Road Test: 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan Highline 4Motion

Story and photos by John LeBlanc Warning: If you have offspring in the range of 10 to 12 years of age in your household, you have what social experts call a “tweener,” kids caught between early childhood and adolescence. If you’re a Volkswagen dealer, you also have a tweener on your hands, the Tiguan crossover. Like […]

Video: 2012 BMW 328i Modern

The Crank: Is Fiat (literally) stretching its 500 brand too far?

By John LeBlanc Let’s be honest: if BMW’s modern Mini had been a sales flop, we would never have seen the modern Fiat 500. Like the new Mini, the teeny Fiat is cute, cuddly, and fun-to-drive, with styling that harkens back to an original post-World War Two city car. And just as Fiat has copied […]

Quick Spin: 2012 Chevrolet Orlando

Story and photos by John LeBlanc Canadian-exclusive Orlando a practical family hauler What is it? The Orlando is a three-row, seven-passenger people hauler based on General Motors’ global compact-car platform. With conventional opening rear doors, please, don’t call it a minivan. And in a departure from the norm, the Korean-built Orlando is only sold in […]

The Crank: New stop/start systems turning off BMW owners

By John LeBlanc One of the biggest contributors to the fuel savings of any gasoline-electric hybrid is the vehicle’s automatic start/stop systems, a feature that allows the gas engine to shutdown when the vehicle is stopped in traffic or at an intersection. Stop/start systems work so well automakers are now applying them to gas-only models. […]

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