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an auto uebec: Canadi Concepts in Q ts underway ge show season anada y at DrivewayC show galler Visit the auto
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launch, be fixed closer to auto. Prices will expect it to be compalater this year, but in model and come rable to the current below $15,000. cars on plenty of econo While there were Mazda2 the other than show, like Detroit, to see in that new nothing there was e in were in evidenc range. Green cars the the shows reach Montreal but when to see many more west, you can expect scious drivers. cars for the eco-con
powertrain a hydrogen fuel-cell The concept features pack that Hyundlithium-ion battery es. linked to a 36 kWh a range of 600 kilometr ai boasts will provide soon be able to Columbians will By the way, British with a similar powerCell, Fuel Tucson lease a Hyundai range of 425 kms. train and a reported 2 is shown Subaru VIZIV hybrid crossover utility two-door. The Subaru concept of a previously revealed the a four-door version rugged shape of says its “athletic, Get this: Subaru a muscular NHL d in the image of sides seem designe a sturdy style.” in flare the fenders defenceman, and
– Le Salon InternaMontreal, Quebec de Montreal heralds tional de l’Auto Canadian auto show the opening of the “Big the heels of the season, right on (aka Detroit). One “in Motor City pretruly attended the This year, yours extravaganzas and views for both auto industry, abounds in the optimism found of the border. north and south n, the Green cars week from Michiga in As reported last a lot of Shows showed were in evidence did turn heads… Daddy of all Auto Four concept cars new full size trucks. Montreal but when high-end cars and with the Cadillac Elmirajthe road but the regional flavour Montreal has a the shows reach on reflect that market’s will t You won’t see one more exhibits that west, you can expec long two-door grand coupe concept cars. of the taste for smaller more the decision near-future design ed the e many influenc see influenc to The latter clearly s. The Elmiraj features subcompact Mazda2 next line of Cadillac cars for the ecoto unveil the new nity arged V8 delivgot the opportu s. a 4.5-litre twin turboch hp. The engine here; a select group conscious driver l with the d 500 persona estimate and an close ering the to get up technology from gallery across Keith Morgan takes the baseline it to machine in an artist’s all-new CX-3, V6 and expands the Cadillac Twin Turbo town. The next day, it on V8 engine. and CX-5 joined ance format of a updated Mazda6 the classic perform f o the show stand. what I call show-of Hyundai Intrad the thinking behind the was coloured in Motion said of The new Mazda2 KODO – Soul of r designed The same can be off its so-called concept crossove style, a e is which handsom red and showed this for the Korean Hyundai Intrado, its best. I first saw change design direction – design style to Juke, the vehicle is moving to foreshadow a like an oversized impression that looks a little bit which gives the in launch in Paris manufacturer. It hated seemingly ry, at the Mazda6 product loved and even when stationa a smaller car is not the quirky Nissan Translating it into a few years ago. but requires great equal measure. and passersby shrinking the original in abundance. a bit more lovable just a matter of that The Intrado seems ion would in find clearly, Mazda has engine will looking product design skill and similar gasoline a d IV-G indicate SKYACT In Canada, a 1.5-litre a choice of two transmissions favour among many. and , d Mazda2 and a six-spee power the – a six-speed manual will be available
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Question of the Week
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auto The Canadian off season kicked the in Montreal and starts Vancouver show plan you Do March 24. ? to visit the show g lookin If so, are you to see to buy? Or just what’s new? a.ca Go to DrivewayCanad the week for question of
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Safety Tip:
a Potholes can be hazard during cold r and wet weathe types of winter months. For all er two key tips: hazards, rememb and increase speed your reduce distance. The more your following to react any time you have to hazard the better.
Ahem. nfiniti design out of the Nissan/I Looks like it came not a criticism. studios, and that’s in MontreToyota FT1 the roar of the engines Toyota was all about d Quebec auto pleased the gathere al, which certainly appear to be a man/woman always , journos, who to reality in Quebec (Given the market . race crazy to me car buyer choices) to be reflected in lines that doesn’t appear sleek the would surely enjoy Nevertheless, most home on the track designed to be at . of the Toyota FT-1, magnet on the highway ticket a of and a heck the name Show, which takes your lip, Up next is the Toronto Bite Show. ional Auto The Canadian Internat the new-look, show follows, then Morgan. The Calgary Auto Show debuts er International re-imagined Vancouv March 24-29. drivewaybc.ca keith.morgan@
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Fraser Health plans two-month bump in surgeries, scans Jeff Nagel Black Press
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A group of 10 Chilliwack friends, including Owen Skonberg (pictured), travelled to Costa Rica together earlier this month. While there, the group was involved in a tragic accident on Jan. 8 where the catamaran they were on capsized and fellow traveller and friend, Sharon Johnston, lost her life. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Travelling companions mourn loss of friend Jessica Peters The Progress When the sun broke in the Costa Rican sky on Jan. 8, a group of 10 friends woke up ready for an adventure. It was day four of their vacation together, one of many the group of five married couples from Chilliwack had embarked on in 20 years. They got mobile early, grabbing a shuttle to the water, to jump aboard a skiff that would take them to a catamaran, the Pura Vida Princess. Just across the Gulf of Nicoya, the small, idyllic Island of Tortuga beckoned the tourists as it has for countless others before them. The Chilliwack group, including Owen Skonberg and
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wasn’t quite what they were expecting; one couple in the group, Peter and Kathy Brown, had arrived two weeks prior and had already enjoyed a perfectly calm trip with their family on the exact same boat. “The week before it was like glass,” Skonberg says. “But the water was getting progressively rougher.” As the boat got about halfway to Tortuga, the waters became so rough the catamaran was rocking side to side. Peter Brown went to speak with the captain, and learned it was wind from the north causing the high waves. “A little farther on the captain left the steerage to his mate and went to talk to the cruise direc-
tor,” Skonberg explains. The cruise director announced that because of the rough seas we would be turning around and another trip would be schedule for tomorrow or another day.” It was about this time that the mood on the boat changed from one of hopeful adventure, to concern. “People kind of groaned about it (turning around),” he said. “But we understood.” The captain left the top level of the two-story catamaran, and when he re-emerged he had no shirt on and was wet. By this time, the boat was rocking so much, the captain began yelling at everyone to get their life jackets on. Continued: SINKING/ p3
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his wife, Chris, managed to get aboard early and find a good place to sit among the 100 or so passengers and crew. “We were excited about where we were situated,” Skonberg says. “We all ate and all were in good moods.” They enjoyed their breakfast while the cruise director went over safety instructions and they set course for Tortuga. In the safety of the harbour, the water seemed calm and peaceful. It wasn’t until they got out past the breakwater and into the gulf that conditions began to change. But it was nothing that alarmed the well-travelled group. “My wife made a comment about white caps being out on the water,” Skonberg says. It
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Fraser Health is temporarily increasing the number of surgeries it will perform over the next two months by seven per cent and it’s boosting the number of MRI scans by four per cent. The additional 650 surgeries and 1,500 MRI scans are to be performed in February and March in a bid to reduce wait lists. A year-end increase in spending to step up surgeries and scans was made possible because of a surplus in the surgical program budget, said Dr. Peter Blair, Fraser Health’s medical director for surgery. “These cases are going to be done over the remainder of this fiscal year and out of our current budget, so we’re not taking money out of some other activity in order to fund this,” he said. “We’ll be looking at the longer waiting cases first and bringing them down.” Extra surgeries will be distributed over various hospitals but not likely every one. “We’re looking at Burnaby as a site and we’ll be looking at Surrey, Langley and Eagle Ridge,” he said, listing likely hospitals that may get extra funding. The bump may well be temporary – there’s no guarantee the rate of surgeries and scans won’t drop back down in April as Fraser enters a new budget year. Future levels will depend on Fraser’s budget allocation and the length of its wait lists, officials say. The move comes after criticism last fall of Fraser for ordering surgeons to reassess some patients in an attempt to avoid or reduce government-imposed fines for failing to complete surgeries within one year. As of Oct. 9, leaked statistics showed 650 scheduled surgeries had waited more than a year, the threshold where the health ministry imposes financial penalties under its pay-for-performance system. Fraser Health spokesperson Tasleem Juma said those numbers have been