The Oakville Beaver, W ednesday January 15, 2003 - C7 __________________________________________________ m i i i i i i n · i i u m u __________________________________________________ Star Mazda Series extended through to 2008 as a featured support event for American Le Mans Series M azda North American Operations (M NAO) said the Star Mazda Series .w ill be extended through to the 2008 season as a featured support event to the American Le M ans Series. In 2004, the Star M azda season prize package will grow to an estimat ed $500,000. and the Star M azda Series also will campaign a new chas sis featuring a more powerful, next generation M azda rotary engine. Called Renesis. the new twin-rotor, side port rotary powerplant goes into production for the 2004 Mazda RX-8 sports car. Prototypes o f the new Mazda and Elan M otorsports Technologies (EMT)- developed Star Mazda vehicle will be unveiled later this year at M azda Raceway Laguna Seca. The racecar will feature a monocoque built to FIA standards, the new Renesis rotary engine and a six-speed sequen tial gearbox. A rigorous testing program has been developed for two prototypes, which will spend the majority o f the 2003 season being tested and developed at the Star Mazda Series is an extremely significant agreem ent," said Don Panoz, owner o f the EMT group, the world's largest manufacturer o f racing cars. `T h e American Le Mans Series will be greatly enhanced by having the Star Mazda Series as a regular part o f the race schedule." Star Race Cars first started the Star Mazda North American Championship in 1991. The goal o f the Star Mazda Series is to develop driving talent by acting as a feeder for many o f the pro fessional racing series in the US including American Le Mans, CART and the Indy Racing League by show casing talented young drivers at impor tant professional racing events. Formula Mazda develops new race car driving careers by providing an opportunity for drivers to compete on the same racetracks that are used for major league events. Mazda North American Operations is responsible for the sales and marketing, customer parts and services support o f Mazda vehicles in the United States. This is an a rtist's conception of how the new S ta r M azda Series single seaters will look like now th at the engine pack age contains the new Renesis ro tary engine. tracks around the country. "The support o f racing programs such as Star M azda is a prime example o f M azda's commitment to furthering its motorsports heritage," said Charlie Hughes, president and CEO of MNAO. "Our increased commitment to the Star Mazda Series, our recent World Challenge successes, and our future m otorsports endeavors dem onstrate why we can say there is the soul o f a sports car in every vehicle we build." The Star M azda Series North American Championship is one o f the most successful racing series in the US. with an average o f more than 40 cars starting each o f the Star Mazda Series events in 2001. All series races are broadcast on Speed Channel. "The partnership with Mazda and IBC brochure lists Canada's top stolen vehicles For the third straight year, the Hyundai Tiburon (2-door) has the distinction of holding onto the top spot o f the Insurance Bureau of Canada's (IBC) list of the country's top ten stolen vehicles. "After meeting with senior executives at Hyundai, the company now manufactures the 2003 Tiburon (2-door and SE 2-door models) with an IBC approved theft deterrent system as standard equip ment. says Henning Norup, Vice President of Information, Research and Analysis at IBC. "In the com ing years, there should be a noticeable downward trend in theft frequency for the Tiburon." The latest issue o f How Cars.Measure Up (an annual publication) compares the insurance claim records of the most popular models of cars, passenger vans, SUVs and pickup trucks across the country. This year's edition represents results for 2000 and 2001 models, in cases where at least one thousand of each of the models was insured. `T h is informa tion can be extreme ly useful to con sumers before they actually buy a car," Norup says. "The brochure is designed to help consumers under stand how theft, col lision and other claims costs affect their insurance pre miums." The statistics contained in the brochure are based wholly on actual insurance claims data collected from nearly all automo bile insurance com panies in Canada. These companies write almost 100% of all automobile insurance in Canada. The brochure also highlights the BMW X5, (4-door all-wheel drive) which tops the list of the ten vehicles with the highest theft claim cost per vehicle. "Theft of vehi cles (and their com ponents) costs Canadian policy holders some $600 million annually in insurance premi ums," Norup says. "Policyholders pay for the cost of theft through the compre hensive portion of their premiums. Although the J comprehensive por tion o f insurance policies also covers losses other than theft, (such as hail nnri vnnHnlicm ^ h nlf of the amount paid by insur ers for comprehensive claims submitted for new vehicles is attributed to theft." IBC, along with vehicle manufacturers, after-market manufacturers, and other interested stakeholders, developed a Canadian stan dard for automobile theftdeterrent systems that was approved by the Standards Council of Canada in 1998. Many insurance companies provide premium discounts on automobile policies to cus tomers whose vehicles are equipped with an approved, factory-installed anti-theft device, and also, when an IBC approved theft deterrent device is installed in the vehi cle. The Insurance Bureau of Canada is the voice of the companies that insure the cars, homes and businesses of Canadians. IBC is highly regarded as a provider of automobile insurance rating information and a creator of automobile theft-deterrent standards. For more information visit www.ibc.ca. £ 4 f ArgusA u to m o tiveLtd . Serving Oakville for over 25 years ·A C·B ra k e s·S u s p e n s io n·Tire s ·Tra n s m is s io n·C o m p u te rize dD ia g n o s tic s ·Tu n e -u p Fall Maintenance Package IN C LU D ES : · Up to 5 litres of oil · Inspection of: heating/cooling . Oil filter system, all fluid levels, electrical · Lube (where applicable) system, front ond rear brakes, · Rotation of 4 tires exhaust system, suspension system. J25.95 F R E E ! # Windshield Washer Fluid (4 Litres) at time of Service. (WTTH THIS COUPON) Offer expires January 31/03 2001 MAZDA PROTEGE ESG Our New Year's Resolution *17,995 2001 MAZDA PROTEGE LX S1 1999 OLDSMOBILE AURORA $ 19,795 SAVE, SAVE, SAVE you money S P E C IA L R A T E F I N A N C I N G 1999 GMC JIMMY SLE4X 2 *15,995 2001 CHEVROLET VENTURE Si *19,995 Sale Ends Jan. 31/2003 - 6 p.m. 1998 NISSAN PATHFINDER XE/4X4 19,995 2000 ACCURA INTEGRA GS TEST DRIVE TODAY *16,995 1998 MAZDA PROTEGE LX TOURING EDIT. *20,995 s 18,995 $ 2000 MAZDA MPV-DX CONVENIENCE 2000 MAZDA PROTEGE SE 4-DOOR LOWEST PRE-OWNED RATE Li *12,995 1998 MAZDA PROTEGE SE *10,995 1997 DODGE DAKOTA REG. C SPORT 14,995 *12,995 2002 MAZDA M1A3A2-DR CONV. 2000 MAZDA PROTEGESE SPECIAL EDIT. * s *13,995 2000 TOYOTA SIENNA CE MINIVAN & *20,595 *29,995 1291 SPEERS ROAD, OAKVILLE Maximum amount of financing is $18,000. Example 1: $18,000 financed over 36 months @ 3.9%. Monthly Paym ent = $530.63. Total finance obligation including interest = $19,102.68. Example 2: $18,000 financed over 48 months @ 4.9%. Monthly Paym ent = $413.71. Total finance obligation including interest » $19,858.08. O a k\#i 1 1e VT13Z D 3 "WHERE GOOD SERVICE IS A FACT NOT JUST A PROMISE" oakvillem azda. r.nm 905- 827-4242 M n n -T h iir s Q a m -Q n m F ri ft .Q a t Q a m -fin m