NFI Empire auctioning off classic truck to benefit humane society
A local business is raffling off a newly restored square-body Chevy pickup truck that benefits the Erie Humane Society's work.
NFI Empire has less than 1,000 tickets left for the truck selling at $30 apiece.
City of Erie opens applications for new firefighters
It's a 1984 Chevy Silverado with a small block Chevy engine, turbo 350 transmission, along with new axles, suspension, power windows and locks, new tires and much more.
A fundraiser representative said people who grew up in Erie know how important the work of the humane society is.
PennWest Edinboro fair educates on life with disabilities
'Erie Humane Society, they run by no-kill standards which means they're not putting pets down, but their goal is to rescue, rehabilitate, and then re-home them. That takes a lot of funds to be able to find a pet that needs surgery or some sort of rehabilitation and then properly re-home it,' said Justin Fried, co-founder and CEO of NFI Empire.
You can find a link to the ticket sales
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Motor Trend
2 hours ago
- Motor Trend
The Ringer: 1985 Honda Civic CRX Si
[This story first appeared in the Fall 2010 issue of MotorTrend Classic] If you're too young to understand the appeal of the first Honda Civic CRX, consider the first Apple iPod. It put out five to 10 gigabytes, came only in snow white with a chrome silver backing, and held 1000 to 2000 songs. It inspired industrial designers working on various projects to try and capture the essence of its cool design in cars and other products. Even if the original iPod is mostly forgotten, it taught the PC world something important about Apple's irresistible design aesthetic. Eighteen years earlier, the 76-horsepower 1984 Honda Civic CRX was a revelation in a world in which the epitome of affordable performance was the 190-horsepower, Chevy Camaro Z/28. On paper, the CRX—Civic Renaissance Model X—with its 12-valve, 1488cc single-overhead-cam aluminum four, compound vortex combustion chamber, and Keihin three-barrel carburetor, was no more impressive than a 10 GB iPod. There are more important numbers. For the iPod, it was: You're holding 2000 of your favorite songs in your hand. For the CRX, it was: The car weighs 1800 pounds, following Colin Chapman's philosophy: 'Adding power makes you faster in the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere.' MotorTrend's first road test in the December 1983 issue bench-raced a natural competitor, the new Pontiac Fiero. 'As it stands, the Fiero is heavier, not quite as quick, less economical, and a lot more expensive than the CRX 1.5,' Kevin Smith wrote on his way to becoming one of several journos to buy a CRX. What really impressed the automotive press is that the 1984 CRX was one of four new Civics Honda introduced at once, all of which were segment leaders: the ultra-modern hatchback, the extra-versatile wagon, and the preternatural premium small car, the sedan. Honda and the uninformed masses called the CRX a commuter car and focused in on the $6100 HF. With a 58-horse CVCC, eight-valve 1.3-liter and five-speed manual, the HF was the most fuel-efficient vehicle sold in the U.S., rated 51/67 mpg at the time, 38/47 mpg using current EPA standards. The CRX was really a sports car. Front suspension consisted of struts—sprung with torsion bars instead of coils—and an anti-roll bar. The innovative rear suspension worked like a beam-axle but a bearing in the center makes it semi-independent. There was also an anti-roll bar. It was perfect for slicing and dicing through urban traffic, with unassisted steering offering great feel and feedback. Turning radius was an amazing 28.2 feet, good for quick U-turns when that space in front of the coffee shop suddenly opened. EPA fuel mileage was 36/49 mpg according to our spec sheet. The modern numbers are 28/35 mpg for the standard 1.5-liter and five-speed manual (slightly less for California or the three-speed automatic). The flip side is a dearth of sound insulation to keep out road, wind, and engine noise. That flips it back to its sports car appeal. Steering, handling, brakes, all feel direct, an extension of the driver. The urbanite owner could let loose on weekends and take it out to the country and look for twisty roads. In MotorTrend's 1984 Import Car of the Year contest, the Honda CRX and Civic scored just behind the BMW 318i in roadholding and beat it in the slalom: CRX at 6.62 seconds, Civic S at 6.65, and 318i at 6.81 seconds. We gave the award to the CRX, with the Civic scoring second and the Prelude third. For 1985, Honda added the CRX Si, with programmed fuel injection replacing the single downdraft carb. Horsepower increased by 15 to 91 in the Si and peaked 500 rpm lower, at 5500. Wheels were a half-inch wider to accommodate new 175/70R13 tires, though in the March 1985 issue, MT found the Michelins 'woefully inadequate to handle the torque of the responsive four-banger'—now, 93 pound-feet at 4500 rpm, up from 84 pound-feet at 3500. MT's skidpad figure dropped to 0.80 g from 0.82. The CRX's 0-to-60-mph time vastly improved, though, from 10.2 seconds for the '84 to 8.2 seconds for the '85 Si. Just as the carbureted CRX 1.5 was quicker than the four-cylinder Pontiac Fiero, the fuel-injected 1.5 was quicker than the new Fiero V-6. From 1985 on, the CRX came with three trim levels, HF, DX ( still carbureted), and Si. For 1986 and 1987, Honda replaced the Civic line's recessed sealed-beam headlamps with flush, aerodynamic lenses. The DX's optional automatic was now a four-speed with lockup torque converter, and the HF got a cleaner, 1.5-liter eight-valve engine. Inside, the Si, DX, and HF got new door panel inserts with fabric to match the two seats. Outside, the Si got new body-color lower panels and 185/60R14 Yokohamas. This mid-cycle refresh came with a weight gain. The DX, which was the 1802-pound '84 model, crept up to 1866 pounds by '87. The Si was up 123 pounds for '86, to 1953 and then to 1978 for '87. Mark Wanzel's first CRX was an '84 1.5; his second was an '85 Si; and now, so is his third. At 37, Wanzel might relate to the iPod metaphor, if not for his father, who took him to club races at Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, in the mid-'80s. 'You'd see fleets of CRXs racing, along with MR2s, RX-7s, Fieros, Rabbit GTIs, and Sciroccos,' Wanzel recalls. The CRXs have been his daily drivers, though he also owns a '92 Acura Integra. Canada didn't get the Si until '87, and Wanzel prefers the lighter-weight, recessed-headlamp '85. He bought this red Arizona car for US$2500 and uses his previous Si, a black '85, for parts. We like original cars in Classic, but Wanzel's CRX has some period-correct modifications. In place of his '85 Si's U.S.-spec D16 SOHC engine, this car has Honda's ZC engine, a 16-valve, 1.6-liter DOHC four, also with programmed fuel injection, the 130-horsepower European-market CRX Si engine also used in the CRX-based 1986-89 Acura Integra. Rated 113 horsepower in the Integra, it's available as a remanufactured engine from Japan. Wanzel spent 15 years trying to find his car's Mugen Power CF 48 wheel rims. His red CRX also has a Mugen Power paint-matched rear lip spoiler and three-spoke steering wheel. Finally, Wanzel's CRX has adjustable Koni shocks, 'because OEM shocks are no longer available.' He takes advantage of the adjustable torsion bars to lower his Honda. Wanzel and his fiancé, Julie, drove it from Barrie, Ontario, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the lowest setting and never bottomed out. After Wanzel raised the suspension for our photography, he noticed his car had a better ride with no handling degradation. Steering feels heavier than my '87 DX, and the five-speed gearbox is notchier. The clutch is light and progressive. The CRX launches like most Hondas, bereft of low-end torque, but progresses very quickly, courtesy of maybe 13.9 pounds per horsepower, and you find yourself reaching the 7000-rpm redline easily. Steering is as advertised. Simple, intuitive controls with ball-bearing feel are user-friendly, and unlike a modern Mini Cooper or Mazda Miata, there's no traction or stability control to shut off. The car makes quick, sharp left-right transitions, good for city traffic slaloms and canyon roads. Turn-in is sharp, and you can go from mild front-drive understeer to tucking in the tail by lifting throttle mid-turn. Get back into the throttle, and the CRX maintains its momentum, as you'd expect from a car that doesn't tip a ton. 'The car really likes late braking,' Wanzel notes. The all-new Mark II '88 CRX (with corresponding Civic sedan, hatch, and wagon) featured control-arm front and rear suspension and steel front fenders. The '88 Si weighed 2017 pounds, and powered by a 105-horse 1.6-liter SOHC four, it started at $10,195. It won Motor Trend's Import Car of the Year, again. Honda followed that up with the 1993 Civic Del Sol, badged CRX in other markets. Appropriately, it won nothing. Honda's cars grew and, by virtue of safety and convenience features, gained weight. The new CR-Z is about the right size, but as a hybrid-only car, it doesn't rev like the original CRX. It's made for HF devotees. There are faster, quicker, more powerful, better-handling sports cars. There has never been a 'commuter car' that proved Colin Chapman's ideals quite like the Honda CRX. Thanks to modern consumers' demands for safety and convenience, there never will be again. Ask The Man Who Owns One Mark Wanzel (above, with fiancé, Julie Ward) is a photographer who shoots freelance and for The Barrie Examiner in Ontario, Canada. Why I like it: 'Without even discussing its innovations, for me, the Mark I CRX will always be great because of its light weight and sporty feel, useable practicality, and boy-racer looks. Few cars in history deliver like the CRX, and when you consider the Si, it becomes a full-package car. It's way too much fun for a road car.' Why It's Collectible: Most Mark I CRXs were driven hard and allowed to rust, and there won't be a modern sports car this light, efficient, and affordable again. Restoring/Maintaining: Engines are bulletproof if maintained. Most other parts are unavailable without a parts car. Replacement plastic front fenders and hood headers are available from China and European/Japanese-spec engines are available from Japan. Beware: You'll find examples that haven't rusted away only from California and Southern states, so watch for faded and damaged interior/exterior plastics. Shocks, struts, and boots went quickly and must be replaced regularly, now only with aftermarket parts. Timing belts must be replaced every 60,000 miles to avoid valve damage. Expect to pay: Concours-ready: $2450; solid driver: $1200; tired runner: $575 Join the club: CRX Owners Group, Club Si, Northern California CRX Club, Red Pepper Racing, Our Take Then: 'Honda's all-new Civic CRX 1.5 suggests the term 'Rollerskate GT.' Not only is it roomy and neatly done inside, it's a delight in motion. Running around town, blitzing a mountain road, or cruising cross-country, you have a responsive, well-balanced performance automobile under your command.'—Kevin Smith, MotorTrend, November 1983. Now: What the enthusiast world needs is a car this light and this much fun, one that delivers equal helpings of performance and efficiency. If only Honda had kept developing the car, like BMW with the Mini, instead of replacing it with the Dull Sol. My CRX I test-drove a white 1984 Honda CRX five-speed at a dealership in Brookfield, Wisconsin, figuring the payments on a $6600 car wouldn't be much more than what I spent on parts in an average month on my 1977 Triumph Spitfire. I didn't buy one until three years later, after leaving the Quad-City Times for the San Diego Business Journal. California dealers were still getting close to sticker on CRXs (and most other Hondas). Insurance rates were especially high on the Si for twentysomething single guys, so in September 1987, on the day after my 29th birthday, I bought a red DX five-speed with no A/C for, I think, $8125. I ran it up and down Highway 1 between San Luis Obispo and San Francisco whenever I could. I drove it fast and hard, was meticulous with service, got 33 mpg in the city and about 40 mpg highway, and moved to Washington, D.C., in it. In February 1994, a lawyer with a medical condition who shouldn't have been driving his 1981 Olds 98 passed out on a boulevard outside Georgetown, plowing into oncoming traffic and taking out my CRX at low, constant speed. I had only a sore wrist from clenching the wheel. I still miss that car.
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Trump tariffs plague Canadian motorsport racers
Canadian motorsport racers aren't immune to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. Most performance items are imported from the U.S., which makes some of them subject to tariff-related price increases (earlier this year, the federal government also imposed retaliatory tariffs on some vehicles and auto parts). Those in racing say it's starting to take a toll. 'I have to pay attention to every item,' said Performance Cellar owner Venice Perno, whose shop is based in Hamilton and has long supplied the racing community. 'There is a fine line when ordering parts and I'm trying to keep a good balance. I have to look at every line of every product.' To make matters worse, prices never returned to their lower, pre-pandemic levels, Perno said. He said the situation is confusing as to what has increased in price, including raw materials and production. 'It's a lot more work. I just can't push the order button.' Perno said the price increase for racing tires is front and centre. 'Tires have gone through the roof. They're all 25 per cent more,' he noted and added a rear tire for a quick drag race car, such as a Pro Modified, costs about $2,000. Erica Bicknell-Jones of Bicknell Racing Products in St. Catharines also cited the increase in tire costs. 'The biggest spot we have felt it is tires,' she said. The company has been scouring the country for race tires, sending trucks to Eastern Canada for stock. It has secured tires, but they don't come cheap. 'So far, we have put out over $150,000 in tariffs just for those three trucks,' she said. 'All costs have to be paid up front. All of these 2,500-plus tires are not sold and paid for yet, so it's a huge out-of-pocket expense.' A rear tire for a Sprint Car is now more than $600. 'That's just insane.' 'We don't know all the ins and outs,' said Dale Stroud, who for more than 30 years has been building performance engines for oval and drag racing cars as well as street rods and marine applications. Stroud, whose shop is in Caledonia, also mentioned pricing never returned to pre-pandemic days. 'It never came down. As an example, an intake manifold for a small-block Chevy is now around $500 and pre-COVID it was $250. 'We try to source Canadian products,' he went on, 'then North American parts, then we're using offshore. The trouble with tariffs is what parts have these tariffs and how the pieces that make up a part are categorized. There is so much uncertainty.' Bicknell-Jones appealed to the federal government for help. 'In early April, the government shared an option for applying for an exemption on things like tariffs on racing tires,' she said. 'Since there is no where in Canada that we could get them made, in reality, we should be exempt. I have not heard back on our application.' Weekend winners: Cody McPherson of St. Catharines won the DIRTcar Sportsman Western Region event at Merrittville Speedway Saturday, his fourth feature win in a row at the dirt track … Tyler Hawn from Oro Medonte led all 30 laps to win the OSCAAR Hot Rod Bill Zardo Memorial at Flamboro Speedway Saturday night. The APC United Late Models will be on the paved oval this Saturday for the Grisdale Racing Products 100, along with a visit by the Can-Am TQ Midgets … An $18,000 purse includes $5,000 for the winner and will be awarded after the feature for the touring Southern Ontario Sprints this Saturday at the Chatham-Kent oval of Buxton Speedway … Stratford native Spencer Hyde took Funny Car runner-up at the recent New England Nationals at Epping, N.H. Brittany Force won the Top Fuel title and tied Shirley Muldowney's 18 national event wins in TF … Nick Sheridan of Mount Brydges won the Empire Super Sprints feature at Ohsweken Speedway, his first 360 Sprint Car A-Main win at the dirt oval.
The Drive
6 days ago
- The Drive
Electric Truck Battery Demand Increased More Than 70% Last Year, Future Is Uncertain
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Electric trucks aren't all that green, aren't that practical, and aren't cheap. Still, a market exists for pickups like the Ford F-150 Lightning, and it grew big time last year. The International Energy Agency reports that in 2024, the demand for electric truck batteries grew by more than 70% compared to 2023. That trend might not continue. IEA data shows that in 2023, electric truck battery demand sat at 14 gigawatt-hours; it was up to 24 gigawatt-hours in 2024. That data mostly tracks with the sales figures of top EV pickups like the aforementioned F-150 Lightning, which leapt from 24,165 units sold in 2023 to 33,510 last year—a roughly 39% increase. The Blue Oval alone doesn't make up the difference, but you also have to factor in new vehicles that either went on sale late in 2023 or early in 2024. Undeniably, the biggest influence was is the Tesla Cybertruck, with approximately 39,000 registrations in its first full sales year. Vehicle sales are a key factor in overall battery demand, though they aren't all that matters. Battery capacity is crucial, and it also varies greatly across the board. While a Tesla Cybertruck can be had with a 123-kilowatt-hour battery pack, the Chevy Silverado EV can be packaged with a 200-kWh pack. It doesn't take as many Silverado EVs to equal the same battery demand as a parking lot full of Cybertrucks. Electric pickup sales are already sliding in 2025. The Cybertruck is pacing for fewer than 30,000 sales this year based on first-quarter figures, and while the F-150 Lightning leads it slightly, it doesn't look likely to exceed last year's performance. The Silverado EV and its GMC Sierra EV twins are climbing, though not at a great enough pace to offset the fall of other models. Other categories of EV battery demand were on the rise in 2024, too, including a big leap for light-duty vehicles. That alone isn't surprising, considering smaller passenger EVs are the biggest relevant market by far, but the jump from 713 gWh in 2023 to 884 gWh last year represents a 24% increase. It's a reminder that electric trucks are but a small piece of the larger EV pie, and that seems likely to be the case again in 2025. Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@
