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.

Road Test: 2010 BMW 750Li xDrive

[svgallery name=”2010_BMW_750iL”] Seven x four Does adding traction to all four of its wheels hurt or hinder BMW’s V8 luxobarge? By John LeBlanc I’m sure if we all lived in some kind of civilized climate—like say the more humid American south, the warmer Mediterranean, or the drier Middle East—the concern of having traction at all […]

First Drive: 2011 Kia Forte5

[svgallery name=”2011_Kia_Forte5_hirez”] Fun with 5 Kia adds all-important five-door hatch to its Forte lineup By John LeBlanc Ann Arbor, Mich. – After several years of rolling out one all-new product after another, it would have been easy for Kia to relax and pull its corporate foot off the gas. The launch of the well-received compact […]

First Drive: 2011 Nissan Leaf

[svgallery name=”2011_Nissan_Leaf_hirez”] Shockingly normal Driving the world’s first affordable and practical EV surprisingly uneventful By John LeBlanc NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — With the launch of Nissan’s Leaf, the theoretical hype over electric vehicles that’s been building for the past few years finally meets the cold reality of today’s new car buyer’s wallet. Like losing weight or […]

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 […]

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