Top 10s: Most Anticipated Test Drives for 2011

By John LeBlanc Two-thousand-and-ten was a very good year for yours truly. Of my Most Anticipated Drives from last year, I got the chance to test-drive the first ever four-door Aston Martin (Rapide) and Mini (Countryman), evaluate new sports sedans from former staid makers Buick (Regal) and Volvo (S60), and really see if Honda could […]

The Crank: Will former Explorer SUV owners buy into new metrosexual model?

By John LeBlanc Like the lampshade-wearing Christmas get-together guest who doesn’t know when to call it a night, the old, truck-based Ford Explorer hung out at the SUV party way too long.

First Drive: 2011 Ford Explorer

Exploring new worlds In the search for fuel economy, Ford’s iconic Explorer evolves from SUV to crossover By John LeBlanc SAN DIEGO, Calif. – You would be forgiven if you thought Ford’s decision to move its Explorer to a car-like unibody chassis after riding for a quarter-century on a body-on-frame truck-style chassis is late. After […]

2011 Detroit: Top 10 Must Sees

By John LeBlanc DETROIT – Although there were considerably less new concepts and production car debuts during the one day of media presentations at the 2011 Detroit auto show than in previous years, the officially-named North American International Auto Show still offers a staggering amount of fresh metal to peruse. Here are my top 10 […]

Comparo: 2011 Ford Fiesta SES vs. Mazda2 GS

[svgallery name=”2011_Ford-Fiesta_vs_Mazda2_hirez”] Family feud Which new supermini hatch warms the hearts of drivers the most? By John LeBlanc Small cars are like cod liver oil and sit-ups: Everyone appreciates their virtues, but few of us actually partake. So despite the rhetoric that Canadians love small cars — especially hatchbacks — the sales figures say otherwise. […]

« go back — keep looking »