It’s been five years in the making. But finally (finally!), Toyota President Akio Toyoda unveiled his company's new back-to-basics sports car this week ahead of its official debut at the Tokyo auto show, a vehicle that’s being built not to bloat sales, but to gain respect for the troubled Japanese automaker.
FROM THE FLEET are brief synopses of manufacturer-supplied rides that happen to end up in my laneway – John LeBlanc
Like in the fashion industry, if the seasons have changed, it must be time for a new Mini model to hit the runway. Last spring saw the new arrival of the VW Golf-sized Countryman—the largest Mini, yet. And now, for this fall, the Mini collection gains the new two-seat Coupe lineup—the smallest modern Mini yet.
LOS ANGELES - Contradictory in philosophy to its new, and more powerful 2013 Mustang GT (now 420 hp), and the “most powerful production V8 in the world” (the new 650 hp, 321 km/h-plus Shelby GT500), Ford had its trio of pure-electric and hybrid vehicles lined up in a tidy row, here in L.A.
LOS ANGELES - With Japan’s Mitsubishi saving most of its 2011 auto show goodies for next month’s Tokyo show, here in L.A., the quickly-becoming-a-niche automaker rolled out a "woody version of its iMiEV electric car (now available in Canada for $32,998), and an almost three-year old concept.
LOS ANGELES - Honda had three “green” North American auto show debuts, with an all-new production version of its subcompact Fit EV, and updates to its existing Civic and Insight gasoline-electric hybrids.
LOS ANGELES -If so, you’re in luck. If you live in California, at least. Because Coda Automotive is offering its appropriately named Coda Sedan, above, a compact EV that reputably can go about 240 km on a single charge.
LOS ANGELES -This being California, home of the largest group of hybrid car lovers, it only made sense for Toyota’s Lexus to launch a couple of gas-electric models at this year’s show.
Those damn Europeans. Not only are the Continent’s free-spending politicians killing what little economic recovery we cost-conscious Canadians had going, it looks like new car buyers over there are eschewing cars with clutch pedals.
Even if you didn't know Jaguarisn't being run by a bunch of Brits anymore, at least you know it sells large, rear-drive sedans—or saloons—in the parlance of its heritage. But, once upon a time in the naughties, when U.S. Ford was stroking the cheques and looking for exaggerated sales growth beyond Jaguar's natural as a niche player, the storied Brit brand sold a small, front-wheel-drive car: the legendry-for-all-the-wrong-reasons 2000 to 2009 X-Type.
Wheels writer John LeBlanc was the owner of an advertising and marketing firm before indulging his lifelong passion for cars by becoming an automotive journalist. Join in the discussion as he provides expert critical analysis of the foibles of the auto industry.
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