#montreal

Summer is road-trip season. The fairest of nature’s four quarters, its warm weather and sunny skies beckon, especially for folks living in areas that receive winter’s wrath. It’s spring and time is ticking; have you planned your vacation yet?

Octane Management, the company that promoted NASCAR in Montreal for the last six years, has ended its relationship with the race series, eliminating the chance for a 2013 season in Canada.

Returning for 2013, Porsche will offer its Camp4 Canada driving program to give brand enthusiasts a winter performance driving course that will exhibit its latest sports cars.

With the Formula One Grand Prix in Montreal scheduled for the weekend, student protests that have been going on in the area for months threaten to disrupt the event — something  Quebec-born racing champion Jacques Villeneuve isn’t taking lightly.

Ongoing student protests in Montreal, Canada are starting to impinge upon more than just the sleeping habits of the city’s residents, with organizers of the Canadian Grand Prix announcing the cancellation of festivities on the first day of the race weekend.

Threats of protests threatening a Formula One race are nothing new in far away regions of the world like the Middle-East, but what about here in North America?

Toyota Canada has announced that it will expand its product offering significantly in Canada with the introduction of the youth-oriented Scion brand in September of 2010. The launch will be targeted at several major markets including Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. In total 45 dealers will be a part of the expansion.

The Scion dealers will operate as a “store within a store” and will be part of existing Toyota dealerships. There will be 18 Scion dealers in Montreal, 20 in Toronto and 7 in Vancouver.

“This is a great time to launch Scion in Canada,” said Larry Hutchinson, Director of Scion in Canada. “As the auto industry emerges from recession, one of the largest and youngest demographics will be entering the marketplace. Young buyers will be looking to the ever-growing small car market. They are not only looking for a safe, high-quality and fuel efficient vehicle, it is important to them that the vehicle reflects their personality and lifestyle, and the stylish and trendy Scion brand will be there to fulfill that need.”

The launch of Scion in Canada will start with three vehicles, all of which are currently offered in the U.S. (Scion’s only other market). The vehicles include the sporty tC, the funky and functional xB and the sub-compact xD. Scion is also expected to deliver new models in the near future, with one possibility being a version of the Toyota iQ mini car.

For a full list of Canada’s Scion dealers, see after the jump:

National Geographic’s Traveler magazine has put together a list of the 50 best road trips. Included in the list are perennial favorites like California’s Pacific Coast Highway; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; the Florida keys and the Arkansas Ozarks.

Eight years after the Scion brand was launched in the U.S., Toyota’s youth-oriented offshoot will open dealerships in Canada in 2010. With a dealership-within-a-dealership approach, Scions will be available at several Toyota stores in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Expansion to other urban centers (or “centres” as they say in Canada) is expected but not yet official.

Scion will enter the Canadian marketplace with all three of its vehicles, the tC sport coupe, the xD five-door hatchback and the cube-shaped xB five-door hatchback.

And of course, all Scion models in Canada will be available with numerous accessories and upgrades, from wheels to shift knobs and from stereo systems to TRD (Toyota Racing Development) performance parts.

“Scion is a unique brand, yet still a member of the Toyota family so it benefits from the same high standards as our Toyota and Lexus lines,” said Larry Hutchinson, Director of Toyota Canada Inc., commenting that in the U.S. 70 percent of Scion buyers are new to Toyota, and over fifty percent of Scion owners migrate to a Toyota vehicle as their needs and wants evolve.

For more information on Scion Canada visit: www.scionnation.ca

Official release after the jump: