The Crank: Is Toyota’s luxury hybrid strategy a flop?

By John LeBlanc When Lexus launched its HS 250h last year, I was a bit befuddled. Why parent Toyota went to the trouble of stuffing the hybrid Prius’s drivetrain into the chassis of the European Toyota Avensis compact sedan (which less rear legroom than a Corolla), style it like a Lexus RX SUV, and price […]

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.

Top 10: Future Collectibles

[svgallery name=”Top_10_Future_Collectibles”] By John LeBlanc A new vehicle — no matter how rare, technically exotic, historically significant, or blindingly quick — is an investment. In the short term at least. Who would have thought, however, back in 1953 that those first 300 hand-made polo white six-cylinder Chevrolet Corvettes would become one of the most collectible […]

Comparo: 2010 Kia Forte SX/Mazda3 GT/Toyota Corolla XRS

[svgallery name=”2010_Sporty_Compact_Sedans”] A Trio of Semi-Poorman’s Sports Sedans Sporty editions of three popular compact four-doors vie for your enthusiast dollars By John LeBlanc New car buyers like compact sedans because they can carry a family of four comfortably, and are cheap-to-buy and cheap-to-run. But what if you are looking for a bit of driving fun […]

The Crank: U.S. magazine issues “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” on 2010 Lexus GX 460

By John LeBlanc For the first time since the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Limited SUV, the U.S. based Consumer Reports magazine has deemed a new car a “safety risk”: the 2010 GX 460. The Lexus SUV’s electronic stability control program failed to keep the vehicle in line during a severe handling maneuver, allowing it to slide […]

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