Top 10s: New cars for hipsters

By John LeBlanc If you were born sometime during the mid ‘80s and mid ‘90s, live in a city, come from a middle-class upbringing, jeer at Coldplay fans, and have a wardrobe that consists mainly of plaid shirts, skinny jeans, and fedoras, you very well may be considered a hipster. Automakers are struggling to connect with […]

Comparo: 2013 Subaru BRZ versus 2011 Subaru WRX STI

Story and photos by John LeBlanc OTTAWA – Let’s be frank, with its multiple World Rally Championship-winning WRX models firmly established with driving enthusiasts for decades now, Subaru doesn’t need the new-for-2013 BRZ to buff up its performance image. So how did the Japanese automaker — a company best known for making turbocharged all-wheel-drive wagons […]

Preview: Volkswagen CrossBlue Concept

Story by John LeBlanc FRANKFURT — The level of secrecy was positively Bond-like. Under a shroud of heavy fog (both of the atmospheric and corporate communications variety), I was being chauffeured in a Secret Service-black Volkswagen Transporter.

First Drive: 2014 Volkswagen e-Up!

Story and photos by John LeBlanc FRANKFURT — Initially conceived as a rear-engine, rear-drive city car, the first production Volkswagen Up! went on sale in Europe as a front-drive, two-door, four-passenger hatch two years ago. But Volkswagen always had bigger plans for its smallest car.

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