First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK Roadster

[svgallery name=”2012_MB_SLK_350_hirez”] Pleasure for a pair Mercedes sticks with SLK’s longstanding mini-GT formula By John LeBlanc CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN — Self-indulgence is at the root of any car with only two seats. You might as well hang a NO KIDS ALLOWED sign on the door handles. And the pleasure principal only multiplies when discussing a […]

First Drive: 2012 Aston Martin V8 Vantage S

RONDA, SPAIN—If you pick up on the clues, it’s obvious the CEO running the very British Aston Martin brand, Ulrich Bez, used to work at the very German brands BMW and Porsche, applying a very Teutonic (i.e. methodical) approach to the perennially money-losing British brand. First, upon the German-born Bez’s arrival at Aston Martin in […]

First Drive: 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible

[svgallery name=”2011_Chevrolet_Camaro_Convertible_hirez”] Topless bar-none Dropping its top solves a bunch of the Camaro’s critiques By John LeBlanc SAN DIEGO, California – In one fell swoop, Chevrolet has fixed one of the biggest flaws in its Camaro coupe. Simply tug on a release header latch, push a button — et voila! — the existing hardtop’s horrendous […]

First Drive: 2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage

[svgallery name=”2011_Aston_V12_Vantage”] More is more Adding four more cylinders only betters Vantage’s already capable road manners By John LeBlanc CARMEL VALLEY, Calif. – One look at the latest Aston Martin Vantage’s spec sheet, and one would have thought that that ‘ol Texan chicken farmer, Carroll Shelby, had a hand in its creation. By taking the […]

The Crank: Can an all-wheel-drive 911 be a real Porsche?

By John LeBlanc Welcome to winter. Like the rest of Ontario, you probably woke up to the inevitable First Big Dump this week. But what if you had a Porsche in your laneway. Specifically, a new-for-2011 911 Turbo S, which, to the layman’s eyes, seems like the most ridiculous winter vehicle you could drive. But […]

« go back — keep looking »