This gallery contains 20 photos.
Restyled only last year (as 2010 models), the Ford Mustang Coupe and Convertible models have been given further upgrades for 2011, most of them under the hood. While the new lightweight aluminum supercharged 5.4-litre V8 in the Shelby GT500 and the new 5.0-litre V8 in the Mustang GT have been getting most of the media’s attention, the new 3.7-litre V6 in the base Mustang is equally newsworthy.
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Subaru’s entry-level model was redesigned for the 2008 model year and soldiers on essentially unchanged. Even so, I was looking forward to taking this one for a week-long spin. The reason for my enthusiasm was that Subaru bravely decided to send through a bare-bones four-door sedan with a manual transmission and exactly zero options. Sending us a base model helps us focus on a particular model’s intrinsic properties without being distracted by more powerful engines or fancy sound systems. And sadly, press cars with manual transmissions are becoming a rare sight in our nation’s press fleets.
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The second generation of Audi’s flagship A8 sedan arrived in Canada in 2004, following its European introduction in late 2002. The lineup began as a single V8-powered model, the long-wheelbase A8L; a regular-wheelbase model and a second long-wheelbase variant powered by Audi’s W12 engine joined the range in 2005.
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Sometimes, all you need is a little truck. Mazda knows this, which is why its B-Series pickup has been in production since 1972. It’s had ties to Ford’s small trucks since the beginning, but became a twin to the Ranger in all but its name in 1994. That relationship carried over to the fifth generation model, introduced in 1998.
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While it can be argued that the last thing the world needed in 2004 was another SUV, Lexus needed a vehicle to fill a rather large gap between its car-based RX crossover and the big truckish LX SUV. Ideally, it needed to be able to compete with vehicles like the Land Rover Range Rover by offering V8 power, serious off-road cred and lots of luxury, but also trumping the Rover (at the time) with three rows of seating.
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Standard on the $39,995 2010 Mazda MX-5 GT, and a $2,295 option on the $33,495 GS model (both models add $1,595 freight), the power retractable hardtop (PRHT) is a must-have item for some buyers, an appreciated but not required feature for others, and perhaps an unnecessary expense for the balance.
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This gallery contains 9 photos.
Although many Canadian consumers are moving to compact sport utility vehicles, the midsize family car is still the workhorse of choice for a large segment of the buying public.
Over the years, these vehicles have become bigger, better equipped, more fuel efficient and safer, but some might say they’ve also become a little bland. Continue reading
This gallery contains 14 photos.
Seven-seat luxury crossovers aren’t hard to come by, and there’s certainly no dearth of SUVs built for off-roading. What’s more difficult to find is a mid-sized truck that combines all three attributes: seating for seven, luxurious appointments and running gear suitable for tackling logs and rocks and things.
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Stepping into a subcompact 2011 Mazda2 after a week driving a plus-sized SUV is like putting on running shoes after wearing steel-toed construction boots. Your first thought is, “I should be wearing running shoes all the time!”
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Auto Show by Auto Trader 