First Drives

The Mazda3 created quite a stir when it was released in 2003. At the time, replacing the popular Mazda Protege was going to be quite a challenge, particularly because the operation included a change of name. The public, however, immediately embraced the newcomer, as evidenced by sales across the country …

Ten years ago, Toyota’s luxury division, Lexus, introduced the RX300 luxury crossover. It became such an undisputed success that when the 2010 RX350 and 450h were unveiled to automobile journalists, the directors at Lexus emphasized that this vehicle had the same impact for Lexus as the Corolla had for Toyota.

Like many manufacturers, Volvo has seen a slowdown of late. Station wagons are less popular, the XC90 crossover SUV is getting old and their sedans are simply not selling. In fact, only the XC70 has seen its sales increase – but that vehicle alone is obviously not enough to generate …

The old Hyundai plant in Bromont is now home to a manufacturer of wind turbines, and since Hyundai seems to have the wind in its sails right now, the connection is almost too easy. This year, Hyundai is celebrating 25 years in Canada. Rather than downplaying the contribution of the …

At this point in time, the slightest piece of good news coming from an auto maker should make headlines. Ford, for instance, if you believe the journalists who attended a recent event organized by the boys behind the blue oval, is looking calmly toward the future. Like every year before …

The next time you find yourself in a BMW showroom, it is a safe bet that the representative will talk to you about its two new diesel models. So you will be tempted to jump toward this engine type that is so popular in Europe, where 70% of the vehicles …

The current Mazda3 remains the manufacturer’s best selling model, accounting for 30% of its sales worldwide, and it is even more popular in Canada. It would be an understatement to say that Yoshiyuki Maeda’s task as the person in charge of developing the 2010 Mazda3 was a huge challenge. With …

A “sleeper” is a very powerful car that does not flaunt its superiority. An iron hand in a velvet glove, if you will. The Audi A4 has not been available in North America for very long at all and the S4 has already reared its head. For those of you …

If you’re like me, you have barely heard anything at all about the Venza 2009, a vehicle that will be on sale beginning in January. There were no Internet rumours about Toyota’s newest release, no grandiose unveiling at one of the car shows, we didn’t see multiple spy-photos and the …

Much has been written about the Nissan GT-R, to say the least. While testing the sports car over a few days last summer, we brought it to Garage Roch Lavallée et Fils in Granby for a more thorough inspection. The findings were interesting and sometimes surprising… Under the hood Right …