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 […]

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, […]

Comparo: 2011 Nissan Cube versus 2011 Scion xB

Compacts Squared Which of these hip-to-be-square compact boxes-on-wheels nails the “cool” factor? By John LeBlanc There are all kinds of ways kids can revolt against their parents. Some even legal. Like buying a Nissan Cube or Scion xB, two new cars that embody few of the qualities their respectively-targeted buyers’ parents would dig.

Prince Edward Highlander / The Wrapup

By John LeBlanc SPRINGBROOK, P.E.I. – The concept of a hybrid crossover seems perfect for the modern family vacation vehicle. Crossovers offer the all-wheel-drive practicality of sports-utility-vehicles. Being car-based, though, they drive nicer, weigh less, and tend to be more space and fuel efficient than SUVs.

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