I’m out of action for a few days as we travel back to the Canadian mainland and the onwards to Whistler.

Yeah, I know. Tough life.

Anyway, I’ll be offline all the time in Whistler, so there’ll be no news here from me. Feel free to chat amongst yourselves for a few days, or visit other places in the blogosphere. And on that note, my sincere thanks for hanging around during this vacation period. I know it’s been a little all over the shop and I’m sorry I haven’t been able to cover the recent news as well as I’d like, but that’s life, I guess.

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A few more automotive observations from here in Canada:

* Diesels would sell here. I don’t know if Canada uses the same environmental regulations as the US, but if they don’t then Saab would do well to test the waters with the TTiD here. I’ve lost count of the number of Smart ForTwos here, and the curious thing is that the vast majority of them have been diesels (as if a minimicrocar wasn’t efficient enough already).

* I can’t really believe I’m saying this, but I really hope Chrysler survive the current hardships in the US. You see a lot of US cars on the roads here, and of the big three, the Chrysler vehicles (in particular, vehicles with a Dodge badge on them) are the ones that look the most distinctive. The large sedans and trucks look just like they should - big and tough. Of course, translating that down to smaller vehicles doesn’t work.

* Conversely, taking small-car styling and trying to apply it to a larger vehicle doesn’t work either. I saw a Mini Clubman on the street today and the vehicle looks totally stupid. To make things even worse, pictures emerged recently of the proposed Mini SUV, which was proof positive that small cars look good as small cars only.

* Both of the previous two points give me grave concerns for the Porsche Panamera.

* The Mazda MX-5 (Miata) is way cool. My brother-in-law has just got one to have some fun in and it really is a groovy little car. As he said, it’s like an MG, but reliable.

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Non-automotive:

* I could really see myself living in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, if the house prices weren’t so expensive. It’s unbelievable how much it costs to buy here. But it’s a beautiful place. Much like Hobart, actually, except quite a bit bigger and with access to better entertainment options.

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And finally, a beautiful Saab 9-5 HDR shot from Flickr:

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