First Drive: 2011 BMW X1 xDrive28i

[svgallery name=”2011_BMW_X1_2″] Story and photos by John LeBlanc MUNICH – The reasons were piling up almost as high as the nearby Alps to loathe the X1, BMW’s newest compact utility vehicle. First, BMW already has a pair of small five-doors on sale. There’s the fine-driving 3-series Touring sports wagon. Its taut handling, silky straight-six engine, […]

Top 10: Dumbest Halo Cars

[svgallery name=”Top_10_Dumbest_Halo_Cars”] Story by John LeBlanc By definition, a “halo” car in the auto industry is supposed to beam a positive light, or image, about its maker. Or, for more pragmatic reasons, simply get people into empty showrooms filled with less exciting vehicles. Historically, the Dodge Viper is considered the most successful halo car of […]

Pre-owned: FTD AWD Cars

[svgallery name=”Preowned_FTD_AWD_Cars”] Story by John LeBlanc Winter’s coming, and the awful (snow, sleet, ice, wind) driving conditions that go along with that. So like most Canadians, a vehicle with all-wheel-drive (AWD) makes a lot of sense for your next pre-owned purchase.

the straight-GOODS/Sports Coupes

2010 BMW 135i Coupé Base Price: $42,900 Driver Must Haves: “NOT A CHICK CAR” bumper sticker. Let’s pretend the secretary special 128i doesn’t exist, OK? And if BMW makes a convertible 1 Series, I’m drawing a blank. That leaves the 135i Coupe for car zealots, stuffed to its firewall with the same twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight-six […]

First Drive: 2011 Suzuki Kizashi

[svgallery name=”11_Suzuki_Kizashi”] Story and photos by John LeBlanc NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont. –Suzuki’s last crack at a mid-size sedan was an unmitigated disaster. Except for rock-bottom pricing, the short-lived Verona (designed and built by General Motors’ South Korean Daewoo subsidiary) had little to offer buyers.

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