The Crank: More than recalls cause of Toyota’s sales woes

By John LeBlanc Newsflash: Toyota Canada isn’t going to sell as many cars this year as they did last. To be specific, sales last month for the combined Toyota/Lexus brands were down 17.1 per cent from September 2009, in a Canadian new car market that’s up 7 per cent. At this rate—and there’s no reason […]

Top 10s: Cliché Cars

[svgallery name=”Top 10 Cliche Car pics”] By John LeBlanc As you know, one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But how many of us have judged a driver by the car they drive? As in life, looks are important. It’s seemingly in human nature to create stereotypes of certain vehicles and their drivers, turning […]

Paris 2010: Toyota

By John LeBlanc PARIS – It’s no news that Toyota ‘s subcompact Yaris is getting a little long-in-the-tooth. Especially when rivals like the Honda Fit and new Ford Fiesta and Mazda2 offer frugality, features, better build quality and more fun-to-drive characteristics the yawn-fest Toyota can’t match any day of the week.

The Crank: Will Canadians take to stale Scions?

By John LeBlanc Let’s get something straight. Scion—Toyota’s so-called “youth brand”—is all about fashion. The three Scions being introduced to Canada this fall don’t offer much differences mechanically than the Toyotas they’re based on. After being introduced to U.S. customers in 2003, it took Toyota Canada took another five years, in 2008, to make up […]

Top 10s: Best Sounding New Cars

[svgallery name=”Top_10_Sounding_pics”] By John LeBlanc Eye-grabbing styling, gut-punching acceleration, track-ready handling – these are all qualities that can make or break a driving enthusiast’s new car purchase decision. Yet like a gorgeous supermodel that eventually opens their mouth with less-than-stellar acoustical results, how a car sounds can help you pick your next set of wheels […]

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