Flashback Fridays: 2006 Pontiac Solstice

Story by John LeBlanc Article originally published in October, 2005 – Knowing Mazda has had the affordable, rear-wheel-drive two-seater market to itself for more than a decade didn’t stop Bob Lutz from putting his reputation on the line when he drove the Solstice concept on-stage at the Detroit auto show in 2002. The vice-chairman of […]

Top 10s: Most embarrassing cars

Story by John LeBlanc In a new car market where reliability, safety and performance are at all-time highs, a great deal of a vehicle’s success rides on marketing, its image, and whether or not its styling is appealing. But sometimes, a stand-out-from-the-crowd vehicle than also cause some undo attention.

The Crank: The General’s naming games

By John LeBlanc As part of Chevrolet’s recent small car religion— that includes the 2011 compact Cruze, next year’s Orlando compact tall wagon and a future Spark city car—an all-new subcompact  2011 Aveo, left and below, is on the way as well. We saw the production version last month in Paris, initially, next spring it […]

The Crank: 2010 Concours D’LeMons

[svgallery name=”2010 Concours LeMons”] Story and photos by John LeBlanc SALINAS, Calif. – In total contrast to the multi-zillion-dollar collector and race cars I saw at the Quail Lodge, Monterey vintage races and Pebble Beach concours last weekend, I managed to sneak away to Toro Regional Park, home of the second annual Concours d’LeMons for […]

Top 10: Worst SUV Wannabes

[svgallery name=”Top_10_SUV_Wannabes”] By John LeBlanc What with today’s small car craze, it’s hard to believe that at one point in the late 1990s, sports-utility-vehicles roamed the North America byways like herds of 18th century bison. Large, ill-handling and gas-guzzling contraptions like the Ford Explorer, Chevrolet Tahoe and Jeep Grand Cherokee were some of the top-selling […]

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