Preview: Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid Concept

Along came an electric Spyder

On the road to production, Porsche previews its hybrid super sports

By John LeBlanc

CARMEL VALLEY, CALIF.—The idea of an electric-gasoline hybrid with supercar performance is the automobile industry’s version of man’s goal to reach the moon in the 1960s. Over the past year, Audi, Ferrari, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche have unveiled electric-powered sports car concepts. And like the original Space Race that saw the U.S. and U.S.S.R. go toe-to-toe for off-planet supremacy, Porsche has opened the equally hard-fought hybrid sports car competition with the first salvo. Read more

Road Test: 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder

Along came a Spyder

The last iteration of this generation of Boxster ends up being the best handling Porsche you can buy

By John LeBlanc

You’ll have a hard time convincing Porsche 911 diehards, but the German automaker’s entry-level sports cars – the convertible Boxster and its hardtop Cayman variant – are the outright better handlers. Physics can’t lie. Within their short overhangs, wide tracks, and mid-chassis engines, the two-seat Boxster/Cayman pair compresses the majority of their (lesser) masses into the middle of their respective chassis. Now compare that with the conflicted physics of the 2+2 Carrera’s engine, that has always hung aft of the rear wheels like a tennis ball in a tube sock. Read more

The Crank: Are Saab’s new caretakers at Spyker in trouble? Again?

By John LeBlanc

As we wait to hear about the supposed 20-or-so Canadian dealers who are ready, willing, and able to start selling and servicing Saabs again, it looks like the Swedish automaker’s new parents at Dutch super car maker Spyker are continuing right where former owner Government Motors left off: losing money. Read more

The Crank: The silver lining in Toyota’s latest troubles

By John LeBlanc

Ho-hum. Another—the sixteenth this year—Toyota vehicle recall. This time for the bland-yet-popular, Canadian-made Corolla and Matrix models. If you happen to work for Toyota, at the corporate or dealership levels, this is yet another left-right jab to your company’s image. No doubt. And as Tony Alphen’s piece in the Toronto Star reads, “…the continuing negative publicity over the recalls and questions about the company’s longstanding reputation for quality and durability is a key reason why sales have slipped here this year while most rivals are recovering the recession.” Read more

Road Trip: 2010 Fiat 500 1.4 Sport

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Driving la dolce vita

Touring Tuscany in the Canadian-bound Fiat Cinquecento

Story and photos by John LeBlanc

SIENNA, Italy – Zipping by the vineyards that cover central Italy’s Chianti Hills like designer shag carpet, our Fiat 500’s tach freely swinging to its redline, we’re trying to coax the most from the small, Italian four-banger. I make a quick cog swap from fourth- to third-gear, passing a local farmer meandering in his blood orange Husqvarna tractor at the edge of the undulating mountaintop road in the process. I then cast a steely eye on the next blind curve, of which after three days of driving here in Tuscany, there’s almost an unwritten guarantee would soon follow. Read more

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