The Crank: Canadian and U.S. new car buying habits starting to blur

By John LeBlanc Hockey, poutine, strict gun controls, and universal healthcare—these are just four of the defining stereotypes of being Canadian, eh. And when it comes to buying new vehicles, we really like small cars, especially when compared to our football-obsessed, hot-dog eating, gun-toting, private-healthcare-paying, pickup truck-driving friends south of the border. Share:

The Crank: Oh Canada!: Will this country ever have its own automaker?

By John LeBlanc OTTAWA – With all the recent doomsday talk of Canadian PDA-maker Research In Motion’s seemingly imminent demise, while following the former high-tech giant Nortel’s death, the idea of a Canadian-owned global enterprise seems to be an impossible dream. So as we head into another Canada Day long weekend, I have to ask: Will this […]

The Crank: Are today’s “subcompacts” yesterday’s “compacts”?

By John LeBlanc LAS VEGAS, Nevada – You can’t judge a book by its cover. And you can’t judge a car by its segment name. At least not anymore. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to after spending a day driving Hyundai’s new 2012 Accent,  a so-called “subcompact” that, for all intents and purposes, offers the […]

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.

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.

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