The Trouble with Toyotas: If you can’t buy a Toyota, then what will you buy?

No matter how anyone spins this sticky throttle situation, Toyota is in a whole mess of trouble.

Forget the intangibles about “loss of reputation,” or “the shine is off the brand” namby-pamby stuff. Not having the majority of your lineup available for your salespeople to sell is an unprecedented situation in the auto industry.

For the record, this weekend, Canadian Toyota dealers will be more than happy to sell you a new Yaris, Camry Hybrid, Venza, FJ Cruiser, 4Runner or Tacoma.

But if you had your heart set on one of the Japanese automaker’s bigger sellers—like the Corolla, Matrix, Rav4 or Camry, among others—you’ll have to shop elsewhere.

So the big question is: Where?

The Trouble with Toyotas: Can Toyota avoid Audi’s unintended acceleration woes?

Can things get any worse for Toyota these days?

As you probably know, the Japanese automaker has stopped selling some of its most popular models and suspending production at five North American plants for the week of Feb. 1 to fix accelerator pedals that stick in 2.3 million vehicles recalled last week.

At one of the most cutthroat times in the auto industry, in a down market, this is not good news. Obviously. But long term, can Toyota avoid the catastrophe Audi went through in the 1980s with its “unintended acceleration” fiasco that nearly saw the German automaker leave the U.S. market?

To recap: Just as the German brand was making headway in North America with innovative cars like the aerodynamic 5000 sedan, a fabricated episode on U.S. CBS’s 60 Minutes news magazine accused Audi’s of accelerating against the driver’s will.

Spyker saves Saab! Maybe. Probably not.

Out of the burning ashes known as Government Motors, it appears as if boutique supercarmaker Spyker has won the rights to take over the money pit known as Saab.

After a long, drawn out affair, rose-colour-glass-wearing Saabistas are rejoicing that Swedish-designed Opels will continue.

Potentially still-born product like the next 9-5 sedan, 9-4X crossover, 9-3X and maybe even a smaller, compact 9-1, will keep the brand humming along nicely…

Maybe.Probably not.

Canadian Saab picnic won’t save doomed brand

Have you heard? The Saab Club of Canada is planning a “Save Saab” rally on Saturday. The idea is to get the “attention” of the Swedish brand’s parent General Motors and to send a message that Saab should be sold, rather than shut down.

I truly sympathize. But you Saabistas are a bit late. Like by over two decades. The only message you’re going to send is that you probably need a marriage counselor, "Saab? Hey buddy, she ain’t coming back…"

Here's another newsflash: Saab—as a brand—died when GM first bought a controlling interest in the then financially strapped, niche brand in 1990. Remember? And instead of letting Saab be Saab, GM decided to milk the brand dry, simply rebodying Opels.

Can VW’s Golf R fly with Canadian enthusiasts?

After accepting The Canadian Automotive Jury’s Best of the Best award for its entire 2010 Golf family, Volkswagen Canada pulled the cover off a potential new range topper at last week’s Montréal auto show.

Enthusiasts will recognize the blue, muscular-looking hatch left, as the high-performance, 270 hp, all-wheel-drive, Euroweenie-only Golf R model. In fact, VW Canada director, marketing and communications, Bruce Rosen told me it’s the exact same car from the Frankfurt show floor where it debuted last September.

Currently, the GTI is VW’s top Golf in Canada. It’s a fantastically versatile performance car. And its new killer-app—the standard electronic differential—makes it jumps into corners like a feisty left-winger.

As I’ve said before, “The only thing the GTI needs is about another 70 hp. Say, like in the 270 hp, all-wheel-drive European Golf R…”

Et volia!

Will small car buyers find Ford?

Two thousand and nine was a very good year for Ford in Canada.

In an industry down 12 per cent, sales were up 7, resulting in a 15 per cent marketshare—the automaker’s best here in seven years. Ford even beat out General Motors in truck sales for the first time in a decade.

All good news for fans of the Blue Oval. But between a shift in consumer tastes, and tighter fuel economy regs on the horizon, small cars—the part of the market the Detroit Three handed over to the imports decades ago—are the future.

So how will Ford handle the shift away from its current best-selling pickups and SUVs to small, European cars, like the new Fiesta, Focus and C-Max making the auto show rounds?

“Our focus for 2010 is to introduce the car side of Ford to customers,” Ford of Canada CEO David Mondragon, (above) told The Crank during last week’s Detroit show media days.

2010 Montreal: Volkswagen Golf wins new Canadian car award

MONTREAL – It’s not only the fine people of Detroit that put on an auto show this time of the year. Just down the St. Lawrence River, a couple of hours on the 401, our neighbors in la belle province put on quite a car show of their own.

This year, along with 19 Canadian-market debuts, The Canadian Automotive Jury announced its inaugural Best of the Best award, won by the 2010 Volkswagen Golf.

Having narrowed the contenders down to a short list of 12 vehicles (listed below), The Jury honoured the entire 2010 Golf family, recognized as “the one and only, best of the best” of the current crop of automotive offerings.

The Crank is in Detroit

Join me over at Wheels.ca's live coverage of this year's Detroit auto show, starting first thing the morning of Monday, January 11.

Bailout Blues: Do GM and Chrysler need to offer Hyundai-like warranties?

Our friends over at The Truth About Cars have started using data from analysts at Morgan & Company. One of their first comparisons: long-term U.S. market share between the automakers formerly-known-as The Big/Detroit Three.

As you can see in the first graph, above left, it's been a long, downhill slide for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors since the early 90s.The exception is Ford, which is on a relative rebound.

Would you pay $10,000 for a Tata Nano?

If founder Ratan Tata has his way, it’s a question we may be asking in three years. At this week’s New Delhi auto show, the Indian automaker head confirmed he’s considering selling the über-cheap Nano in the U.S., following a possible launch in Europe in 2011.

"We also recognize there is a market (for the Nano) not only in developing countries, but possibly in the developed countries," Tata said in an Automotive News report.