Top 10s: New Retro-mobiles

By John LeBlanc You can’t bring back the past. But with some new cars these days, you can certainly try and buy it. Volkswagen’s 1999 New Beetle started the modern retro-mobile (old-fashioned clothes over modern mechanicals) trend. Using an existing front-engine Golf chassis, it was styled to look like the rear-engine “Bug” that became a […]

The Crank: Japan’s automakers are in catch-up mode

By John LeBlanc The big stink south of the border last week was the launch of the new 2012 Toyota Camry family sedan (above left). A “big stink” because like Honda’s compact Civic sedan (above right) up here in the Great White North, the midsize Camry has been the perennially best-selling non-pickup new car for something like 13 […]

First Drive: 2012 Chrysler 200 Convertible

Rental redo Can a new name and look reform one of Chrysler’s worst-ever products? By John LeBlanc SAN DIEGO, California – The past few years have been crazy busy over at Fiat’s Chrysler Group. After its bankruptcy filing that left the Italian automaker in charge in 2009, the Chrysler’s been working hard to play catch-up […]

The Crank: How Ford can save Lincoln. No, really…

By John LeBlanc Ever since the 1990s Ford Explorer/Firestone tire fiasco, the Ford Motor Co. has made much ado about nothing with its Lincoln luxury brand. Ford was ready with a bunch of rear-wheel-drive products that would separate Lincolns from the more plebeian front-drive Fords. But then the tire crisis nearly did Ford in financially, […]

First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG

E-Q-ship Mercedes goes the turbocharging route for its updated midsize stealth machine By John LeBlanc LE CASTELLET, FRANCE — Showing little of the restraint of its rivals, Mercedes-Benz offers high-performance iterations of almost every model throughout its extensive lineup — from its compact C-class sedan to its SLS Gullwing supercar. Yet if you know the […]

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