The Crank: April’s showers could mean Fall flowers for new car buyers

By John LeBlanc April’s Canadian new car sales numbers came in this week. And as is the continuing trend, new car customers are dividing up the automakers into roughly three groups: the Haves, the Have-nots and those Treading Water. Share:

The Crank: New Nissan EV’s Canadian availability dependent on government incentives

By John LeBlanc If you haven’t heard, Nissan’s new Leaf electric vehicle is becoming a big deal. The five-passenger car will be the first fully electric car launched by a major automaker and could become a future collectible. It is designed to provide a 160 km range on a full charge. And it looks like […]

2010 Beijing: Is Fiat missing the boat in China?

[svgallery name=”09_Fiat_500″] By John LeBlanc One Western automaker that was noticeably absent from this year’s Beijing auto show was Chrysler’s new caretakers over at Fiat. This is the third time Fiat has skipped a major Chinese auto show, after taking a pass from the Shanghai show last April and the Guangzhou show in November. And […]

The Crank: Despite headlines, Government Motors still has our money

By John LeBlanc Interpreted one way, General Motors chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre’s announcement this week that the U.S. automaker has paid back $8.1 billion in government loans a full five years ahead of schedule could be considered “good” news. Especially considering where GM was less than a year ago.

The Crank: Is it deja vu all over again for crossborder new car buyers?

By John LeBlanc As the Canadian dollar soars towards parity with the American greenback, is it deja vu all over again for new car buyers? Two-and-a-half years ago in the fall of 2007, the Canadian dollar reached an all-time high, peaking at $1.10 U.S. retailers were caught off guard. The disparity between Canadian and U.S. […]

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