Best 2011 Performance Car for <$50k

By John LeBlanc

As the new 2012 models start to infiltrate new car showrooms, here are my top picks of remaining 2011 models that may still be lingering on dealer lots: Read more

Top 10: New cars that should be canned

By John LeBlanc

Instead of throwing good money after bad, tablet-maker Hewlett Packard made headlines recently when it canceled its TouchPad only a few weeks after launch due to poor sales in a segment dominated by Apple’s iPad. Analysts saw the news as a surprise. Most companies are afraid to admit mistakes. And the same holds true for the auto industry, where despite weak product and dismal sales, automakers are reluctant to make the hard decision to cancel obvious losers. I don’t have such fears. So here are my top 10 cars that should be discontinued so they can join the HP Touchpad on the sidelines: Read more

The Crank: Is Scion becoming Toyota’s Saturn?

By John LeBlanc

Pop quiz time: Did you know that it’s been one year since Toyota Canada introduced its so-called “youth” Scion brand to this country? No? Well, you’re forgiven if you forgot to get an anniversary gift or send a card. With sales a mere fraction of the automaker’s original estimates, it’s not like Scions have been clogging up Canadian roads. Even more worrisome for Toyota fans is how similar the Japanese automaker’s bungling of Scion mirrors how rival General Motors spolied its now defunct Saturn brand’s early success. Read more

First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster

Clipped wings

Does removing its doors take any of the magic away from AMG’s supercar?

By John LeBlanc

MONTE CARLO —When is a Gullwing not a Gullwing? When it’s the new SLS AMG Roadster, the convertible version of the SLS AMG Gullwing hardtop coupe that replaced the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren as the German automaker’s top-line performance car two years ago. Read more

From the Fleet: 2012 Porsche Cayman R

FROM THE FLEET are brief synopses of manufacturer-supplied rides that happen to end up in my laneway – Jon LeBlanc

One look at its sales figures and you’d be forgiven if you thought Porsche was trying to get out of the sports car business. Of the German automaker’s sales of 1,771 units to the end of August this year in Canada, its Cayenne SUV and Panamera sedan made up 65 per cent of those numbers, with the evergreen 911 2+2 at 22 per cent. With Porsche following its aging demographics and pushing the rear-engine 911 2+2 further into grand touring mode (Porsche club racing-ready GT3 RS 4.0 and GT2 RS excepted), that leaves the remaining 13 per cent to the lone “sports cars” in the lineup: the entry-level two-seat Boxster/Cayman clan, topped by the new-for-2012 Cayman R. Read more

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