First Drive: 2011 Chrysler 300/C

Rehabilitated

Chrysler sends its gangsta’ sedan off to finishing school

By John LeBlanc

SAN DIEGO, California – Between the rap star videos and all-too-frequent appearances on television custom car programs, no other recent vehicle in Chrysler’s long history has struck a cord as an icon of American cool as the last 300 and sportier 300C: the King of Bling, gangsta-themed Chrysler  rear-heel-drive sedans, modern interpretations of the Chrysler 300 “letter series” high-performance luxury cars built between 1955 and 1965. Read more

The Crank: Would Steve McQueen still drive a Porsche today?

By John LeBlanc

Blenheim, Ontario’s RM Auctions has a Porsche you might be interested. It’s the above illustrated  1970 911S actor/car guy Steve McQueen’s character, race driver Michael Delaney, drove in the opening sequences of his iconic flick LeMans. Read more

First Drive: 2011 Kia Optima

Optima Prime

Kia continues its product renaissance with a family sedan for drivers

By John LeBlanc

Key West, Fla. – On average, Canadian new car buyers return to purchase new again about every seven or eight years. If you happen to be one of those buyers today, you may feel like Rumpelstiltskin if you haven’t dropped into a Kia showroom lately. Read more

The Crank: Which are “dumber”?: Newly Americanized VWs, or the people buying them…

By John LeBlanc

Recently, over at Automotive News, my colleague Diana T. Kurylko, asked the question that fans of inexpensive German wheels have been pondering for some time now: Is Volkswagen of America cheapening its cars to boost volume at the cost of its German engineering image? Based on the evidence, the answer is a definite “Yah-vohl!” Read more

The Crank: Korean automakers’ coming of age continues at Seoul Motor Show

By John LeBlanc – Few Western media attended, but this year’s Seoul Motor Show was yet another stake in the ground marking the continuing evolution of the Korea’s Hyundai-Kia Motors as an emerging force to be reckoned with. Korea’s annual new car sales market doesn’t come anywhere near the volume of the China’s monster numbers—about 1.6 million in Korea last year, compared to ten times that number in China, the world’s largest market. But this year’s Seoul show concepts from both Hyundai and Kia, hint at what will end up in Canadian new car showrooms sooner than later—something the Chinese have still yet to achieve. Read more

« go back — keep looking »