of violations, eight of them were attached to sedans.
Hyundai Elantra drivers accounted for 4.9 per cent of the total tickets, while the Mazda 3 drivers picked up 3.5 per cent and the Toyota Corolla drivers had 3.2 per cent. The “Dodge Ram” made the list as the only pickup truck, and the Dodge Caravan as the only minivan.
But it was the humble Honda Civic that accounted for the single largest pool of tickets, with a share of 9.6 per cent. Canada’s best-selling car for 24 years straight (overthrown by the Toyota Corolla in 2022) and apparently its drivers also think it’s the fastest.
Keyword: News Roundup: The 2024 Mazda CX-90, lower prices on the Mustang Mach-E, and more