Comparo: 2012 Scion iQ vs. Smart ForTwo

Story and photos by John LeBlanc More and more Canadians are deciding to live in cities. For drivers, that lifestyle decision includes a heavy diet of traffic congestion, tight parking spots, and stop-and-go traffic. So while the majority of new car buyers still buy “normal” size vehicles — those categorized as “compact” and up — […]

The Crank: Toyota’s Prius no longer niche

By John LeBlanc Remember when the original Prius went on sale in the late 1990s? As one of the first, mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid cars, the quirky Toyota was considered a cult car at best. Today, 15 years later, the Prius family—consisting now of four models, the original Prius hatchback, the Prius plug-in hybrid, the larger […]

The Crank: Do stripes make BMW’s Minis go faster?

By John LeBlanc Automotive legend has it American road racer Briggs Cunningham put the first ever stripe on a racing car.  After his white 1951 C4-R was seen with the contrasting pair of blue stripes that ran across the car from trunk to hood, a trend was quickly started, one that eventually migrated to production […]

First Drive & Video: 2012 Volkswagen Golf R

By John LeBlanc ARJEPLOG, SWEDEN—Classic car buffs have the Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach. New car fans have the auto shows in Detroit or Geneva. But if you’re into cars that officially don’t exist — the camouflaged prototypes that automakers don’t want you to know about — you need to be here, in the small […]

Comparo: 2012 Chevrolet Volt vs. Cruze Eco

Electric cars may be the future, but how do they stack up today? Read my electric-Volt versus gas-Cruze Toronto Star Wheels comparo, or after the jump.

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