1. Wear protective gloves before you hold the dry ice in your hands. Your hands may be vulnerable to extremely freezing dry ice.
2. Put the dry ice on the dent. The more accurate you are in putting the ice at the center, the better it is.
3. Hold right there for few seconds. 5-10 seconds are usually advised.
4. Remove the ice. The dent would still be there. It wont pop out immediately. Allow some time. A minute or so and the dent will pop out automatically.
5. If the dent is still there even after some minutes, apply the same above process again until the dent disappears.
6. When the dent is removed, clean the area with a piece of cloth.

• During the break-in period, typically the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km), keep your speed under 55 mph (88 kpm) or to the speed recommended by your car’s manufacturer.
• Avoid heavy loads on the drive train, such as towing trailers, and loading the roof rack or trunk with heavy construction materials.
• Do not allow your new car to idle for long periods — this is good advice for the life of your car, but especially during breakin. The oil pressure generated by doing so may not be sending oil to every part of your engine.
• Use only light to medium acceleration, keeping the engine rpms below 3,000 for the first few hours of driving.

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Buick and sports performance are something that hasn’t gone together for quite some time. Sure GS badges, etc. were thrown on the side and a powerful engine was thrown in but the total package of a sports sedan has not been in the Buick repertoire. Now with the upcoming 2012 Buick Regal GS they have touched on something that actually pushed the right buttons when it comes to driving enjoyment.

Recently I was able to travel to Traverse City Michigan for a pre-production screening of the new 270hp Buick Regal GS. This region of Michigan is filled with twisty country roads as well as scenic lakefront vistas that create  a perfect backdrop for the Regal. It was very easy to find hours of driving enjoyment here and was a great way to test out everything the Buick Regal has to offer including its interactive driver control, high output Ecotec Turbocharged engine, 6-speed manual transmission and driver orientated cabin.

Setting the Buick Regal GS apart from the exterior of the standard Regal was accomplished by adding distinctive satin finish front air intakes, distinctive rocker panels, a lip mounted rear spoiler and 20-inch 5 dual spoke rims running Pirelli summer only tires.  All of this gives the Regal GS a much different aura about it than standard Regals. It has more aggressive lines and stance. The Regal is not contentious and Buick engineers are focusing on Refined Performance rather than all out performance figures.  No chrome Is present instead replaced with all brushed and polished Aluminum that add a real premium touch to the GS.

The interior is very similar to your everyday Regal you find on the road today bit with some important differences that make a minor aesthetic change into major functional changes. The Regal GS features a unique flat-bottomed perforated leather wrapped steering wheel that tops the list on some of my favorite steering wheels. It is large, meaty, offers great road feel and instills confidence even under heavy load. New for the 2012 Regal GS is the Intellilink ™ infotainment center that strives to better engage the driver with the technology available without overly distracting from the driving input.  The systems is much more efficient than the current system, it offers touch capability, much better voice recognition, and the ability to to integrate programs such as Pandora to allow for a more connected feel even on the go.  I wasn’t able to really test the system and I imagine with something this complex that bugs will be present in the early editions of this but I am told that owners will be able to upload software updates from a USB flash drive as they become available.

Driving the Regal GS was quite a pleasure especially in a location as majestic as Traverse City, Michigan. Situated in far northwestern Michigan this small quaint town has grown into a bustling tourist location for many Michiganders, but if you venture out past all the hotels and shops you find an area ripe with great twisting roads and awesome lake front vistas that are a perfect compliment to the Regal GS. With a small population of locals it is easy to find yourself alone on the road and here is where the GS shines. The 270 hp 295 lb.../ft 2.0L EcoTec engine is one of the most SAE certified power dense engines that GM has ever produced. This attached to the new HiPer strut technology and huge 20-inch wheels equals quite an agile and athletic car. Straight-line speed is impressive but certainly isn’t the main point of this vehicle. A broad torque curve allows for less gearshifts and more torque on tap as you power out of the numerous turns in the Traverse City countryside.  Heavy use of the throttle elicits a pleasing turbo spooling sound and engine rumble, but with a focus on refined performance there really isn’t much of a throaty aggressive exhaust note that I expected from something this powerful.

Steering feel comes through a wonderful perforated leather wrapped flat bottom steering wheel that is a joy to use. It is a great compliment to the loads of grip on tap from the 20-inch wheels. Road feel is direct and there is a good sense of on-center directness that equals to quite a bit of confidence on the road. Supplementing all of this is an interactive drive control that has three setting; comfort, sport, and GS. Each mode equals to about a 20% increase in overall suspension stiffness that is accomplished through an infinitely variable bypass valve within the strut body.  For those looking for hardcore performance GS mode is the weapon of choice. Offering the greatest level of stiffness it also increases the relative weight felt through the steering column.  But unlike performance sedans in the past that had to sacrifice ride quality in the search of more grip, the other settings loosen up the suspension and it becomes suppler when the road becomes less curvaceous.

This was my first time in Traverse City, Michigan and I have to say it was a perfect location to show off the Buick Regal GS. It was a gorgeous place that fully embodied the majestic lake front property that many Michiganders love with everyday. As a man from Indiana I spent many summers visiting the dunes of southwestern Michigan but never have I gone this far north. Where we stayed was a bit touristy, but once outside the city boundaries it was like being home here in Bloomington, IN surrounded by trees, wilderness, and not much else it felt like the many times I have driven through Brown and Monroe county here. There were some amazing roads and with limited traffic it was one of those rare places where one could actually enjoy driving without worrying about other motorists. This may have been my first time but I think Traverse City will be a regular stop for me and my future wife Katelyn. But now enough of the post card moment Ill get back to the car.

One of the surprising aspects of the Regal GS is the fact that when you don’t need all 270 hp you can actually drive quite fuel efficiently. Over a 20-mile stretch at an average speed of 60 mph 31 MPGs were quite easy to attain. This means that on one hand owners have a stylish sports sedan that is capable of an extremely athletic performance, but at the same time on a long road trip fuel costs won’t pile up. With an initial MSRP of $35,310 the Buick Regal is quite a good value for customers who are looking for an excellent compromise between the amount of performance technology and livability they can get. The GS is not a pure performance vehicle it also has to be a car that someone can jump into day after day for a commute to world but also needs to excite its driver on weekend escapades to the back country roads. The Regal GS succeeds at being a great blend of both offering a comfortable interior with a striking exterior that is complimented by a first rate driving experience that is sure to win over customers tired of a sports sedan that kills their spine and a luxury sedan that just seems too pedantic. 

The Koreans were the first to offer a basic warranty of 5 years/100, 000 km, indicating that the reliability of their products improved. To deal the death blow to the competition, Kia and Hyundai (the two Korean companies are involved) hired renowned designers. For example, Kia Optima 2012, we went to get Peter Schreyer, author of the New Beetle and the Audi TT.

Propensity for sin

The Kia Optima 2012, which replaces the defunct front-yourself-to-die Magentis (which was already called Optima in all other markets, the question of property rights held by GM’s name), is a product Schreyer . As attractive as sin, Optima has lines that seem to cut with a knife, but still fairly traditional. Its very close cousin Hyundai, Sonata, also has a great look, but I do not think it will age as well as the Optima. We’ll talk about four or five years … Anyway, the Optima is now seem very sad Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Chevrolet Malibu others.

Regular or turbo?…….Kia Optima 2012

To allow the Optima to advance, Kia Optima 2012 uses the same engine as Hyundai, is only four cylinders. The offer starts with a 2.4-liter 200 horsepower, which is not nothing! Called GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection) engine that allows modern power and torque (186 lb-ft at 4250 rpm / min) while consuming sparingly. In addition to the basic version of Office with a six-speed manual transmission, all others have a six-speed automatic operation without reproach. There is a manual mode, but as the box changes the relationship when she feels it is necessary, During our week of testing, we asked Optima 9.4 liters per 100 kilometers, which is good, but more than what Kia Optima 2012 promises.

On the wheel, no matter the variant, there is a button “Eco” which allows a more ecological driving. But as this mode optimizes the engine and transmission for maximum economy, we revert to performance. Within a few months, a hybrid version will appear. Again, Kia Optima 2012 was fishing on the side of Hyundai and no doubt that this engine is virtually identical to that of the Sonata.

Kia Optima 2012

To differentiate the cousin Hyundai, Kia Optima 2012 does not rely solely on design. The chassis, like the powertrain, may well be the same as the Sonata, engineers have modified the suspension settings to get a more dynamic behavior. Thus we are left with a very rigid Optima chassis and suspension (MacPherson front and multilink rear) strong enough. Some may even find it too hard, but the dynamic driving enthusiasts will love. And we are still not in the presence of a Massey-Ferguson 1953 … Direction shown precision and vivacity, but at the price of a certain heaviness, not to mention a certain heaviness, especially at low speed.

We can not predict the success of the Kia Optima 2012 in our market. However, it is undeniable that just brought a blow to competition in commanding a price much lower than what would be right to think at first glance. Moreover, even if the reliability is not yet known, we can expect that it is, at worst, average. The road to success is wide open and Kia Optima 2012 has obviously the pedal.

Kia Optima 2012

When talking sports in Canada the usual topic I find at this time of year is Hockey.  Its playoff time so the fans are all wearing their team colors.  Living in the land of Maple Leaf blue and white I have seen very little of this activity over the past 7 years, but the feeling of playoff season abounds.  So instead of seeing the traditional Blue and White of the Maple Leafs around the city, what I see in stead is a cacophany of colours as support for every team that has made the play offs can be seen everywhere, in every bar, on every street corner, its obvious that it is playoff time in Hockey.

When traveling in the US however it is a different type of sport altogether that allows for interesting conversations in airports and restaurants.  NASCAR fans have the same passion for their sport as Canadians do about Hockey.  Although the team dynamic is much different between the 2 sports (43 teams at each race vs 2 teams on the ice at a time) the passion of the fans is hard to distinguish between the 2 sports.  With the obvious differnence between the 2 sports, one being winter and played on ice, while the other is a summer sport and plays out on asphalt, the similarities between the sports and their fans must not be over looked.

Hockey fans come from all walks of life, rich, poor and in between.  So do NASCAR fans.  Hockey is played on ice, but the venue is always shaped in an oval.  NASCAR races on ovals. with the exception of road courses twice a year to remind the drivers that they can turn to the right sometimes.  Hockey fans love their beer, so do NASCAR fans.  Hockey players slap the rubber around the rink, NASCAR drivers burn rubber all around the track.  The biggest money making team in the league (the Toronto Maple Leafs) have not made the playoffs in 7 years and have not won a Stanley Cup since 1967, the biggest money earner in the sport of NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr., has not won a race in 133 starts, way back in 2008, and yet in both cases, the fans always feel that next year will be different.

In the case of either sport I find, as I travel around the continent, that you can start up a conversation to pass the time with strangers simply by noticing their team colours.  It helps pass the time while sitting around in airports and bus stations, with all kinds of interesting people.  You see a guy in a Flyers jersy walking through the airport and say So man howd your team do last night? and you can prepare to spend at least the next 15 minutes in conversation with someone who can tell you every detail about the game the njight before.  Walk up to ANY NASCAR fan wearing a shirt, or a jacket and ask Howd you driver do on Sunday? and you can prepare to spend at least the next 30 min discussing everything that happened on the track the Sunday before, and how the points race is shaking out as well.

Now for those of you who live North of the Border like myself, NASCAR is a sport that is carried by the TV networks only when there is no Hockey being televised.  Most Nationwide races get relegated to the late night re-plays while Hockey is shown live.  It is hard as a racing fan to watch another sports take precident over your favourite, but then again, Hockey Is Canadas unofficial national sport. (Lacrosse is the official sport really??)  At Least theres no Hockey on Sunday afternoons.

And when it comes to game time/race time traditions, I find that there is almost no difference in how you prepare.  Make sure the beers are cold and the snacks are at the ready, because in both sports if you happen to leave the room for any reason, you might just miss something important on the screen, who slammed who into the boards, or who slammed who into the wall.

The best part about Hockey and NASCAR and the way their seasons play out is that while one is in playoffs (NASCAR in the Fall and Hockey in the spring) the other sport is just getting started.  The fans CAN actually watch both sports and not have to worry about conflicting schedules (with the previous mentioned Nationwide late night re-plays aside).

As a Canadian travelling around to watch NASCAR races it has been said that I should have my Canadian Citizenship revoked since I would rather watch racing than Hockey. In fact if you ask my kids who their favourite sports starts are, they will tell you Tony Stewart, Dale Jr., and Jimmie Johnson.  And if you ask them about Hockey they will look at you with quizzical looks on their faces and sayHockey?? I play that outside on my rollerblades sometimes.

While both sports have their version of The Redneck Fan (Canadiennes Fans in Hockey and Kyle Busch fans in NASCAR) they appeal to almost everyone because of the speed of the action onteh screen.  Anything can happen at any time, and the excitement in the voices of the announcers will bring you running from any room in the house to the television when something big does go down.

In the end, I live being a Canadian NASCAR fan.  Although the only hockey that makes it on my television is during the 3 month long NASCAR off season, I do still keep abreast of where my home town team is in the stats (not hard when they are at the bottom most of the time).  So for those racing fans out there who are having trouble dealing with the pre-emtion of our sport to the Hockey playoffs, relax, once they are over the only thing left will be NASCAR.

Related posts:

1. Whoever said hockey was safer than racing?
2. 2010 Chevrolet Equinox: 3 hockey bag test
3. Red Bull Racing plays pond hockey in Quebec
4. NASCAR Edwards Takes the Pole, Top Chasers Start Deep in the Field and Travis Pastrana Enters the NASCAR World
5. NASCAR How to Deal with Racing Withdrawl.