First Drive: 2012 Volkswagen Passat

Coming to America Is the new German-American Passat a hot dog or a wiener? By John LeBlanc CHATANOOGA, TENN. — Don’t let its German badge fool you. The new Volkswagen Passat is as American as baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and the right to bear arms. Specifically designed for corn-fed American buyers, the 2012 Passat […]

First Drive: 2012 Honda Civic

Civic Obedience Is Honda’s evolutionary new Civic good enough to keep it on top of the sales charts? By John LeBlanc WASHINGTON, D.C. — The launch of a new Honda Civic is a big deal. Not only is it the best-selling car in Honda showrooms across Canada, but the compact was the best selling passenger […]

First Drive: 2011 Chrysler 300/C

Rehabilitated Chrysler sends its gangsta’ sedan off to finishing school By John LeBlanc SAN DIEGO, California – Between the rap star videos and all-too-frequent appearances on television custom car programs, no other recent vehicle in Chrysler’s long history has struck a cord as an icon of American cool as the last 300 and sportier 300C: […]

First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK Roadster

[svgallery name=”2012_MB_SLK_350_hirez”] Pleasure for a pair Mercedes sticks with SLK’s longstanding mini-GT formula By John LeBlanc CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN — Self-indulgence is at the root of any car with only two seats. You might as well hang a NO KIDS ALLOWED sign on the door handles. And the pleasure principal only multiplies when discussing a […]

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 […]

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