This gallery contains 7 photos.
The fundamental rule about vehicles is that not one of them, no matter how good, can be all things to all people. The Mazda2, a model all-new to Canada for 2011, isn’t a sports car, no matter how much “zoom-zoom” Mazda likes to inject into its marketing. That said, its combination of sharp handling, quiet ride and several standard features makes this smallest of Mazda models a fine runabout for getting around urban centres.
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Whether the new Buick Regal, aka Opel Insignia (now built in Russelsheim, Germany, but soon to be built in Oshawa, Ontario) will capture the hearts and minds of Canadian Buick buyers is an open question.
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Volkswagen Canada tells us that the 2011 Touareg is lighter and consumes less fuel than its 2010 predecessor. Such information is typically met by scepticism; auto scribes and potential buyers alike will scratch their heads immediately and question what it is that’s been sacrificed to make this a greener Touareg.
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Despite the rising popularity of SUVs and CUVs, and the discontinuation of minivans by a few manufacturers, I might well paraphrase Mark Twain in that any reports of their demise are far from accurate. Honda, Nissan and Toyota have all released redesigns of their vans, while my tester, the Kia Sedona, undergoes numerous changes for 2011.
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When you’re talking about car engines and units of power, most people focus on horsepower as the most important number and don’t worry about anything else. But of the many factors that can affect a vehicle’s performance, the figure typically listed just below the horsepower number – torque – is arguably just as important as horsepower, if not more so, in day-to-day driving.
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This gallery contains 13 photos.
New to Canada for the 2011 model year, the Scion xB is one of three Scion vehicles now available in this country, those being the small xD hatchback, the compact xB hatchback, and the compact tC sporty coupe/hatchback. The two-seater Scion iQ micro-car will arrive this Spring.
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The name Sebring calls to mind things that an auto enthusiast might get excited about: there’s Sebring International Raceway, near the city of the same name in Florida, and the lovely Maserati Sebring coupe and convertible built from 1962 to 1969.
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Still the only diesel-powered compact sedan priced under $30,000 in Canada, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI returns for 2011 with an all-new sedan bodystyle, a new interior, and a new unit body platform that, for the first time, is not shared with the Golf.
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There’s no shortage of options for sporty roadsters, but at the higher end at least, this is a segment that German automakers have had a good handle on for a number of years now. Major players in the affordable teutonic roadster roster are the BMW Z3/Z4, the Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class and this car, the Audi TT.
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I have been fortunate enough to pilot the 2011 Porsche 911 Turbo S at Mosport International Raceway and thrash it over the temporary course set up for AJAC’s TestFest at the Niagara Regional Airport. I know how astonishingly fast this car is, and how its all-wheel-drive and clever electronic aids, in conjunction with an intangible user friendliness can provide mere mortals a portal to heroic levels of speed and car control.
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Auto Show by Auto Trader 