The Crank: Signs of life from Japan’s Honda

By John LeBlanc “Can it get any worse?” is more than likely a rhetorical question the good folks at Japan’s Honda’s HQ are trying to avoid asking themselves.

Road Trip: 2012 Aston Martin Virage Volante in Spain

RONDA, SPAIN—At the end of yet another long Canadian winter/spring, I found myself in the south of Spain. Better yet, for the first time ever, I found myself behind the wheel of Aston Martin’s new Virage Volante grand touring convertible. As an evolution of the existing DB9, the hardtop Virage and its cloth-top convertible Volante […]

The Crank: Can Germany’s VW become an American automaker—again?

By John LeBlanc CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – You have to admire Volkswagen’s “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!” attitude when it comes to building cars South of the Border.

First Drive: 2012 Volkswagen Passat

Coming to America Is the new German-American Passat a hot dog or a wiener? By John LeBlanc CHATANOOGA, TENN. — Don’t let its German badge fool you. The new Volkswagen Passat is as American as baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and the right to bear arms. Specifically designed for corn-fed American buyers, the 2012 Passat […]

From the Fleet: 2011 Audi A3 TDI S-Line

FROM THE FLEET are brief synopses of manufacturer-supplied rides that happen to end up in my laneway – John LeBlanc Prepping for an upcoming “diesel vs. hybrid” comparo for the Toronto Star, I’ve just spent some quality time in an A3 TDI: Audi’s smallest derv drinker.

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