Test Drives

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Thus begins one of English literature’s better known works; Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, and thus begins my experience in a pair of 2009 Jetta TDIs. For you see, although there may be little that technically separated …

Little by little, the Korean manufacturer Kia finally seems to be coming out of its funk. Sure, Kia has had some interesting products since its arrival in Canada, but on the whole they’ve always been associated with low-end products at low prices. Will Kia manage to pull off the same …

Upon my driver’s licence, as with most others, there is a tiny graphical representation of my glowing countenance. Of course, as with most others, this representation is horribly rendered and bears little to no resemblance to my actual face. But, nonetheless, I could almost make out tiny beads of sweat …

A few years ago, I had a very interesting conversation with a Mitsubishi executive that shall remain unnamed. Eager to discuss Mitsubishi’s upcoming plans for the then-secretive Evolution X, the mystery executive divulged two very intriguing things; first, that the Evo X would be coming to Canada, and second, that …

The Kia Sportage has had to deal with a lot of different weather conditions since it appeared on the scene at the end of last November. As though someone had flipped a switch, there was snowfall after snowfall from the moment the vehicle arrived. Week after week, there was always …

You probably already know that the Lincoln MKZ is derived from the Ford Fusion, but did you know that this year’s MKZ has had a major facelift? Well, it has, and I must say it’s for the better. These changes are purely aesthetic, of course, as Lincoln already upgraded the …

In an effort to solidify their image as responsible manufacturers, many high performance automobile car makers are now offering driving courses to new owners of their creations or to anyone who quite simply wants to have some fun in a safe way. In fact, image aside, this type of course …

Eclipse. Typically a word that describes a galactic event in which either the sun or the moon is completely obscured by a celestial body, it’s a fitting name for a Japanese import that’s struggled with obscurity since 1989. Introduced amid a flotilla of impressive imports like Mazda’s RX7, Toyota’s Supra, …

When you manufacture one of the top three small cars in North America, it takes some serious cajones to revamp the design as completely as Mazda has. Any revision at all bears serious consequences, but to take a universally accepted design and remanufacture it entirely is downright gutsy. But that’s …

February 1989: It cruises in to the Chicago Auto Show like some kind of UFO. No one was expecting it. No rumours about it had been leaked, and no auto paparazzi had released photos of it. It was a small, simple roadster, vaguely reminiscent of the first Lotus Elan from …