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Brendan McAleer

Automotive Writer and Photographer

Vancouver, BC

Brendan McAleer

Likes cars, loves stories.

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Built for the moneyed, mastered by thieves

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The life, death, and rebirth of Terry Fox’s ‘Marathon of Hope’ van

This boxy, shag-carpeted 1980 Ford Econoline looks like some dumpy-but-well-kept camper van, but inside it live the memories of one of Canada’s greatest heroes. “Over the five years I’ve been at the museum, I’ve got to see and hold a lot of important artifacts—things the public doesn’t have access to.
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Unrequited love for the British roadster

For a car that’s not guaranteed to start on any given day, one needs plenty of patience to deal with Dad’s 1967 MGB – but it’s worth it. Today, it started. Such is not always the case. My father cranked the key for what seemed like an eternity, muttered, “Come on,” under his breath and, with a flatulent braap, the little crimson MGB burst to life.
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2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster

The is the fastest, most thrilling Mercedes you can drive without a helmet. A cigarette boat is an illicit weapon, built for speed and shaped like a blade. Dagger-like, it stabs through the waves, combining a small, open cabin with a knife-like profile and a surfeit of engine. Hammering up a canyon road, our Solarbeam Yellow AMG GT C Roadster is the tarmac-shredding version of an ocean-going speedboat, and just as exhilarating.
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Driving this Motorcycle-Powered Mini Cooper Is the Best Kind of Crazy

Adam Trinder, the owner/creator of this little grenade seems to turn the question over in his head. he repeats. Eventually, he just laughs and shakes his head. Five minutes later the Mini's transplanted Kawasaki heart screams past 12,000rpm and my head explodes. The why can wait; here's the what.
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The Story of the Shop that Dedicated Itself to the Rotary Engine

A rotary engine usually has two spark plugs for a controlled, more-powerful burn. So it is that we find ourselves in an Anaheim ice cream shop, located in the shadow of Disney's Magic Kingdom, watching two men spark a flame-front of speed. They are totally unalike: one a short, Japanese racer straight from the flanks of Mount Fuji; the other a rangy, American ex-Air Force mechanical genius.
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The Esso 67-X was the best way to see all of Canada

On her hundredth birthday, Canada did what many bon vivants do: headed for Montreal to par-tay. It was 1967 and the World’s Fair was in town, laid out on man-made islands in the St. Lawrence River. Families came from all over; the crowds were ridiculous, with more than a half-million people in attendance on the third day.
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We let Mercedes-AMGs run wild on frozen Lake Winnipeg

In 1875, the volcano Askja erupted, spreading fire and ash that blanketed the fjords of Iceland. As a result, a large segment of the population fled forever, settling in the Canadian prairies. Thus, a small town in Manitoba boasts the largest concentration of Icelandic peoples outside of the tiny frozen island itself.
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Review: 2017 Range Rover SV-A Dynamic is like a supercharged Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace has more than 775 rooms, including its own post office, movie theatre, and jeweller’s workshop. It is opulently furnished, impeccably decorated, and filled with artwork from all over the world. Imagine if there was a supercharged version. This, roughly, is the idea behind the new Dynamic version of the Range Rover SV Autobiography, the latest machine to emerge from Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO).
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Faceoff: Tesla Model X vs. 1912 Detroit Electric

Two electric cars sit atop a century-old hydroelectric dam, separated by three feet and 104 years. One is a Tesla Model X, the long-awaited crossover from the forward-looking California-based company; the other a less-well-known Detroit Electric, which by virtue of its high roof also rates as a crossover.
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Why Honda sold cars in Canada before it went to the U.S.

“It’s a motorcycle with doors.”. With these words, Lane Pryce announces the good news that fictional advertising firm Sterling Cooper Draper Price has landed the account for Honda’s new car. It redlines at 9,500 rpm and only has 57 horsepower. responds Don Draper incredulously. The Mad Men clearly have their work cut out for them—but maybe they should simply have taken a look North.
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In search of the greatest Alfa Romeo ever made

With the launch of the Stelvio crossover and the Giulia sport sedan, Alfa-Romeo is back in a big way. To get a better idea of the essence of Alfa-Romeo, we polled some Alfisti to find out which were the greatest ones ever made. “For me, it’s the Tipo 33 Stradale,” Ralph Gilles replies without hesitation.
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About

Brendan McAleer

Brendan McAleer first drove a stick-shift at the age of eight, and it's been pretty much downhill from there.

He has written stories on everything from a mint-condition Hyundai Pony to a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead. His work appears in the Globe & Mail, Time's TheDrive, Autos.ca, Road & Track, and elsewhere.

His inbox is always open to hearing about the machines that move us, physically and emotionally. He currently resides in North Vancouver, British Columbia.

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