Good morning everyone,

This was me waiting for a tow truck Monday morning when our Tacoma decided to be an idiot:

Here's what's going on this week:

➡️ End-of-season photoshoot of my MR2

➡️ The truth about Toyota reliability

➡️ U-Haul's new trailer meant for car enthusiasts

➡️ more, of course 💬

​This week's video 🚗

This week's upload is a little outside of the norm.

I decided to do sort of a POV vlog-style video that takes you along for the entire automotive photography process.

How did it go? Well, as of now, it bombed lol. You can't win 'em all and I still had fun making this one so who cares?

If you want to hang out with me while I take pics of my freshly detailed MR2, make sure to check it out!

(On that note: the MR2 detailing video has turned out to be a mountain of work. Condensing more than 14 hours of raw footage into 1 video ain't easy. Stay tuned, I'm working on it!)

​Youtube​

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The truth about Toyota reliability 🏁

If you were expecting me to say that Toyotas aren't as reliable as people think, you'd be wrong.

Despite being stuck on the side of the road for an hour, I still believe Toyota trucks (at least the old ones) are some of the best-built vehicles out there.

But here's the thing - there's a difference between "super reliable" and "flawless". A huge one, actually.

The odds of something breaking on a vehicle like the Tacoma are very slim, but never zero.

Random things happen, and that's exactly the case with my truck this week.

I kid you not, the bolt holding the alternator to the engine broke off in the bracket.

That caused the tension on the belt to loosen, and once the battery died, the Taco was lifeless.

Now I have to remove the remaining broken bolt (anyone have an EZ Out I can borrow haha?). Not a big deal, just kind of annoying.

But this got me thinking: just because you bought one of the most reliable vehicles doesn't mean you're 100% safe from breakdowns.

My tow truck driver told me that I was his 3rd Tacoma that day... and it was only 11am.

Sometimes vehicles break due to usage. Sometimes they break because we neglected them. And sometimes, they break for no reason at all.

It's just a part of car ownership. For now, let's all pour one out for my broken Taco. RIP in peace.

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Up to speed in the auto industry 📰

U-Haul's new "toy hauler" trailer

Most of us have used U-Haul's infamous car trailer in the past - I know I have. They're heavy, ugly, and not low-car friendly.

They've announced this new trailer coming in 2025. It features a 6,800 lb capacity, drive-on fenders, and a ton of tie-down choices.

Recaro saved from bankruptcy

Good news for Recaro: Proma Group, an Italian automotive supplier, has arrived to save the day.

With this investment, Recaro will be able to restart production in Q1 of 2025.

Demuro drives the rare E36 M3 GT

I was never a huge fan of euro cars. That is, until I detailed and drove my brother-in-law's Dakar Yellow E36 M3.

Now I get it. Older German cars are AWESOME.

It's hard to explain but the looks, feel, and sounds of an E36 are right up my alley.

So Doug's review of the super rare GT version of the car was a must-watch for me. What a cool car!

Talk soon,

Tim Rempel

Founder of Canadian Gearhead

Let's connect 👇

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