The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

stoujfiiliesimtributie thursday wprit litios 5 staff photomike barrett real estate agent don lacroix spends nearly 250 a week on gas for his ford expedition but says he cant do his job in a smaller more fuel efficient vehicle not everyone changing ways for rising fuel costs by patrick mangion staff writer don lacroixs ford expedition suv is a pig on gas- with prices at the pump across the greater toronto area holding steady at 80 cents after creeping close the 1 mark last week mr lacroix spends nearly 250 a week on fillups you might think that would be all the motivation the real estate agent who lives in georgina works from newmarket and drives to properties all over the region would need to trade in his gas guzzler for a more eco nomical form of transporta tion but he has no plans to do so i cant be driving around in a four cylinder vehicle piling in a bunch of people its the cost of doing busi ness mr lacroix said like many drivers in com muterdependent york region he isnt compensat ed for travel expenses and diat has wideranging impli cations not just for the real estate industry but business altogether mr lacroix said gas prices are escalating and theres no trend thats going to stop people are going to take a closer look at what theyre doing he said around this time last year canadian consumers were shocked as gas prices exceeded 70 cents as the reality of lalitre gasoline sets in at other major canadian centres many local workers and business owners said they are chang ing their ways daniel gauthier just start ed his own computer sup port business out of his markham home a signifi cant portion of his day is spent driving to business and home calls in a vehicle emblazoned with his twinbytes logo im more reluctant to take a half hour job down in toronto mr gauthier said in reaction to gas prices similarly iggy natoli said cold calling on site for new business an important part of his work for 20 years may be falling by the wayside due to gas prices it forces you to organize your time better if i go out on a call theres got to be a good chance for a sale said mr natoli who operates an air purification business in unionville while the selfemployed may grudgingly accept their plight those who depend on mileage reimbursement from their employer watch prices rise with anxiety laanne applebaum works in the financial servic es industry for one of yorks largest employers like many others she is assigned a coverage area and receives a monthly car allowance in accordance with those responsibilities and while 850 may sound like a lot when you consider all the cost associat ed with operating a vehicle monthtomonth all of a sudden it may not be the bargain it once seemed she said im breaking even now but its going to be trouble when gas prices get up to a dollar plus said ms applebaum adding she trav els about 22000 kilometres a year on business ultimately her company sets her compensation so theres no sense making a stink over automobile costs she said lets put it this way im not about to jeopardize my job over it business digest park your car win barbecue you could win a 250 40000 btu sunbeam barbecue from aurora canadian tire just for parking your car for two days and taking public transit the york region newspaper group is looking for people whose main mode of transportation is their car and agree to shelve their keys and step onto york region transit for two business days the week of april 18 reporters will record the experi ences and use them in our state of public transit series that runs next month please email editor tracy kibble at tkibbleyrngcom or fax her at 9058535379 by april 22 if you are interested april 20 23 2005 800 pm markham theatre for performing arts ticket 2050 si 750 for seniors and students on wednesday and thursday y v vn directed by johnkdzak v sms- 1 0 lilimil jmm thewioment proper maintenance latters brake maintpnakitp clean debris corrosion lubricate caliper sliderspins tjn backing plates adjust parking brake cable rearonly road test service front or rear disc brake installation of new front pads or- linings with gmapproved durastop parts front brake pad brake fluid topup check lateral run replacement out limited lifetime warranty on pads machining of rotors correcting lateral runout extra if required road test passenger cars from v plustax i luv plust light duty trucks from our gm recommended maintenance schedule could significantly reduce your service visits its so comprehensive that just two inspectionsa year plus regular oil changes keeps your vehicle protected and ready for anything and no one does it better than the people who created it j cfmi akiniiai inspect restraint system throttle system fuel system 5 tm i- annual automaticmanual trahsmissiontransaxle engine air clearer maintenance filter wiper blades engine cooling system brakes tires service package steering suspension exhaust system and rotate your tires lubricate weatherstrips includes all services performed in the semiannual service annual plus lubrication of body key lock and check maintenance starter switch automatic transaxle shift lock control system i service package 9 transaxle lock parking brake automatic transaxle park mechanism ry hfom plus tax xclusively at- gm dealerships right on time- 1800gm drive ooodwreochgmcanadacom toffers not available in thunder bay fort frances dryden terrace bay and konora lof extra if required participating gm dealerships may set individoal prices offers valid on select gm vehicles for a limited time only to retail customers see service advisor tor moro details durastop is a registered trademark of acoefco