The Crank: Fiat needs more than the 500 to make it in Canada

By John LeBlanc BMW Canada sold about 4,500 Minis last year; the new 2012 Fiat 500’s closest true rival. And although the Mini has a nine-year head start, the 500’s mainstream pricing—and novelty—should have the 60-odd Canadian Fiat dealers left with no problem selling the same amount (if not more) annually. Despite the 500’s tight […]

First Drive: 2012 Fiat 500 Sport

[svgallery name=”2012_Fiat_500_hirez”] Promise Fulfilled The first Fiat in Canada after 27 years finally arrives By John LeBlanc SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Since Fiat took over the duty of managing Chrysler, fans of Italian-bred cars have been left with many questions. The arrival of the 2012 Fiat 500, the first car from the Italian automaker to […]

Top 10s: Most Anticipated Test Drives for 2011

By John LeBlanc Two-thousand-and-ten was a very good year for yours truly. Of my Most Anticipated Drives from last year, I got the chance to test-drive the first ever four-door Aston Martin (Rapide) and Mini (Countryman), evaluate new sports sedans from former staid makers Buick (Regal) and Volvo (S60), and really see if Honda could […]

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 […]

The Crank: My 2011 World Car of the Year is…

[svgallery name=”2011_Audi_A8L”] By John LeBlanc The seventh annual World Car of the Year awards, which yours truly is a judge, announced its top ten finalists for 2011 this week.The overall winner for WCOTY—as well as winners for World Performance Car, Green Car and Design of the Year—will be announced at this year’s New York show in April. Before then, […]

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