2010 Detroit: Toyota concept previews new hybrid and brand

By John LeBlanc

DETROIT – Toyota’s FT-CH concept is pulling double duty. Not only does is signal a potential production compact hybrid, the Japanese automaker says it also points to the long-rumoured plans to expand the Prius brand.

Toyota has said it wants a hybrid version of each of its models
available by 2020. Designed in Toyota’s European studios, the FT- CH (as in Compact Hybrid) may fill the gap created when the new third-gen 2010 Prius moved up to the mid-size class. Read more

2010 Detroit: New Focus finally goes global

By John LeBlanc

DETROIT – It only took a decade, but Ford has finally delivered a world-class compact car to Canada. Instead of a dumbed-down, decontented North American version, the all-new 2012 Focus
is virtually the same car on both shores of the Atlantic—in fact,
around the world. And based on the ways it looks, and how it will be
offered with upscale interiors and luxury features, the new Focus makes
the current iteration look like the over-ten-year-old car it is. Read more

Bye-Bye 2009: Best Driver’s Car of the Year

By John LeBlanc

Everyone likes an underdog right? When the revitalized Porsche Cayman S arrived with its wunderkind Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) transmission and updated engine last year, it knocked the hallowed 911 off the perch I had it up on as my all-time sports car fave.

Sounds blasphemous? Maybe. But I appreciate a sports car for what it can do, not what it promises. And the baby Porsche coupe was the easily my Best Driver’s Car for 2009. Read more

Bye-Bye 2009: Best Car of the Decade

By John LeBlanc

Although it might not have been the most environmentally friendly vehicle (i.e. Toyota Prius) or illustrate the global economic shift to emerging markets from the once dominant Western automakers (i.e. Tata Nano), but for me, the previous-generation BMW M5 is my favourite car from the past 10 years. Read more

Bye-Bye 2009: Worst Car of the Decade

By John LeBlanc

I know. The Prius has become the best-selling gasoline-electric hybrid of all time. Over a million have been sold since the first one went on sale in 1997. You could make the argument and ask, “How can that many people be wrong?” Easy, really. Read more

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