Top 10s: 1990s’ Japanese Sports Cars

By John LeBlanc

Riding the wave of profits from their fast-selling mainstream models, a well-earned reputation for reliability and a low-valued Yen, Japanese automakers like Honda, Mazda, Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi spent the 1990s trying to one-up each other, making one great driving sports car after another. Read more

The Crank: Mercedes’ don’t-call-it-a-wagon CLS Shooting Brake a go

By John LeBlanc

After trotting it out as a “Vision” concept (code for “we’ve already signed-off on the tooling”) at this year’s Beijing show, to no one’s surprise, Mercedes-Benz confirmed that its CLS Shooting Break, above, would go on sale in 2012. Read more

Road Test: 2010 BMW 750Li xDrive

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Seven x four

Does adding traction to all four of its wheels hurt or hinder BMW’s V8 luxobarge?

By John LeBlanc

I’m sure if we all lived in some kind of civilized climate—like say the more humid American south, the warmer Mediterranean, or the drier Middle East—the concern of having traction at all four wheels of your car would be supercilious. But if you live and drive in Canada, having to deal with rain, sleet and snow, more often than not, almost begs for all-wheel-drive and a proper set of snow tires. Especially in such a large and heavy vehicle as BMW’s flagship 7 Series luxury sedan. Read more

First Drive: 2011 Kia Forte5

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Fun with 5

Kia adds all-important five-door hatch to its Forte lineup

By John LeBlanc

Ann Arbor, Mich. – After several years of rolling out one all-new product after another, it would have been easy for Kia to relax and pull its corporate foot off the gas. The launch of the well-received compact Soul, Forte sedan and Koup, as well as the Sportage compact crossover (one of this year’s CAJ Best of the Best Finalists) and the Sorento midsize crossover have helped Kia’s 2010 sales to improve at a rate more than double the Canadian industry average of seven per cent. But the sportier, youthful sister brand to Hyundai isn’t letting up on its relentless new product offensive. Read more

The Crank: Would you buy a Hyundai Sonata wagon?

By John LeBlanc

…speaking of “spy shots“, look closely at this cloak-and-dagger pic of a Hyundai Sonata station wagon. This is what you get from a company on a roll. And Korea’s Hyundai-Kia Motors is definitely on a roll. Read more

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