Canada’s Top 10 Selling Vehicles So Far in 2011

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]

Canada Will Get Diesel Version of Cruze

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]

GM to Make Two Door Chevy Cruze?

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]

Test Drive: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

GM Says the Cruze is Better Than…

…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]

FAIL: Safety Car Causes Crash

Ah, irony.

Check out the video above where Chevy’s new Cruze gets ‘safety car’ honours for this race, yet hilariously enough, doesn’t drive so safely. In fact it actually causes an accident. If I were the BMW driver, I would be furious.

Let this be a lesson to all you oblivious drivers: Always check your blind spot and never pull into a lane in front of a car that’s going way faster than you are.

[FAIL Blog]

Finally! GM Executive Admits the Chevy Cobalt Is “Horrible”

Karl Strake vice president of global engineering deserves a raise. In fact, make him in charge of any decision making when it comes to new models because he has stated what I and many like me have known for a long long time: The Chevy Cobalt sucks and always has.

While in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Strake took the press on a tour of the new Chevy Cruze which is going to be the replacement for the Cobalt. In fact there was a Cobalt on hand that Strake had the opportunity to drive and he held nothing back when asked how it compared:

“Look at this car, it’s horrible” Strake said of the Cobalt. ” How did it get through so many people?”

I was wondering the same thing, I don’t know how it got passed by everyone at GM but what’s even more astonishing than that is the amount of people that actually bought a Cobalt. I mean, they’re everywhere. My theory is that the Cobalt is substantially better than the Cavalier was so by comparison, people thought they were buying a good car. But that’s a bit like saying Bill O’Reilly isn’t as offensive as Rush Limbaugh, so Bill O’Reilly must be a good commentator. And he really isn’t.

Strake had nothing but good things to say about the Cruze though, so it’s probably a legit car. Let’s just hope that it’s not the same situation where we all think it’s a good car because it’s better than a Cobalt, but years down the road we realize that isn’t true.

World Car of the Year 2010: Top Ten Entries Revealed

What is the best car in the world? It’s all relative and subjective and thus, impossible to determine. But that doesn’t stop automotive journalists from trying.

52 automotive journalists representing each continent in the world (except Antarctica – Penguins can’t legally drive yet) have gotten together and submitted their top ten choices for World Car of the Year in two categories: Car of the Year and Performance Car of the Year. There will then be three finalists chosen for both categories.

Find out what car made the top ten and what our pics are for the finalists after the jump!

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