The Crank: Saab becomes a little less Swedish

By John LeBlanc With the recent resignation of now former CEO Jan Ake Jonsson—Saab’s so-called “last Swede”—the automaker becomes just a little less Swedish—jah, fer shoor. But what does Jonsson’s exit say of the potential survival (or lack thereof) of the Swedish brand?

Comparo: 2011 BMW 750Li xDrive vs. Audi A8L Quattro

By John LeBlanc With prices starting at more than the annual household income of the average Canadian, it’s no surprise sales of full-size luxury sedans are relatively miniscule here. However, that doesn’t mean these flagship sedans should be ignored. Representing the best of their brands, these cars justify the lofty pricetags by being rolling showcases […]

Comparo: 2011 Audi Q5 3.2 Quattro vs. Volvo XC60 T6 AWD

By John LeBlanc For such a short time as an automotive genre, the compact luxury crossover segment has become awfully crowded, awfully fast. It’s been only a little over a decade since the first-to-market Lexus RX 300 arrived. Yet in that time, rivals from BMW (X3), Acura (RDX), Cadillac (SRX), Infiniti (EX35), Mercedes-Benz (GLK) and […]

First Drive: 2012 Aston Martin V8 Vantage S

RONDA, SPAIN—If you pick up on the clues, it’s obvious the CEO running the very British Aston Martin brand, Ulrich Bez, used to work at the very German brands BMW and Porsche, applying a very Teutonic (i.e. methodical) approach to the perennially money-losing British brand. First, upon the German-born Bez’s arrival at Aston Martin in […]

The Crank: When “new” doesn’t necessarily mean “improved”…

By John LeBlanc New car buyers have religiously looked towards the U.S. not-for-profit Consumer Reports annual automotive issue to get one of the more objective views on new showroom fare. And one of the features in this year’s annual is the calling out of a half-dozen new-for-2011 models that simply don’t measure up to their […]

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