A group of drivers taking a spirited run up the Sea to Sky highway in BC had to find a new set of wheels to get home as all their vehicles were impounded by police for excessive speeding. The group was reported to police for their excessive speeding but police weren’t able to respond immediately. With the RCMP Air One hovering above, the West Vancouver Police Department setup a roadblock up the road and were able to stop all eight vehicles. Five of the vehicles are Nissan 240SX models ranging from 1989 to 1997 model years. Police also impounded a 1989 Nissan Skyline, a 1992 Toyota MKII and a 2000 Acura Integra.

This is sure a nice change of pace from the convoy of speeding Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches on that highway. Just last summer a group of 911 drivers had their vehicles impounded so it seems that drivers just don’t seem to be deterred by the strict penalties for speeding.

Watch Video from RCMP Air One helicopter

The plastidip craze is still going strong and 3M has decided to jump into the craze by launching a new spray on paint protection product they call the 3M Paint Defender Spray. It looks just like clear plastidip but at the moment its unclear if it offers any more protection than plastidip. It certainly looks much thinner than the traditional 3M paint protection film but 3M claims it offers up to 80% of the protection of professional film based paint protection albeit for a shorter time span. Film based protection can last up to 7 years while this spray on production is designed to last “at least one year”.

What do you think? Would you try this product on your vehicle? Check after the break for some videos of it in action!

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At just over two weeks away, the 12th annual Driven Car Show - Calgary is just around the corner. The show this year promises to be bigger and better than ever before with appearances by former UFC middleweight Champion and Future Hall of Famer, Rich Franklin (Mr. Detail booth), models Annie Anaya (Stampede Scion booth) and Calgary’s own Hailan Q. (Cooper Tires booth), and Melyssa Grace (illmotion booth) as well as performances by Jason Chen, Clara C. and Chantelle Truong at the Stampede Scion Stage.

We’re excited to announce that Donnah Pham will be at the Beyond.ca booth so come down and say hi and get a photo taken with her. Donnah will have posters and prints for sale and the first 10 people in line will receive a free beyond.ca keychain!

Show Info:
www.drivenshow.ca
Date: Saturday May 11, 2013
Location: Olympic Oval @ University of Calgary
Show Hours: 1:00PM to 10:00PM

Admission:
Adults (Age 12+):
Advance in Person: $15.00 (Netcandi.com representative)
Advance online: $16.00 ($15.00+$1.00 fee) - http://driven.zoobis.com/
At the Door: $17.00 CASH ONLY ($15.00+$2.00 agent fee)

Children (5-11): $10.00
Seniors (65 or better with ID): FREE
Infants (4 and under): FREE

Top Model Photo Courtesy Amped Asia, Bottom photo courtesy of Brent Woo.

Mercedes-Benz is set to introduce a long wheelbase version of the E-Class specifically targetted at the Chinese market at the Shanghai Auto Show. This is in contrast to the long wheelbase Panameras that Porsche also recently announced in Shanghai that will be available for order worldwide. The E-Class Long, measuring 501.9cm in length with a wheelbase of 301.4cm, will offer an additional 14cm of legroom for the rear passengers. Built exclusively in China, the Long features the revised interior and exterior updates of the facelifted E-Class. Engine choices include the 204hp 4-cylinder (E260 L), the 245hp V6 (E300 L), and the 333hp V6 (E400L). Sadly, there is no AMG version available for the E-Class Long.

Click through to see more photos of the E-Class Long

Concept Cars are the name of the game in Shanghai this weekend as automakers are showing off all sorts of concept vehicles. Honda introduced us to the “Concept M” minivan which aims to expand the multi-purpose-vehicle market currently dominated by commercial vehicles. Not content with that, Honda under the Acura brand is also debuting a concept vehicle dubbed the “Concept SUV-X”. It’s interesting to note that this is the first time Acura has debuted a concept vehicle outside of North America. With China being the world’s largest car market, automakers are making every effort to capitalize on the growth opportunities the Asian country provides.

The Concept SUV-X is a conceptual model for a small SUV that Acura plans on developing for the Chinese market. Design wise, it looks very much like a sportier looking RDX. The headlights look like they were taken from the NSX Concept design and the taillights remind me of the CRV tails. Of course, being a concept vehicle we get all the requisite aggressive curves and angular front and rear lower fascias which surely will disappear on the production version. Acura plans on mass producing the new SUV in China within the next three years.

RDX shoppers in North America are likely crossing their fingers that some of the design elements will make its way over to the RDX in the form of a facelift. Maybe just the headlights?

More Acura Concept SUV-X Pictures

Honda introduced their latest concept vehicle to the world at the Shanghai Auto Show (Auto China) today, the “Concept M”. The “Concept M” was designed at Honda’s design studio in Japan and is aimed specifically for the Chinese multi-purpose-vehicle (MPV) market. In fact, Honda expects it to hit the Chinese market some time next year.

Honda says that currently, the MPV market is dominated by commercial vehicles. It is their hope that with the launch of their new concept vehicle that there is room for MPVs that offer the attributes of a passenger vehicle while adding value through increased cabin space and a more comfortable (and fun) ride.

In my opinion they should let some of the design characteristics of the “Concept M” sneak on over to the next-generation Honda Odyssey which I’m sure is in the initial stages of design right now. Honda had just revealed their latest design facelift for the 2014 Honda Odyssey at the New York Auto Show last month.

More Honda Concept M Pictures

The 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix is the 2nd back to back race of the year. An interesting race, which was cancelled due to anti-government protests in 2011, the race has been won 3 times by Fernando Alonso, once by Sebatian Vettel, and once by Jenson Button. The track temps are always hot, being in the desert, and there is no chance for rain, and a very low chance for a safety car. Being in the desert, the track is dusty, and conditions improve significantly as the race progresses.

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The last update we saw of the Acura NSX was in Detroit where we were shown the latest sheet metal changes to the NSX. We dubbed it the Acura NSX Concept II as it had some subtle but welcome changes compared to the model shown the previous year. In New York, during the Acura press conferences where the NSX usually gets at least a mention (as part of Acura’s long term plans), there wasn’t even a murmur of the NSX.

Today, just on the heels of the Shanghai Auto Show (Auto China), Honda UK announced that they will begin taking orders for the NSX. For a deposit of £5,000 (just under $8000 Canadian) potential owners can be among the first in the UK to get behind the wheel of the brand new NSX when it hits showrooms in 2015.

Phil Crossman, Managing Director, Honda (UK), commented; “We are really pleased with the interest we’ve already seen for the new NSX. We are still two years away from the launch of the car and yet we’ve received over 20 deposits and that’s before we’ve even announced prices or seen the final production car. With this process in place we are confident demand will remain strong and early hand raisers can now visit any Honda dealership in the UK and place a deposit.”

While it may seem a bit crazy for some that there are people willing to pre-order a vehicle that still hasn’t been released in final production form, remember that this is the NSX. A vehicle that is still sought after years after production ended. During the launch of the original NSX, Honda UK also opened up the pre-orders. 25 people put down deposits ahead of the launch in 1990. Not sure how many deposits Honda will accept, but there are already 20 people in line with deposits placed before this announcement was even made!

Source: Honda UK

BMW is set to show off the BMW X4 Concept to the world in a few days at the Shanghai Auto Show, but it appears they’re a bit too excited and decided to share some more photos of their latest crossover. The baby X6 looks quite production ready in the photos much like how the 4 Series Concept looked like it was ready to roll of the production lines when it was unveiled in Detroit. We’ve already told you what we know about the BMW X4 Concept when BMW first released pictures and unfortunately we’re not learning more about the vehicle today aside from getting a more detailed look at the body work.

Stay tuned for the official unveiling in a few days from Shanghai! In the mean time, enjoy the photo gallery courtesy of BMW.

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Mercedes-Benz continues to churn out vehicles based on their new FWD compact platform, and up next for the German company is the GLA compact crossover. While it is set to be unveiled later this week at the Shanghai Auto Show (Auto China), some pictures have been leaked.

From the same platform that powers the A, B and the new CLA class, the GLA crossover will be bigger and taller than its relatives, measuring 172.4 inches long, 77.6 inches wide and 61.8 inches tall. The wheelbase remains unchanged. Powering the GLA250 will be the 2.0L 208hp 4-cylinder coupled to the 7 speed dual-clutch gearbox. Shortly after the arrival of the GLA250, the GLA45 AMG will be introduced, with the same drool worthy 355hp drivetrain that powers the A45 AMG and CLA45 AMG.

Click through for a gallery of the GLA Concept