The Crank: Are today’s “subcompacts” yesterday’s “compacts”?

By John LeBlanc

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – You can’t judge a book by its cover. And you can’t judge a car by its segment name. At least not anymore. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to after spending a day driving Hyundai’s new 2012 Accent,  a so-called “subcompact” that, for all intents and purposes, offers the size, features and performance of what you and I would regard as a “compact”, by far, the most-popular new car segment in this country. Read more

First Drive: 2012 Hyundai Accent

Small, Accent-utated

Hyundai’s new subcompact redefines the term “bottom-feeder”

By John LeBlanc

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — As the spiritual successor to the Korean automaker’s original mega-seller — the Hyundai Pony — the entry-level Accent has been a best seller in its class, based mainly on its super-low pricing. In fact, just few years ago, you could have purchased a brand new subcompact Accent for under $10,000 — or about the price of a four-year-old compact. Read more

Comparo: 2011 Mini Countryman vs. Nissan Juke

Mini Utes

Nissan and Mini battle for the Next Big Thing in cars

By John LeBlanc

In the 1990s, it was truck-based sports-utility-vehicles. During the past decade, it was car-based crossover-utility-vehicles. And now as we zoom into the second-decade of the 21st Century, it looks like compact crossovers may end up as “The Next Big Thing.” Read more

Feature: 2011 24 Heures du Mans

Diesel Sports Car Wars

Germany’s Audi and France’s Peugeot continued their battle at La Sarthe

By John LeBlanc

LE MANS, France – Future historians will agree: Audi started the 21st-century diesel sports car war. The ambitious Teutonic automaker fired the first salvo by entering its audacious diesel (yes, diesel!) powered sports car in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race five years ago. And, despite diesel’s image of tortoise-like performance, the R10 TDI (Turbo Diesel Injection) LMP racer, with its distinctively muffled exhaust noise, went on to win the legendary race on its first outing in 2006. Read more

Top 10s: Must-sees at the 24 Heures du Mans:

By John LeBlanc

LE MANS, France – Like the Indianapolis 500 or Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans should be on every car enthusiast’s bucket list. With the exception of a 10-year break for the Second World War, and in 1936 due to a strike, the race has been held every year since 1923, in the Loire Valley, a few hours south of Paris. Of course, for the quarter million spectators that showed up to this year’s event, there’s more to see than race cars lapping the 13.6-km circuit at speeds above 300 km/h. Here are 10 other reasons it’s worth making the trip to see the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Read more

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