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25 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, April 15, 2009 2010 Legacy sedan coming to Canada with four model options Continued From Page 23 "I'd never missed right-hand drive so much," he joked. We talked about the new cars. "Even at the launch of that previous Legacy," I asked him, "wasn't your main focus also a size increase?" Yes, he admitted, but they hadn't gone far enough at the time. "That remained the most common complaint," he told me, "a lack of interior space." Or at least a "perceived" lack of interior space. I wouldn't dare mention any off the record comments about fat Americans, but North Americans do tend to be bigger. And The all-new 2010 Legacy sedan, unveiled at the New York International Auto Show and coming to have bigger expectations. Canada in a four model selection with three available powertrains. And for a model geared specifically towards that audience, the steady size evolution of a lar statements. For 2010, Subaru Canada will engine" and promptly unveiled a new Jeep larger Legacy is the most important aspect to follow the American lead of two years ago, Grand Cherokee while the Fiat was stashed a more competitive presence in the mid-size offering the Legacy in sedan only, Outback in backstage. wagon form. Sometimes I'm pretty sure these guys market. You can't help but compare Subaru's debut never once owned a VW Beetle. And that when As goes the Legacy, so goes the Outback, an fuel pump prices start going up, they'll all be evolution of the offshoot model that first to other elements of the show. The Detroit three barely showed up ­ Ford "surprised" again. debuted here in New York fifteen years ago. Yes, I know fuel-efficient alternatives have Then it was just a Legacy wagon packaged with with a passenger version of the Transit and GM a raised suspension, body cladding, bigger with a new SUV of all things. I counted five been previously unveiled and are in the wheels, sold with a little help from Crocodile Camaros and two Corvettes on the floor and no pipeline, but sometimes I also think that the Dundee. The two models have diverged steadi- Chevy Spark, GM's future small car. Chrysler's Americans still don't get it, hampered by past ly since and although they still share common CEO rolled onto the stage in a diminutive Fiat dreams of V8-powered glory and abetted by elements, they have become different vehicu- 500, joked that it was "smaller than our HEMI nostalgia-mining old fartism in a cheerleading journalist corps that is part of the problem, not the solution. Small can be sexy but not to these size-still-matters dinosaurs. But let's not get too negative, there were other bright spots in the show ­ the urbanfriendly Scion iQ concept ­ two feet shorter than some subcompacts and especially interesting now that Toyota's Scion division is coming to Canada; the Kia Koup, one of the kutest koncepts at the show (sorry); a four-cylinder Mercedes E-Class concept; the sleek Hyundai Nuvis hybrid concept; and the low-budget Mitsubish i-MiEV electric car that is going on sale in Japan next year and eventually, hopefully, here in North America. Along with those bright spots that will be individually revealed on these pages, it was uplifting to talk to Subaru Canada's CEO Katsuhiro Yokoyama, clutching his sales award and to my old riding buddy, Tachimorisan, about his new Legacy and Outback. In the middle of all this unease and uncertainty, of manufacturers shuffling and redefining themselves, Subaru remains rock steady with its core values of across-the-board allwheel drive, low centre of gravity boxer engines and the safety, sales and customer service records that mark a company with clearly defined purpose and product. Kind of makes you hopeful about the future, after all. Join SAVIS of Halton for a day of Cosmic Bowling! Summer Camps June 29 - Aug 14 9:00am-3:30pm For campers ages 3-12 Full and half day camps available Extended care available from 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM Age appropriate groups, small teacher/student ratios taught by University Educated Instructors Spaces are limited! Raise funds to help end violence. Drama, Dance, Fine Arts, Crafts, Games, Musical Theatre and much, much more! Half day Afternoon Rock Camp Ages 7-12 Please check on-line or call the studio for Summer dance classes NEW SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2009 2 to 5pm @ Burlington Bowl Register your team at www.savisofhalton.org Registration on Now Offering The Finest in Arts Exploration and Development! BURLINGTON 1011 Upper Middle Road & Eighth Line, Oakville, Ontario L6H 4L5 Phone: 905.844.ARTS (2787) www.oakvilleacademy.com