First Drive: 2013 Ford Fusion

Story and photos by John LeBlanc

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — The family sedan segment has become a virtual game of leapfrog. Seemingly, every few weeks, some automaker is debuting an all-new, mid-sized four-door of some sort, quickly followed by a rival launching shortly thereafter. In the past year alone, we’ve seen redesigned versions of mainstream, mid-sized four-doors such as the Chevrolet Malibu, Dodge Avenger, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima. This month, it’s Ford’s turn in the family sedan spotlight, launching its redesigned 2013 Fusion. Read more

Road Test: 2013 Dodge Dart Rallye 1.4 MultiAir Turbo

Text and photos by  John LeBlanc

Don’t be fooled by this new Dodge compact’s American name. Unlike the Dart from the sixties and seventies your grandparents may have driven, the new 2013 version’s flavour is more like a pizza from Naples than a hot dog from Coney Island. Read more

Comparo: 2013 Hyundai Genesis 5.0 R-Spec vs. Lexus GS 350 AWD

Text and photos by John LeBlanc

In a case of history repeating itself, two decades after Japan’s Lexus showed its more established German luxury brands a thing or two about value, Korea’s Hyundai dropped the same value bomb on Lexus with its 2009 Genesis luxury sedan. Read more

First Drive: 2013 Chevrolet Trax

Text and photos by John LeBlanc

OTTAWA – With a business based on selling trucks and SUVs, just three model years ago, the only small cars in Chevrolet’s lineup were the decrepit Cobalt compact sedan and coupe, its retro-styled HHR tall-wagon sibling and bottom-feeding Aveo crapbox. Today though — with the introduction of the Cobalt-replacing Cruze sedan, Volt hybrid, Orlando mini-minivan, subcompact Sonic sedan and hatchback and Spark city car — you can’t walk across a Chevy dealer lot without bumping into a small, fuel-efficient car of some kind. Read more

Comparo & Video: 2013 Audi RS5 vs. Cadillac CTS-V Coupe

Text, photos and video by John LeBlanc

CALABOGIE, Ontario – The consequences of some decisions simply aren’t all that drastic. Chocolate mint versus chocolate fudge ice cream. A week’s vacation on Italy’s isle of Capri or Spain’s Mallorca. Blonde or brunette. And the same can be said for our two comparo combatants. With gobs of power from eight fulsome cylinders, retina-grabbing styling, luxury-car niceties and enough technology to let anyone with a drive’s license feel like they’re Sebastian Vettal, having the opportunity to choose between the Audi RS5 or Cadillac CTS-V Coupe is more of a blessing than a curse. But that’s what yours truly was recently burdened with. After a few days on highways, byways and some quality time lapping Calabogie Motorsports Park, I had to pick a winner and a loser between this pair of heavyweight coupes. Hey, it’s a tough job… Read more

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