Top 10s: New Retro-mobiles

By John LeBlanc You can’t bring back the past. But with some new cars these days, you can certainly try and buy it. Volkswagen’s 1999 New Beetle started the modern retro-mobile (old-fashioned clothes over modern mechanicals) trend. Using an existing front-engine Golf chassis, it was styled to look like the rear-engine “Bug” that became a […]

First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG

E-Q-ship Mercedes goes the turbocharging route for its updated midsize stealth machine By John LeBlanc LE CASTELLET, FRANCE — Showing little of the restraint of its rivals, Mercedes-Benz offers high-performance iterations of almost every model throughout its extensive lineup — from its compact C-class sedan to its SLS Gullwing supercar. Yet if you know the […]

First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG Coupe

C-plus Mercedes wastes no time adding honking AMG model to its new C Class Coupé By John LeBlanc CIRCUITO MONTEBLANCO, Spain – If you gauge social trends by what’s new on television, there seems to be a political correctness backlash occurring. Inspired by the excessive drinking, groping and smoking from the 1960’s New York City […]

2011 Michelin Challenge Bibendum: The world’s only “green” auto show

By John LeBlanc BERLIN, Germany — Michelin’s Challenge Bibendum might be the ‘greenest’ auto event of the year. This year’s event, held for the first time in Berlin, marks the eleventh time Michelin has put on its “green” — or what it calls its “sustainable mobility” — auto show. Back in the late-1990s, the higher-ups at […]

First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz C Class Coupe

Class C Coupé Mercedes finally drops a “real” compact two-door By John LeBlanc SEVILLE, Spain – With a portfolio that now includes the E-Class Coupe, CLS four-door coupe and the full-size CL-Class two-door, it’s understandable if you think Mercedes-Benz has gone a little, well, “coupe crazy.” And now for 2012, the German automaker is adding […]

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