Design versus Safety: The ongoing battle

[svgallery name=”2010 Buick LaCrosse”] Photos and story by John LeBlanc Form versus function. It’s the Battle Royale behind most automakers’ closed doors, fought between the aesthetic wishes of the design team and the slide-rule-wielding safety engineers. Sometimes, the slide-rulers win. Take for instance the 1972 Volvo Experimental Safety Car.

Brand-Aid: Does Ford really need Lincoln?

By John LeBlanc Despite being the darling of the auto-world media right now (NO BANKRUPTCIES!! NO BAILOUT MONEY!! NO STICKY GAS PEDALS!!), Ford has a problem child: its name is Lincoln. Ah, yes, Lincoln. Remember? Ford’s luxury brand? Don’t feel ashamed if you’ve forgotten.

Crystal Ball: The Future is Small

By John LeBlanc Eventually, historians will write that the past decade was one of the most tumultuous and significant eras in the auto industry—the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; the roller-coaster of fuel prices; the public’s growing environmental and road safety awareness; the rise of the Chinese automakers; the fall of the Detroit Big […]

My Most Anticipated Test Drives for 2010

[svgallery name=”2010_Most_Anticipated_Test_Drives”] By John LeBlanc Some of the cars I test-drove last year were more surprising than others. Who would have guessed Honda’s Insight would have been such a flop? Or that in the same year it dropped out of Formula One racing, Toyota would launch its US$375,000 552 hp V10 LF-A supercar? But 2009? […]

2009 LA Show Highlights

[svgallery name=”2010_LA_Show”] Story and photos by John LeBlanc LOS ANGELES–You can’t ignore the math at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. With the auto industry in full contraction – fewer brands, fewer all-new models, fewer pie-in-the-sky concepts and fewer media – these types of events have become pared- down affairs compared to the gratuitous auto […]

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