The Crank: The silver lining in Toyota’s latest troubles

By John LeBlanc

Ho-hum. Another—the sixteenth this year—Toyota vehicle recall. This time for the bland-yet-popular, Canadian-made Corolla and Matrix models. If you happen to work for Toyota, at the corporate or dealership levels, this is yet another left-right jab to your company’s image. No doubt. And as Tony Alphen’s piece in the Toronto Star reads, “…the continuing negative publicity over the recalls and questions about the company’s longstanding reputation for quality and durability is a key reason why sales have slipped here this year while most rivals are recovering the recession.” Read more

Road Trip: 2010 Fiat 500 1.4 Sport

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Driving la dolce vita

Touring Tuscany in the Canadian-bound Fiat Cinquecento

Story and photos by John LeBlanc

SIENNA, Italy – Zipping by the vineyards that cover central Italy’s Chianti Hills like designer shag carpet, our Fiat 500’s tach freely swinging to its redline, we’re trying to coax the most from the small, Italian four-banger. I make a quick cog swap from fourth- to third-gear, passing a local farmer meandering in his blood orange Husqvarna tractor at the edge of the undulating mountaintop road in the process. I then cast a steely eye on the next blind curve, of which after three days of driving here in Tuscany, there’s almost an unwritten guarantee would soon follow. Read more

The Crank: The people have spoken, hybrids really are a dumb buy

Honda Canada replied to the Civic Hybrid and Insight hullabalu: “There has been a rumour circulating this week about Honda Canada no longer selling the Honda Insight or Civic Hybrid. Please note that it is just that—a rumour. Honda Canada will listen to the voice of our customers and will bring the products they want. If there is market demand for Insight and Civic Hybrid, we will bring the appropriate supply. Honda dealers currently have more than 6 months supply of these models, so we will monitor demand and order more when demand is there. That said, Honda Canada is planning to offer both Insight and Civic Hybrid as 2011 model-year units, and we have no plans to discontinue either model.”

So there you go. – JL Read more

Road Test: 2010 Lexus IS 350 C

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Lidless Lexus

Lexus jumps into the competitive compact coupe/convertible ring

By John LeBlanc

It’s simple math, really. Offering a wider variety of products increases the chance of appealing to a wider variety of customers. It’s one of the reasons why BMW’s 3 Series — with its lineup of rear- and all-wheel-drive sedans, coupes, convertibles, wagons and (X3) crossovers — is the 800-pound gorilla in the entry-level luxury sports segment. Read more

Top 10s: Cars not sold in Canada

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By John LeBlanc

We Canadians have a lot to celebrate — universal healthcare, poutine and mosquitoes at the cottage. But living in the Great White North isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, sometimes. Take, for instance, Canadian driving enthusiasts being denied access to cars only found in other markets. Now, I’m not referring to the Spykers or Koeniggseggs of the rarefied exotic car world. No, I’m talking about cars that normal people with normal amounts of money can buy, but only in other lands: Read more

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