2010 L.A. Show: Nissan returns to west coast in waves

[svgallery name=”2010_LA_NIssan”] By John LeBlanc LOS ANGELES – Twelve months ago, right here in the bowels of L.A.’s massive Convention Centre, Nissan didn’t even bother to have a press conference. This year, it arguably stole the show (so far) with a herd of new metal, including a refreshed GT-R supercar, new Quest minivan, a hybrid […]

The Crank: Mercedes’ don’t-call-it-a-wagon CLS Shooting Brake a go

By John LeBlanc After trotting it out as a “Vision” concept (code for “we’ve already signed-off on the tooling”) at this year’s Beijing show, to no one’s surprise, Mercedes-Benz confirmed that its CLS Shooting Break, above, would go on sale in 2012.

First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS 550 4MATIC

[svgallery name=”2012_Mercedes_CLS_hirez”] Four-door fashion Second gen of world’s first “four-door coupé” nips at BMW’s ride-and-handling heels By John LeBlanc FLORENCE, Italy – It was no coincidence Mercedes-Benz’s new CLS was publicly unveiled during the clothing industry’s twice-a-year Paris Fashion Week. Although the new SLS AMG super sports car has garnered plenty of attention for its […]

The Crank: Will Infiniti ever graduate into the luxury-sport big leagues?

By John LeBlanc You remember Infiniti, don’t you? Nissan’s premium brand that’s been chasing Germany’s BMW since 1989? Now, compared to Toyota’s Lexus—which seems happier chasing disgruntled Buick owners—ever since its original Q sedan arrived over 20 years ago, Infiniti has always wanted you to think of it as a Japanese alternative to the usual […]

2010 Detroit: New Focus finally goes global

By John LeBlanc DETROIT – It only took a decade, but Ford has finally delivered a world-class compact car to Canada. Instead of a dumbed-down, decontented North American version, the all-new 2012 Focus is virtually the same car on both shores of the Atlantic—in fact, around the world. And based on the ways it looks, […]

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