The Crank: Changing Aveo to Sonic could cost GM up to $100 M

By John LeBlanc Two thousand and eleven is shaping up to be a big year for little cars. New car buyers will not only get a fresh Ford Fiesta, Mazda2, and Fiat 500 , Nissan Versa, and Hyundai Accent to choose from, debuting next week at the Detroit auto show, General Motors’ Chevrolet will be […]

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. […]

2010 in Review: Best New-for-2011 Car I Drove

By John LeBlanc When you think about it, it’s a bit amazing. The same automaker that sells the most gas-guzzling, ill-handling, Paleozoic Era-engineered pickup trucks in this country — Ford Canada — also happens to make the best subcompact you can buy: the new Fiesta.

2010 in Review: New-for-2011 Car I Would Spend My Own Money to Buy

[svgallery name=”2011_Honda_CRZ_hirez”] By John LeBlanc Nostalgia played a big role in picking a New-for-2011 Car I Would Spend My Own Money to Buy—phew!—this year. As a former 1990 Honda CR-X owner, the two-seater’s modern reincarnation as the new CR-Z Hybrid pulled at my heart strings like no other new car I drove in 2010.

2010 in Review: Most Boring New Car I Drove

By John LeBlanc Toyota can blame all they want its current recall crisis for its poor sales performance (down 20.5 per cent in Canada this year in a market that’s up 13.6 per cent). But stodgy product, like the “new” 2011 Avalon sedan I drove this summer, is also at the top of the list […]

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