The Crank: Is Toyota finally getting it “right”?

By John LeBlanc Another week, another rash of bad news for Toyota, eh? Last Tuesday, the Japanese automaker was suffering from one of America’s most well respected consumers’ group warning not to buy one of the company’s Lexus 2010 GX 460 SUVs because of a tendency to get a little loose in the corners. Okay […]

Comparo: 2010 Kia Forte SX/Mazda3 GT/Toyota Corolla XRS

[svgallery name=”2010_Sporty_Compact_Sedans”] A Trio of Semi-Poorman’s Sports Sedans Sporty editions of three popular compact four-doors vie for your enthusiast dollars By John LeBlanc New car buyers like compact sedans because they can carry a family of four comfortably, and are cheap-to-buy and cheap-to-run. But what if you are looking for a bit of driving fun […]

The Crank: U.S. magazine issues “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” on 2010 Lexus GX 460

By John LeBlanc For the first time since the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Limited SUV, the U.S. based Consumer Reports magazine has deemed a new car a “safety risk”: the 2010 GX 460. The Lexus SUV’s electronic stability control program failed to keep the vehicle in line during a severe handling maneuver, allowing it to slide […]

First Drive: 2011 Toyota Sienna

[svgallery name=”2011_Toyota_Sienna_hirez”] Story and photos by John LeBlanc VICTORIA–As the first new vehicle launched in Canada since the Toyota recall crisis started in January, let’s deal right away with the elephant in the room. Of the several 2011 Sienna minivans I drove during the course of a one-day media event this week, none accelerated unintentionally, […]

The Trouble with Toyotas: Should brake override systems be mandatory?

You’ve probably already read the story, or watched the chase video of the runaway Toyota Prius that had to be stopped by a police car Monday in California after the car’s accelerator became stuck. Now whether you can blame the car or the driver, it does bring up the question: If the gentleman’s Prius had […]

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