The Crank: Do drive-thrus need a Timmy Tax?

By John LeBlanc You may have read last Saturday’s front page article in the Star about the GTA’s impending transit meltdown: “To avoid transit disaster, GTA needs road tolls and taxes now.” The article describes a report advising that to raise $1 billion to $2 billion annually for transit improvements, new streams of revenue (like […]

The Trouble with Toyotas: Silver lining found in latest round of recalls

By John LeBlanc Ho-hum. Another week, another batch of troubles with Toyotas found. I don’t know about you, but I’m becoming a bit desensitized to all these Toyota recalls. This week its stalling engines. The week before that, it was post-crash-test fuel spillage issues. Previoulsy, it was luxury sedans that couldn’t steer straight. And before […]

The Crank: Will ‘Benz GLC answer a question no one is asking?

By John LeBlanc At the same time U.S. Automobile magazine’s Jamie Kitman accurately points the finger at German automakers for the demise of the more enjoyable to drive and environmentally-friendly station wagon in North America, word out of Germany suggests Mercedes-Benz is copycatting BMW again in the never-ending game called Fill That SUV Niche!

The Crank: Kia’s naming conundrum

[svgallery name=”2010_Kia_Seoul_preview”] By John LeBlanc On a recent trip to Hyundai-Kia Motors world headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, attending media had some time to chat with Kia head pen, Peter Schreyer. While the discussions centred around the brand’s’s new European-influenced (Schreyer is a former Audi designer) styling, inevitably, the topic turned to all the automaker’s […]

The Crank: Toyota needs to lighten up

By John LeBlanc Like a ketchup stain you can’t get out of your favourite shirt, Toyota’s woes caused by this year’s recall crisis just won’t go away. Last week, company head cheese, Akia Toyoda, kept on laying on the apologies at a shareholders meeting.

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