Nissan exported its Datsun small cars to become the automaker’s ambassador brand in North America 60 years ago, but not before replacing Joseph “the Prince of Darkness” Lucas’s electrical systems with reliable Japanese components. Innovative engineering helped make the British Austin-inspired Bluebird a minor curiosity when it landed here. By 1971 Datsun was the top-selling […]
Diesel power was dealt a blow by various companies playing fast and loose with emissions regulations. But given that the biggest blow to the environment for any vehicle is the manufacture of it, the most environmentally friendly vehicle is the one that lasts the longest. Diesel engines win easily here, because they typically last twice […]
DETROIT Michigan – Ford was the big winner at the 2021 North American Car of the Year Awards. On the Truck side, the refreshed F-150 pickup easily took the trophy with 340 points over the Ram 1500 TRX (130) and Jeep Gladiator Mojave (30). In Utility Vehicle, the Mustang Mach E won with an astonishing […]
There are two people in the world, and only two, who can talk more than me. The first is my good friend Peter MacLaurin, who owns a tree farm near Morin Heights in the Quebec Laurentians. Peter never stops. One time, years ago, when my mother, the late Grace Dorothy McDonald, fell and broke her wrist […]
We chat with Jeep about its seven-passenger Grand Cherokee strategy. The new year may have brought with it American political uprising and more COVID-19-related lockdowns across Canada, but it also gave us a pleasant surprise from Jeep. It’s called the Grand Cherokee L. Not only does it entirely revamp the Grand Cherokee nameplate after almost […]
It’s a little change, but a big deal. For the first time since the 1960s, General Motors has completely redesigned its logo. Gone are the uppercase and underlined GM letters in a harsh square in favour of lowercase letters where only the m is underlined. The square gets rounded corners, and the blue is brighter […]
A more laid back, lower case and redesigned GM logo will launch on Monday, as part of a company-wide multi-faceted marketing campaign to highlight GM’s push for bringing electric vehicles to the masses, even though the first of its newest generation of Ultium-battery-powered EVs are not scheduled to arrive in Canada until the first half […]
The last time we drove the Acura TLX it left us a little cold. Marketed as a sports sedan it felt like nothing more than a gussied up Accord. No bad thing on its own but when compared to offerings from BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes it fell well short of that claim. We even argued […]
Building on a 30-years legacy, Jeep plans to shake-up this New Year with the all-new 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L. This new iteration of the popular full-sized SUV – coming in Laredo, Limited, Overland and Summit trim levels – will bring new under-the-hood improvements and interior upgrades that will continue to make this best-selling Jeep […]
A chance meeting between English race-car builder John Cooper and Fiat engineer Aurelio Lampredi at the 1959 Italian Grand Prix is celebrated in Mini folklore. Having driven an early Mini prototype to the race, Cooper was accosted by Lampredi, who begged him to borrow the tiny front-wheel-drive car. Returning it hours later, the Italian heralded […]