Road Trip: 2008 Targa Newfoundland – Part 1

Story and photos by John LeBlanc My road to this year’s Targa Newfoundland road rally started on the last stage of the last day after completing the 2006 event. Arriving back where I had started five days earlier, near St. John’s harbour, overwhelmed by simply surviving such a grueling event as a navigator, I swore […]

Comparo: 2009 Audi A3 3.2, BMW 135i, Mitsubishi Evo, Subaru WRX STi

Story and photos by John LeBlanc CALABOGIE, ONT.–Essentially a gussied up Volkswagen Golf, Audi’s A3 started the premium compact genre in Europe 12 years ago. Today, almost every automaker has a compact car with a big car price in its stable. With all the features and performance of larger cars – but in a more […]

Comparo: Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster vs. Porsche 911 4S Cabriolet

Story and photos by John LeBlanc Let’s assume 18th century math geek, Sir Isaac Newton, wasn’t a “car guy.” Yet his Third Law rather nicely sums up why Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage exists: It’s the “opposite reaction” to Porsche’s forceful 911 Carrera. Until the two-seat V8 Vantage Coupe came along in 2005, Aston had only […]

First Drive: 2009 Lamborghini LP-560 4 Coupé

Story, video, and  photos by John LeBlanc LAS VEGAS–It’s challenging enough for Lamborghini’s Gallardo to keep up with recently updated super sports car rivals, such as the Ferrari F430 Scuderia and Porsche 911 GT2. But now that its corporate kid brother, Audi’s R8 – a newer vehicle that doesn’t exist without the four-year-older Gallardo’s space […]

Road Test: 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8

A few years ago, an American Baptist minister, Reverend Jim Ball, queried that, if Jesus created the universe, anything that harms his creation also harms Christ Himself. With a dubious eye toward sacrilegious gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles, combined with an expected leap of faith from his audience, the environmentally conscious Reverend Ball asked the question, “What […]

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