Auto trends that work in the Kootenays

Driving is serious business in the Kootenays

Kootenay drivers are looking for fuel economy and safety features when buying a new car. — Photo courtesy Nelson Ford Sales

With winter roads that are often treacherous and locals who spend a lot of time travelling back and forth between communities that are far apart, driving is serious business in the Kootenays.
So when Kootenay residents go looking for a vehicle, they have special considerations in mind aimed at local road and driving conditions.

According to Gerry Cesa and Abe Fominoff of Nelson Ford Sales, there are some trends emerging in the auto industry this year that cater directly to the needs of Kootenay residents and the roads they drive throughout the year.

With communities spread far and wide, as well as limited public transit, Kootenay residents drive a lot – so recent innovations in fuel economy noted by Fominoff and Cesa are something locals care a lot about.

“Fuel mileage and power are some of the main things people are concerned about when they’re looking for a new vehicle,” Fominoff said, noting that the recent trend is toward smaller four-cylinder engines with turbo boost or six-cylinder engines in vehicles that used to have V8 engines.

“You get better fuel economy and equal power to a V8,” Fominoff said. “You’re getting the power and not trading off the fuel economy to get it.”

Other innovations in vehicles this year that improve fuel economy include automatic transmissions that have six or eight speeds, which also helps improve acceleration, and new metal alloy body construction that reduces the overall weight of the vehicle.

Cesa points to the 2015 Ford full-size pickups that offer a full aluminum alloy body that shaves about 700 pounds off the weight of the vehicle – something he says is a first in the industry for full-sized pickups.

Another trend sees pickup trucks moving away from their traditional role as something used mainly for working on logging roads or hauling equipment and quickly becoming everyday vehicles for Kootenay residents – buoyed by higher crash test safety ratings, better highway handling and more room with the addition of crew cabs as a standard feature.

“They’re turning into grocery getters,” Cesa said. “It’s everything now. It’s mom’s car.”

Whenever you’re driving on Kootenay roads, safety is always a concern. And according to Cesa and Fominoff, recent trends in the auto industry are making cars safer than ever.

While all-wheel drive was once the standard for Kootenay drivers seeking the safest winter car, they say that advancements in traction control technology in the past 10 years have made front wheel drive cars nearly as surefooted as four-by-fours. And combined with the improved fuel economy, front-wheel drives are becoming more popular now.

Fominoff added that other safety features have been refined to make them better than ever, like advanced anti-lock brake systems that sense the amount of pressure in each wheel and air bags with vents that conform to your body so they have less chance of injuring you when deployed.

“Everyone’s body is different and in the past airbags saved your life but they hurt a lot. But now they vent according to your body and mould around you,” Fominoff explained, noting that Ford also recently introduced knee airbags – which have quickly become a standard in the industry.

The other safety trend they noted is a standardization of safety features on all models, which means you don’t have to buy a luxury model to stay safe.

“You don’t have to buy a Mercedes to get the safety features,” Cesa said. “A lot of manufacturers are priding themselves that you don’t have to buy the most expensive models to get the safety features. All these things are standard whether you buy a base car or one that’s fully loaded.”