Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone pitted a drag race between a BMW 1-Series M, a Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, a Chevy Corvette Z06, a Ferrari 458 Italia, a Nissan GT-R, an Audi R8 GT, a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, a Lexus LFA, a Porsche Cayman R, and a Lotus Evora S? Of course you have. And so apparently has Motor Trend because they actually had the pull to make it happen.

All 11 vehicles are definitely among the best of the best in terms of performance vehicles that are currently made. With that said, they all excel at different things. For instance, there’s no question that the 1-series M is going to lose to the 458 Italia. So, why bother doing it? Because each one of us has a 5 year old boy in us that’s why. Without giving too much away, it’s clear that Motor Trend arranged the obvious front runners to be in the middle of the starting line and then worked backwards. The result is a spectacular flying ‘V’ made up of American, Japanese and European brilliance. The symphonic notes coming from each of the exhausts comes together exquisitely.

Click the above video to see it all unfold.

[Youtube]

We’re half way through 2011 so it’s a good time to check in and see which models are most appealing to Canadians so far. Honda’s Civic is holding strong as the number one selling car in Canada, while Ford’s F-150 takes best selling truck and best selling vehicle overall.

Here’s the complete list:

1) Ford F-150 – 46,825 units

2) Ram Pickup – 30,459 units

3) Dodge Caravan – 29,986 units

4) Honda Civic – 26,371 units

5) Hyundai Elantra – 24,283 units

6) Ford Escape – 23,183 units

7) GMC Sierra – 22,225 units

8 ) Chevrolet Silverado – 19,233 units

9) Toyota Corolla -18,853 units

10) Chevrolet Cruze – 18,769 units

No big shockers here. I’m a little surprised that the Ford Focus didn’t make the list considering it’s now a credible contender. But Canadians obviously love their pick-up trucks and compact vehicles. Stay tooned to see where each vehicle places at the end of the year and if there will be any new additions to the list.

[Auto 123]

GM is getting serious about offering potential Cruze customers fun and frugal driving. The Eco-model appears to be getting decent reviews and now GM has announced that a diesel version will be in the cards for us Canadians.

There are very few details as of now, but the unit is expected to be a 2.0 litre four cylinder making 147 horses and 235 pound feet of torque. That’s awfully similar numbers to the Volkswagen Jetta TDI’s numbers of 140 horsepower and 236 pound feet of torque. Looks like GM is looking to take a bite out of Jetta TDI sales. Still, it may be easier to use the 2.0 litre 160 horsepower and 265 pound foot torque unit found in the Holden Cruze diesel in Australia.

Chevrolet now joins Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Jeep for manufacturers that currently offer diesel models for non-pickup trucks in Canada. It will likely come in as the cheapest diesel available to boot.

Considering a lack of pick-up was exactly what I thought was missing in the current Cruze on the highway, a diesel may be the perfect solution since they’re inherently torque-y.

Expect the diesel version of the Cruze to bow in 2013 with an expected mid-cycle refresh.

[GM Canada]

The Chevrolet Cruze is better than the Cobalt in every way. In fact, it left quite a positive impression on me on one of my latest drive drives. But one thing that the Cobalt had the the Cruze does not is a two door brother. The Cobalt coupe helped reign in younger crowds, and while the Cruze can be considered fun to drive, it’s unlikely to attract any of the younger generation to buy one over, say, a Civic coupe. Hyundai is reportedly working on a coupe version of the new Elantra and now GM is throwing its hat into the fold.

While GM won’t confirm or deny a coupe version of the Cruze, development is said to already be underway. In fact, a production site has apparently already been selected and unfortuantely it won’t be on Canadian soil. The new Cruze coupe will be built in Michigan where the new Sonic is being built. Apparently that plant is at peak demand with workers being required to work overtime, so there is a slight possibility of the Cruze coupe heading up to Ontario for production.

Since the Cruze sedan really is all about fuel efficiency, the coupe will likely take a bit of a different angle such as a possible SS variant to combat the Civic Si. Would you like to see a two door Cruze?

[The Detroit Bureau]

By Kevin Harrison

I recently went to Vancouver for business related to my day job and I must admit, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had been to Vancouver once before but I was about 14 years old so I didn’t remember much, but there were two noticeable differences this time around.

1) The Vancouver Canucks are a way bigger deal now then they were back in 1994. That was even the year they got to the finals but the New York Rangers ultimately won the cup. I even saw a playoff game between Vancouver and Calgary but I don’t remember 100,000 people littering the streets downtown and cops high-fiving random people in the streets after a Canucks win.

2) I don’t remember there being so many rare and expensive cars being around.

Honestly, the typical cars you see around in Halifax are Civics and Corollas. But in Vancouver their Civics and Corollas are BMW’s and Benz’s. In order to stand out in this crowd you need to be driving a Lamborghini, Ferrari or Maserati to get noticed, and even then you’ll only get noticed if the car is modded to the gills.

But in fact there’s one car that will get you noticed in this performance car haven and it won’t cost you your house either. It’s the Chevy Cruze.

Since “regular” cars aren’t exactly the norm in Vancouver, they actually end up sticking out more than the Benz’s and BMW’s. And that’s exactly what happened when I picked up the Cruze LS for this review. People walking the streets almost gave themselves whiplash as they did double takes when I drove by. It got to the point where I thought the automotive equivalent of “kick me” must have been written on the side of the Cruze or something. I actually only saw one other Cruze the entire time I was in Vancouver, so the rarity of this car had something to do with it for sure, but no doubt it’s rather appealing looks had something to do with it as well.

The Cruze has an aggressive front facia – much better than the Cobalt it replaces. With the corporate bar across the grille, the oversized Chevy badge and the shapely headlights, the Cruze’s best side is definitely the front end of the car. The side profile is decent with hubcaps that don’t actually look like hubcaps (which is nice for a change) but the rear end is sort of where things go a bit astray for me. The rear tail light design does not seem like it was thought out. It kind of makes it look like, well, a $15,000 car. Match that with the unfortunate wannabe chrome on the trunk lid and a hidden tailpipe and you’re left with a pretty uninspiring rear design. Still, the overall look of the Cruze is miles kilometers ahead of the Cobalt.

Same goes for the interior. It really is a pleasant place to be. The seats are made from high quality feeling cloth, though they can start to feel a bit uncomfortable for longer trips. Interior room is plentiful for its size, though when I put the driver’s seat back to my preferred driving position, there isn’t much leg room in the rear seat.There are lots of hard plastics, however I’ll give the Cruze a pass on that considering the class its in. Black inlays along with a bright, well-lit dash help keep the interior from feeling too much like an economy car.

Speaking of economy, GM has made sure to make it a priority in the Cruze. The my base LS tester had a 1.8 litre four cylinder engine with variable valve timing that’s capable of producing 136 horsepower but returns 7.8 L/100 kms in the city and 5.4 highway. In mixed city and highway driving I returned 8.8 L/100 kms. Not so great when compared to the ratings, but that’s on par with cars like the Mazda3 and Mitsubishi Lancer. If fuel efficiency is a high priority, GM also offers an “eco” model of the Cruze which gets a 1.4 litre turbo rated at 7.2 L/100 kms city and 4.6 L/100 kms highway. If performance is your vice, then GM offers the same 1.4 litre turbo, but with more torque at lower RPMs.

The 1.8 litre is adequate for city driving, but I found it lacking a bit for highway. I was never quite confident enough that it would get up to speed while merging on the highway and the 6-speed automatic seemed to rob it of power at the most inopportune times. Shifts seemed delayed and jolty, but shifting the gears yourself helped out in this regard.

One thing that very much surprised me was, despite the jolty transmission, the Cruze can actually be a fairly fun car to drive. Handling is good. Very good, in fact. I took a drive up to Whistler and the road on the way up made me wish I was in a BMW or a Porsche, but I must admit, the Cruze handled it quite well (excuse the pun). It felt sure footed in the bends with minimal body roll. It could use a bit more feedback in the steering wheel, but it definitely is more fun to drive than, say, a Corolla. Unfortunately the slushy feeling brakes induced early braking in some corners, but the Cruze feels like a solid car for the most part.

Despite the unexpected handling abilities, the Cruze feels comfortable and more at home in the city. It handles bumps and potholes with ease and the light steering helps to make the Cruze a bit more manoeuvrable. It’s easy to park, but the high deck lid makes backing up a bit trickier.

But at the end of the day the Cruze is a very good car. I’ve been fairly hard on GM products of the past, most notably the Cobalt, but GM has come out with a very competitive vehicle for this segment. In fact, I’d even wager to say it could beat certain vehicles in the segment.

In Vancouver, you might not fit in without a BMW or a Benz, but in a Cruze you definitely stick out for all the right reasons. It’s a car that is made for this type of environment and it does it well.

Base Price: $14,995

Pros:

• Unexpected handling abilities
• Solid on the highway
• Good interior room
• Great looking front facia
• 6-speed manual or automatic
• Variety of trim levels to please all tastes

Cons:

• Touchy transmission
• Mushy brakes
• Real world fuel economy hard to match ratings
• Uninspiring rear end design

Overall: 8.5/10

(Excuse the poor quality of the pics!)

The race for the best selling electric vehicle is starting to get a bit messy as GM is throwing a few shots Nissan’s way.

Mark Reuss recently spoke out on his opinions of the Nissan LEAF.  Says Ruess:

“[The Leaf] has a finite range and requires infrastructure and charging to run it, where the Volt is really an extended-range electric vehicle. The Volt can really be the only car you own. You better be living within a certain range for the Leaf. … It’s a lot different market, a lot different car and a completely different driver.”

Not too bad, right? A well thought out, logical answer. But Reuss unfortunately didn’t stop there when maybe he should have. He continued:

“I’m not sure if I’d put the Leaf in the hands of my three kids. Say, what if they can’t charge it? What if they get to school and can’t charge it? The Leaf is a single-purpose car”.

Not good enough for his family? Ouch. Reuss’ comments come on the heels of the recent sales release stating that the LEAF outsold the Volt in the month of April. Coincidence or carefully timed remarks?

This isn’t the first time GM has stacked the Volt up against another fuel miser. Their CEO recently said he “wouldn’t be caught dead” in a Toyota Prius and that it was a “geek-mobile”.

Sticks and stones, or will this turn people to GM showrooms?

[Nashville Business Journal]

The electric car race is getting tight between the Nissan LEAF and the Chevrolet Volt. The duo have been on sale for a few months now and in March it looked as though the Volt was taking a very early lead with 608 units sold compared to the LEAF’s 298 units sold in North America.

Last month, however, it seems Nissan has gained some sales as the LEAF beat the Volt. Nissan sold 573 versions of the LEAF and GM sold 493 Volts. That brings the total count to 1,044 units sold for Nissan and 2,029 Volts sold for Chevrolet since their respective debuts in 2010.

The Volt and the LEAF aren’t officially on sale yet in Canada, however both have already been taking orders. The Volt’s Canadian pricing was also recently announced at $41,545. If you live in Ontario you’ll qualify for an $8,230 rebate from the provincial government and if you’re in Quebec, the provincial rebate is expected to be $7,769.

[Nissan, General Motors]

Forbes, the people obsessed with making top 10 lists about, well everything, has just released its list of the worst vehicles on the road. How do you make such a list without accusations of being biased or opinionated? Well with the way Forbes did it, they essentially compiled six studies done by Consumer Reports on the most reliable, best and worst safety, best and worst fuel efficiency, best and worst value, and highest cost of ownership. They then compiled a top 10 list made up of seven American makes, two European makes and one Japanese make.

The Cadillac Escalade embarrassingly took the top score for least value, highest cost of ownership and worst safety scores. I’ll throw in that the Escalade is probably the easiest to steal for good measure.

The Chrysler Town & Country took worst reliability and faired pretty badly for cost of ownership. The Jeep Wrangler and Liberty scored for poor reliability and fuel economy while the Dodge Nitro and Dakota shared in those honours failures as well.

Along with the Escalade, GM took some hits with the Aveo, Colorado and Tahoe Hybrid making the list. All got marks for worst reliability, high cost of ownership and worst safety results.

The two Euros to make the list were both from Mercedes-Benz. The S-class made the list for high cost of ownership and low fuel efficiency scores while the Smart Fortwo was dinged for poor reliability and value.

The lone Japanese vehicle on the list was the Nissan Titan for poor fuel efficiency, reliability and cost of ownership.

With the exception of the three imports which are low volume sellers, people still seem to not get that the above mentioned domestics don’t excel in much. Yet they still sell in large numbers. Are there just that many stupid people out there? But before anyone starts on an anti-domestic vehicle tirade, it should be noted that not a single vehicle from Ford made the list.

[Forbes]

Chevrolet decided to let the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu out of the bag at the Shanghai Auto Show today. On an unrelated note, that’s an interesting choice for a reveal, eh? With the Malibu being such a hot seller in North America, you’d think they’d save it for the New York Auto Show. I guess that just shows how much GM wants up its sales in the Chinese market – in fact they’re hoping to double sales by 2015.

Anyway, back to the car. Style-wise it bears a striking resemblance to its cousin the Buick LaCrosse which isn’t a bad thing at all. It’s more of an evolution than a complete redesign. Notable changes are a more shapely trunk lid, a cleaner front facia and LED tail lights. Except those LED’s will only be available on the higher trim level LTZ.

Under the hood is a 2.5 litre engine that produces 190 horsepower and 180 pound feet of torque. No screamer, but definitely adequate for most people. This improved 2.5 unit is supposed to be more efficient as well, although GM has yet to release mileage estimates.

Do you think this new Malibu is enough to sway Accord, Camry and Sonata loyalists?

Click past the jump to see more picks.

[GM]

Honda must be happy about this.

After experiencing a sales slump and some tough criticism on new products it must be comforting to know that their most recognizable model, the Civic, is still quite popular with Canadians. It was the best selling car in Canada last month.

It must also be even more comforting to know that, despite being a five year old design, it is beating the newly redesigned Hyundai elantra (which was the best selling car in Canada for the month of January and February) and Mazda3. In fact another stablemate in the compact segment is starting to regain in sales – the Toyota Corolla. It was the second best selling car while Chevrolet’s new Cruze took third place with the Elantra and Mazda3 taking 4th and 5th spots respectively.

Despite all those being compact cars, don’t think for a second that Canadians are off huge pick-ups. The Ford F-150 is still the best selling vehicle in Canada overall. The GMC Sierra is 6th overall and the Chevy Silverado is 9th overall.

[Auto North]

Ford has recently confimed that the current generation Ranger would be the last it would produce for North America. Apparently we no longer have a market for compact pick up trucks like, say, the rest of the world does because apparently we think we need the biggest truck possible to get groceries and tow a boat 2 days of the year. Yeah, don’t get me started.

Anyway, GM has had the Colorado compact pick-up on the market for a while now which, to be honest, is a bit underwhelming in terms of, well, everything. But that doens’t mean that GM isn’t prepared to invest in a next generation version which they just introduced today in concept form.

All we know for now is that the concept dons a 2.8 litre turbo diesel under the hood which should be good for both towing an efficiency.

Now, this concept is actually developed specifically for the market in Thailand. There’s no word yet if this verison will be the one that us Canadians get or even if we will see a Colorado. That said, this would leave the compact pick-up truck segment completely open to GM so they would have a clear advantage in bringing the next generation Colorado here.

Even if this isn’t the verison we will get, GM is rumoured to keep the Colorado alive in some form or another for North America, so don’t worry pick-up truck fans.

[Autoblog]

…a previous generation Hyundai Elantra.

Which is kind of like PC saying that Windows 7 is better than Mac OS 7.6. Of course it’s better!

I don’t know why GM wasted their time and money on this ad or why no one bothered to point out to them that they are comparing apples to oranges. Not only are they comparing their new product to an old product but they’re comparing the Cruze 1LT to the base Elantra.

I’m sure GM will argue that the comparison is still valid since there are probably remaining 2010 Elantras still for sale, but I’m fairly certain that there are also 2010 Chevy Cobalts still for sale. Comparing the Cobalt to the 2010 Elantra and the Cruze to the 2011 Elantra would be more fair.

So why didn’t GM do that? Because they know they would lose in both comparisons. Ha!

While I’m sure the Cruze is a fine step up from the Cobalt, I must say the 2011 Elantra looks way more impressive.

On another note, this is the first time GM has actually targeted Hyundai in their history. Usually they go after Honda and Toyota. That says something about the product now coming out from Hyundai. You have every reason to be scared, GM. The Koreans are coming!

[Youtube]

Chevrolet has officially revealed its replacement for the aging Aveo at the Detroit Auto Show this year. Despite the ridiculous name, Chevrolet has come up with a decent looking vehicle.

A turbocharged engine is now a new option. It generates 138 horsepower from a 1.4 litre four. That’s about 18 more horsepower than a Ford Fiesta. The standard 1.8 litre is also available. A five speed manual is standard and there is also an optional six speed automatic available.

The more interesting part is that GM has actually reqorked the suspension. They gave the task to the people responsible for the Corvette’s suspension and they came up with McPherson struts up front and torsion beams in the back.

The new Sonic is also roomier than the Fiesta in both sedan and hatchback forms. It seems the General had the Fiesta in its sights from the get-go.

Click here to see more pics of the sedan and here to see pics of the hatch. Overall the design is much improved from the current generation.

[General Motors]

For the first time in 25 years, the Chevrolet Camaro will outsell the Ford Mustang in the States this year. Ford has even conceded that its stallion will end up in the number 2 spot. In a bit of an odd trend, however, us Canadians apparently prefer the Mustang to the Camaro.

According to the New York Times, the Mustang’s sales is currently sitting at 4,935 units compared to the Camaro’s 3,974 sales.

This is especially odd since the Camaro is home grown, it’s built in Oshawa while the Mustang is built in Michigan.

Ford says it’s because the Mustang is “an icon” and many Canadians consider it to be their “dream car” (I must be in the minority if that’s the case). But really, the Camaro is fairly iconic as well.

GM says it’s because there is a lack of incentives on the Camaro and the convertible model is very limited at the moment.

Whatever the reason, it’s good to hear that Canadians aren’t so wrapped up in buying a product simply because it was made in our own backyard. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for supporting our workers and stimulating our economy, but the fact of the matter is, a car is the second biggest purchase someone will ever make. The decision on what to buy better go to the best car, and not simply because of where it was made.

I’m not suggesting that the Mustang is the better vehicle, however. I’m just saying that I’m glad Canadians are buying with their hearts and not what political figures tell them to do with their hard earned cash.

In any event, congrats to the Mustang. I think a test of both these vehicles are in order, wouldn’t you agree? I’ll get on it. I promise.

[New York Times photo credit: Autoblog]

David Akinson, CEO of GM, is apparently following in the footsteps of his predecesor Bob Lutz by making controversial off the cuff remarks.

His latest came at a public appearance at the Economic Club of Washington where commented on this thoughts of the Toyota Prius. Here’s what he said:

“We commonly refer to the geek-mobile as the Prius. And I wouldn’t be caught dead in one”.

Shots fired.

I would never own a Toyota Prius either but I’m not ignorant enough to say things like that about it. You can’t deny that the Prius is a phenomenal technicalogical breakthrough in fuel efficiency. You can’t deny that it’s currently the most fuel efficient car available in the world. Maybe you should wait to see how well the Chevy Volt does before opening your mouth.

But maybe Akinson is just being truthful. In which case, I’ll offer him another thruth:

I wouldn’t be caught dead in 95% of GM products.

[Autoblog Green]