The Crank: How blasphemous is a FWD Land Rover?

By John LeBlanc

Hold on to your Wellies: After its world debut at the Paris auto show this Fall, the production version of the Land Rover LRX concept will allegedly be available with traction to its front wheels only.  Read more

First Drive: 2010 Acura TSX V6

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The Lexus of Acuras

New V6 adds more luxury to Acura’s compact sports sedan

By John LeBlanc

Pebble Beach, Calif. – From its inception, we’ve always liked the European Honda Accord-based TSX. Despite being a front-driver in a sea of rear and all-wheel-drive entry-level sports sedans (like the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, Infiniti G37 and Mercedes-Benz C Class,) the TSX offers a nice blend of fun and frugality with its high-revving four-cylinder engine, crisp-shifting manual gearbox, and nimble handling. Read more

The Crank: Can “sports car” and “diesel” ever be in the same sentence?

By John LeBlanc

INGOLSTADT, Germany – It’s dawn, June, 2006. I’m watching the sun come up over the Porsche Corners during the running of the 24 Heures du Mans. And I’m witnessing history. On the way to becoming the first ever diesel-engine race car to win the historic event, Audi’s R10 swooshes by in relative silence to its conventional fuel-powered competitors. Read more

Top 10: Show cars for 2010

By John LeBlanc

The wrapup of last week’s Chinese auto show in Beijing brings an unofficial close to the 2010 international car show season – a round-the-world tour that started with yours truly making stops starting last September in Frankfurt along with Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York. The 2011 season will kicks off this year in early October in Paris. Until then, though, here’s my list of the Top 10 Concepts from the past show car season: Read more

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 it like it was made of unobtanium, I never understood? Read more

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