Can Chrysler count on Canadians buying Fiats?

By John LeBlanc Can Chrysler count on Canadians buying Fiats?Canadians love small cars. And Chrysler Canada knows this. While compact cars made up for more than half of all vehicles sold here last year, outside of our borders, the majority of the automaker’s sales are generated from minivans and pickups. Which is why Chrysler Canada […]

Does the world really need another supercar?

By John LeBlanc McLaren Automotive officially became a full-on, legitimate supercar maker last week with the launch of its MP4-12C two-seat, mid-engine machine. We’ve already been fed the car’s vital stats. This time, though, the all-new supercar company’s grande frommage, Ron Dennis, went to great lengths to highlight McLaren’s credentials: in Formula One since 1966, […]

The Straight-GOODS/Hot Hatches

2010 Audi A3 2.0 TFSI quattro Base Price: $36,900 Driver Must Haves: Sport Package ($3,100) It’s not as sharp as a Subie WRX265. But think of this classy-looking A3 as the Golf R Volkswagen Canada (shy 80 hp) won’t bring here. The five-door A3 is chock-a-block with all-wheel drive, twin-clutch gearbox, a gutsy 200 hp […]

The Straight-GOODS/Sports Sedans

2010 Acura TL SH-AWD Base Price: $48,490 Driver Must Haves: The ability to ignore the non-German badge The addition of a new manual gearbox allows the TL into The Goods for the first time. Granted, you have to pony up for the loaded $48,490 SH-AWD Tech to get to the new six-speed stick, but it’s […]

First Drive: 2011 Toyota Sienna

[svgallery name=”2011_Toyota_Sienna_hirez”] Story and photos by John LeBlanc VICTORIA–As the first new vehicle launched in Canada since the Toyota recall crisis started in January, let’s deal right away with the elephant in the room. Of the several 2011 Sienna minivans I drove during the course of a one-day media event this week, none accelerated unintentionally, […]

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