If you met me today you would never be able to guess that behind the dress I am (probably) wearing, is a tomboy who secretly and now not so secretly loves the idea of racing cars. This idea turned into a reality when Coco & Cowe was asked by Cadillac Canada to attend their driving academy at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and I got to go on their behalf.
At exactly 6:15 am a driver was at my door to pick me up in a beautiful Cadillac and informed me that the day would be more then I could imagine. This alone woke me up faster then the coffee I was drinking. Side note and interesting fact we all learned: driving hands on the wheel should be at 3 and 9, not 10 and 2.
What I dreamed of suddenly was in front of me in the form of a pristine racetrack that I came to learn was one of the hardest and best race tracks in North America.
Prior to getting on the actual track we were introduced to the experts who would teach us how to drive these amazing cars and I was ready.
Full disclosure: When I was finally in the drivers seat after having done a few laps with the experts driving and teaching us the course, I was SCARED. All my excitement and anticipation came down to this moment and I told my amazing instructor Danny that I was nervous. Danny was more than supportive and said, “let’s go, you can do this” and so, I did.
I did a few laps and with every lap I got more and more comfortable with the track. What I quickly learned was that my comfort came not because I knew the track, but because the car I was driving was proving that it was capable of speed, performance and stability even at race worthy speeds.
I used to think that Cadillac’s were grandfather cars but in the driver’s seat of the CTS-V I was quickly proven wrong. I have never been so comfortable going over 150km/hr and in the Cadillac CTS-V, I was more than comfortable, I felt safe. The engineers who built these cars had their work speak for itself when I hit 200km/hr with Daniel Bois by my side. The thrill was one thing, but the security and performance is what allowed me to push this car to my max.
That day my dream came true and there is no car I would have rather been in. I quickly learned the Cadillac’s are not grandfather cars like that I had assumed lol and that I now desperately want one. If you have any desire to feel what I felt, I encourage you to test drive one of these cars but do drive safely. These cars are have it all: luxury, quality and performance oh and they’re so cool!
-Karen Michelle//.