WhatFinger


Jim Bray, CFP Automotive Editor

Jim publishes TechnoFile Magazine. Jim is an affiliate with the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada and his careers have included journalist, technology retailer, video store pioneer, and syndicated columnist; he does a biweekly column on CBC Radio One's The Business Network.

Jim can be reached at: bray@technofile.com Older articles by Jim Bray

Most Recent Articles by Jim Bray, CFP Automotive Editor:

Honda Passport TrailSport is comfortable, efficient

Honda Passport TrailSport is comfortable, efficientLooking for a mid-sized SUV/Crossover thingy that boasts Honda quality and reliability, yet can still take you off the road if you want? Perhaps you should check out the 2023 Passport, which Honda slots between the three row Pilot (a supposedly all-new version of which is coming as well) and the "compact SUV" CR-V. There's also the even smaller HR-V, for those who something even more diminutive, and I reviewed it recently here, liking it quite a bit despite its continuously variable transmission. Here with the Passport, however, we get a more traditional vehicle – a V6-powered model that uses an honest to goodness automatic transmission, in this case a nine-speed one.
- Saturday, December 17, 2022

New Roku Ultra – and new Roku services – up the platform's already-substantial offerings

New Roku Ultra – and new Roku services – up the platform's already-substantial offeringsRoku, the streaming device company that's becoming a real power in the streaming services department as well, has a new top of the line player that ups the ante over its predecessor. It also has raised the stakes on its own streaming services, including offering its first "made for Roku" productions. I'm a fan of Roku stuff and recommend it often to my friends and family when they're looking for a way to cut ever more out of their cable bills. You can get into a Roku for well under a hundred dollars, depending on sales, etc.; their entry level Streaming Stick 4K is on sale right now, according to the Roku home page on the device, for a paltry 50 dollars. I've reviewed this device in the past and found it an excellent performer at a great price even when it sold for $70CAD.
- Sunday, December 4, 2022

Paramount releases more classic sci-fi titles on 4K disc

Paramount releases more classic sci-fi titles on 4K discParamount studios continues to enhance nerdom with a slate of 4K releases culled from classic and near classic franchise films. And in the process, they've given Star Trek fans a healthy dose of new 4K versions of the original series-related movies. The ones I wanted to see the most were the original George Pal War of the Worlds, and the supposed Director's Cut of Star Trek the Motion Picture. Fortunately, I also got to take a look at the 4K versions of Star Trek V – the Final Frontier, and Star Trek VI – the Undiscovered Country. Oh, and because Paramount kindly bundled a Blu-ray of George Pal's great When Worlds Collide in the War of the Worlds package, we finally get to see a good hi definition (not Ultra, alas) of this earlier classic.
- Sunday, November 27, 2022

Mazda ups its SUV ante while Jeep supersizes an old friend

Mazda ups its SUV ante while Jeep supersizes an old friendWhether you like your SUV and/or crossover to be big and luxurious, or small and sporty, there's an abundance of models from which to choose. And two carmakers famed for either sportiness or utility are offering brand new iterations of the old SUV/Crossover theme. They are Mazda, with the CX-50 and Jeep, with its new Wagoneer. The first is a sporty little beauty whose existence I don't understand while the second is a huge and hedonistic land barge whose existence I don't understand, either. I'm sure profitability enters the discussion somewhere with either company, however, and that's fine.
- Saturday, November 19, 2022

Top Gun Maverick soars onto 4K disc

Top Gun Maverick soars onto 4K discThis past summer's theatrical blockbuster is now available on a 4K disc, and if you're a fan of the Top Gun franchise, aviation in general, and/or Tom Cruise movies, this one is a must have for the 4K home theatre. More than 30 years after the late Tony Scott put the original Top Gun into service, Cruise and a group of producers, friends and, I assume, acquaintances revisited the concept. It would have been easy to rehash the original film – just look to such sequels as Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens, for a fairly recent example – but instead Cruise and the producers went for an all new, kind of, story that takes into account the star's age and the changing geopolitical and technological scene.
- Saturday, November 12, 2022

New generation Toyota Tundra eschews the V8 for a gutsy turbo six

New generation Toyota Tundra eschews the V8 for a gutsy turbo sixIt's big and it's brawny and its downsized power plants mean it's supposed to offer better gas mileage than before. But is the 2022 Toyota Tundra half ton pickup a big enough step forward to snag sales from a Big Three dominated by Ford's F-150? Time will tell, obviously, but after my initial week in the all-new Tundra I was left feeling as if it's doubtful. Now, full disclosure – I've said many times that I'm not a truck guy and this vehicle illustrates why: for a little guy like me, it's hard to get into and out of, and it drives more like a truck than a car or SUV (well, duh!). Not necessarily truck-related are issues such as the trouble I have seeing around its gigantic side-mounted rear-view mirrors, and the Tundra's new LCD screen interface nearly drove me nuts, a testament to today's trend toward eschewing user-friendly simplicity in favour of ever more complex and confusing interfaces that emulate smart phones.
- Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Battle of the Worlds Blu-ray an interesting example of 'Fettu-cine'

Battle of the Worlds Blu-ray an interesting example of 'Fettu-cine'Everyone's heard of spaghetti westerns, but did you know there was also a genre of Italian sci-fi flicks as well? If not, I point your attention to Battle of the Worlds, a 1961 entry by Antonio Margheriti that stars the late great Claude Rains, star of such legitimate classics as Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, The Invisible Man, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and so many others. Rains, near the end of his long career, is said in the essay notes that accompany The Film Detective's new Blu-ray, to have taken this role on the financial advice of his wife and, though he does tend to chew the scenery more than a tad in his portrayal of a somewhat mad (or at least antisocial) scientist, he definitely does not phone in the performance.
- Monday, August 29, 2022

Ford hopes to garner new sales with its Maverick truck

Ford hopes to garner new sales with its Maverick truckFord has long been the "king of trucks'", at least when it comes to overall sales of its long-time top seller F-150. But the company is heading in a new direction with its brand-new Maverick, a pickup truck that isn't built like most other pickups. The Maverick is more like Honda's Ridgeline than the F-150, or its smaller sibling the Ranger. This means that, rather than being built "body on frame" the way most pickup trucks are, it's a more car-like unibody arrangement that may not be as robust as the "dedicated" pickup trucks, but which brings its own delights to the equation – for instance, in overall driveability.
- Sunday, July 31, 2022

Toyota 4Runner TRD shows its true off-the-asphalt worth in Elk Valley jaunt

Toyota 4Runner TRD shows its true off-the-asphalt worth in Elk Valley jauntIf you're heading out to the boonies, away from civilization – or even pavement – a vehicle like Toyota's famous 4Runner can help ensure you get where you're going – and then back again. And this off-road-averse writer and a trio of others just proved it. Utility vehicles aren't my favourite type of conveyance (better than public transit, though!), but I recently had an opportunity to learn just how great that utility can be under the right circumstances. And before I get to recounting our adventure, I'd like to thank the folks at Toyota for stepping up and lending me a vehicle for the purpose.
- Monday, July 18, 2022

Dumbledore's secrets reveal their 4K glory in new disc release

Dumbledore's secrets reveal their 4K glory in new disc releaseThe Potterverse is back with the third in the "Wizarding World" movies in a new 4K disc package from Warner Brothers. I'm not sure why (other than profitability reasons) these "prequels" exist, but they do and that's that. So, we have Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, where it appears the long-time Hogwarts' headmaster (though he isn't yet in that position) has put together a kind of Justice League-type group of witches/wizards/muggle to help fight for truth, justice, and the Wizarding Way.
- Sunday, July 3, 2022

The Batman and The Untouchables – two crime fighters arrive on 4K disc

The Batman and The Untouchables – two crime fighters arrive on 4K discWho would you want protecting your city: the Caped Crusader or a G-Man and his team? Well, I suppose it depends on the movie in which you find yourself, which brings up a couple of new 4K disc titles, each of which is worth seeing for mostly different reasons. First up is The Batman, the hot new title sent to me by Warner Brothers. Yeah, they've taken another dive into the stuff whose rights they own, bringing a whole new Batman and a whole new feel to the guy. 
- Friday, June 17, 2022

Paramount releases a Classic John Ford western on 4K disc

Paramount releases a Classic John Ford western on 4K disc This is not your average Western! And it isn't your average 4K disc package, either. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a classic western from John Ford, one of the last major outings for the four-time Oscar winning director (at least, that's what they say in the generous extras that come on the included Blu-ray disc). It features a cast of big names and small names – journeyman actors all, and all combine to create a believable and compelling drama. Warts and all.
- Thursday, June 16, 2022

Toyota's top selling RAV4 gets an off-road update for 2022

Toyota's top selling RAV4 gets an off-road update for 2022One of the first "cute utes" has, after decades, shed the "cute" aspect and is apparently upping the "ute" ante to make the vehicle an even more compelling choice for those who eschew asphalt periodically. It's the RAV4 TRD, which stands traditionally for "Toyota Racing Development," not something one would necessarily connect with a compact ute like the RAV4, but Toyota has a long history of adding TRD trim to a variety of its sporty and non-sporty vehicles. And with varying results of sportiness. And that's on top of an abundance of other RAV4 trim levels, from entry level to hybrid – 16 of them in all! The RAV4 has been a top seller for the Japanese brand as the marketplace, alas, moves from cars to utility vehicles. Through its successive generations it has matured into an excellent vehicle that – as is typical of Toyotas – may outlive its owners.
- Monday, June 6, 2022

Acura's RDX a lovely thing to drive

Acura's RDX a lovely thing to driveThe 2022 Acura RDX is a mostly terrific mid-sized luxury SUV that goes head-to-head with some pretty high-powered competitors from around the world. The vehicle, now in its third generation, balances luxury and style with performance, while adding Honda/Acura's usual annoyances that try very hard to suck out any of the joy the driving experience might otherwise bring you. And that's too bad. I've always liked the RDX – it's more my size of vehicle than its big brother the MDX, for example, more like a Porsche Macan compared to a Cayenne. Not that I want you to think the RDX can go head-to-head with that lovely SUV (well, to be fair, I haven't driven a Macan since the model first came out, so Porsche may have ruined it as well, though I doubt it), I'm just putting it into market perspective.
- Friday, May 20, 2022

Honda Ridgeline - a niche pickup truck that's getting some competition

Honda Ridgeline - a niche pickup truck that's getting some competitionHonda's Ridgeline, Black Edition, is the top trim level of Honda's pickup truck, and it continues the company's tradition of offering an unconventional, car-based choice in a market dominated by "body on frame" trucks. It must be working, because after over a decade of being alone in the marketplace, the Ridgeline is finally getting some competition for your pickup truck budget: Ford's Maverick and Hyundai's Santa Cruz. I haven't driven either, but I've driven the Ridgeline several times, in both of its generations, and have always liked it a lot.
- Sunday, May 8, 2022

Coppola's Godfather trilogy gets a new birthday suit for its 50th

Coppola's Godfather trilogy gets a new birthday suit for its 50thParamount Pictures has given one of the most honoured films in Hollywood history – and its two sequels – a new lease on life thanks to a meticulous 4K restoration of Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather trilogy. And, especially if you don't own the movies already, it's definitely worthy of your time. I'm not going to get into the storylines of the films, which have been discussed ad nauseam, but rather I'll go over this terrific new five disc set (four 4K discs and a Blu-ray full of mostly great extras) so you can know what to expect from it.
- Sunday, May 1, 2022

Mazda CX-5 ups its already great ante with new features

Mazda CX-5 ups its already great ante with new featuresMazda's great CX-5 SUV/Crossover continues to get even better with some upgrades for 2022 that up the performance and comfort antes. It's my favourite model of the ones in this niche that I've driven – and even in some higher niches in which it doesn't pretend to compete, such as the luxury market. In fact, if you drove it back-to-back with some higher end product such as Lexus, Infiniti and the like, you might just find that the Mazda offers nearly as much luxury, but is easier to live with and more fun to drive. How can that be a bad thing?
- Saturday, April 30, 2022

Newly redesigned Lexus NX 350 a larger and nicer luxury SUV

Newly redesigned Lexus NX 350 a larger and nicer luxury SUVI may have a new favourite Lexus and, risking being struck by lightning, it's an SUV! Last year I was impressed mightily by the new IS 350, which is a really nice sports sedan as long as you don't drive it like a sports sedan. And, being a car guy and not particularly an SUV guy, I really wanted to love it. If Lexus updates it with the new stuff they've crammed into the NX, I might love it again. But in the meantime, wow, this is one really nice SUV and, unlike some other Lexi I could mention, it's also a relative blast to drive, with an honest to goodness Sport (and, even better, Sport +) modes.
- Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Toyota Sienna minivan continues to impress

Toyota Sienna minivan continues to impressCan a minivan be sporty? Well, I guess it depends on your definition of "sporty," but the current Toyota Sienna comes as close to being a "sports van" as any I've driven over the years. Oh, Porschefiles and aficionados of stuff like "Zoom-Zoom" may not find it truly sporty, and in the grand scheme of things it probably isn't, but I find it quite amazing just how driveable this minivan is. Even with a damn CVT transmission!
- Monday, April 25, 2022

Subaru Forester Premier a very nice vehicle – but it isn't without its annoyances

Subaru Forester Premier a very nice vehicle – but it isn't without its annoyancesThe Subaru Forester was arguably the company's first SUV, though it may have seemed more like a tall wagon than a Sport Ute. Since then, the company has expanded its SUV offerings, but the Forester is still around and there are still a lot of things to like about it. It's still my favourite Subaru, in fact, one which I would have put one on my short list back in the day had I been in the market. And the stuff that made that Forester so compelling then are still there: symmetrical all-wheel drive, good ground clearance, plenty of storage/hauling space and good driving dynamics.
- Monday, March 28, 2022

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