THURSDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2014
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PARKSVILLE CITY COUNCIL DEBATE
Visit the Cadillac CTS photo gallery at drivewayBC.ca
Greir grouchy about grants
The CTS model is a lighter car, made of high tensile steel. It is stiffer, safer, handles better, and above all, is more effic
Cadillac in the rear-view mirror of the Europ 2014 Cadillac CTS One auto trend that shows little sign of waning is the move towards more luxury or premium cars by manufacturers and consumers alike. As baby boomers age, they have earned the nicer things in life, and the offspring of baby boomers are getting used to the finer things in life, so more automakers are moving upscale. The Europeans do luxury and performance better than most and the Japanese luxury brands have been putting in their time to becoming a real force. But long before the Japanese, there have always been the American luxury brands, with many firsts in features and technology. Established in 1902, Cadillac is one of the oldest, along with Mercedes-Benz, and continues to be General Motors’ flagship in terms of refinement and technology.
Should local organizations get support from city tax coffers?
Looks The smaller Cadillac ATS was released a year ago and went on to win the North American Car of the Year award. General Motors has taken that platform and elongated it to produce the lightest mid-sized car in its class. It’s a full 173kg lighter than the benchmark BMW 5-Series it competes against, and 34kg lighter than the outgoing car. A lighter car, made of
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Drive With a lig high tensile steel, is stiffer, comes a better pe safer, handles better ing car, but the he and above all is more any luxury perfor efficient. What Cadillac car is a solid engi didn’t change was the this front, Cadilla edgy design language three options and they have become known three have more for. The LED accent lights The longer and than the closest c are especially attractive lower stance of the CTS petitors. The first at night and run vertical makes it look athletic, same 2.0L turboc compared to most cars’ engine used by th horizontal approach. The yet elegant. With 272hp it is w longer and lower stance Zack Spencer above the 240hp of the CTS makes it look in the BMW 528i athletic, yet elegant. The carryover engine is the direct in one weak area is the back. It lacks the 3.6L V6 with 321hp, again mor same visual punch as the impressive the 300hp in the 535i. The top front grille and headlamps. motor, for now, is the Vsport mo Inside The new CTS is lighter than with a twin turbocharged versio the BMW but it is a bit smaller inside. the 3.6L engine, putting out 42 It’s not as wide and the back seat is a guessed it, more power than th bit shorter. Front seat passengers are found in the V8 550i. The Vspor treated to plenty of room and a view sold as a rear wheel drive car (R onto the dash is impressive. The centre where all the others are availab console has a touch-screen system all wheel drive (AWD). The catc called CUE, which has rich colours and AWD models come with an 8-s striking graphics. The heat, volume and automatic transmission, but the a few other controls are all touch-senversions are fitted with a 6-spe sitive, meaning they have no dials The steering offers good feedba or switches. The problem is it shows to the driver and the suspensio fingerprints and dust against the shiny smooth, yet lively, and has a ne black plastic. perfect 50/50 weight distributio
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Coun. Al Greir has a perfect record in his attempts to end the grantsin-aid program at Parskville city hall: 0-6. For the sixth time in his six years on council, Greir introduced a motion Monday night to scrap the system that allows community groups to plead their case for taxpayer funds. Greir’s motion specifically exempted groups that organize the Beachfest and Canada Day events in Community Park. His motion was defeated 5-2, with only Coun. Bill Neufeld voting alongside Greir. “The guy who lives up on Hirst Street doesn’t care what these organizations do,” Greir said in support of his motion. “I’ve been trying to eliminate this program for over six years, and over those six years we’ve given out $30,000. It’s a giveaway-money situation. This is really deficit funding and I don’t think it’s sustainable.” Both Greir and Neufeld said it should be the business community, and not the taxpayer, supporting these organizations. “If these groups are worthwhile at all they will be able to raise money on their own,” said Greir. See COUNCILLORS DEFEND PROGRAM, page A9
Maurer honoured
Wendy Maurer was honoured as Citizen of the Year last night during the sold out Qualicum Beach Chamber of Commerce Community Awards gala at the civic centre. “Wendy has done so much for Qualicum Beach that it’s hard to quantify it in one sentence,” said John Briuolo of Qualicum Foods, the sponsor of the Citizen of the Year award. “She is a wonderful example of Qualicum Beach citizenship.” A total of 21 nominees were up for awards at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre Wednesday night. For more on this story, including the list of winners, see page A20. For photos from the event last night, see Tuesday’s edition of The NEWS and visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/PQBNews.
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POWER CLEAN: It was raining Tuesday when city crews did some power-washing work on sidewalks adjacent to Highway 19A in Parksville. The city’s director of operations Al Metcalf said city crews pressure wash sidewalks for esthetic and safety reasons to stop too much material from building up, or taking root and causing damage. In a recent innovation, the city uses water for this job that would normally be discarded while flushing out the city mains.
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