All you need do is look around the next time you’re out on the road to see how well General Motors is doing in the compact crossover Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press business. The Chevrolet…

2014 Chevrolet Equinox LT Road Test Review

All you need do is look around the next time you're out on the road to see how well General Motors is doing in the compact crossover business. The Chevrolet Equinox is extremely popular while its Theta platform-sharing GMC Terrain cousin more than pulls its own weight. The redesigned Equinox and all-new Terrain went on sale in 2009 as 2010 models and within three years managed to find in excess of a million buyers, although the Equinox more than doubles the Terrain's annual sales.

A quick look back into my own personal archives shows that this is my seventh Equinox road test review. It all began with the original 2005 version tested on the new model launch program in 2004, followed up by a review of the 2008 mid-cycle refresh of that same version loaned to me and my production team during a GM fleet program, and then the all-new 2010 model that I was also invited to drive during the model's launch program, after which I tested a 2012 version here at home, a 2013 model here last Read Full Story
After years of delay, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently passed a law requiring backup cameras Automakers are testing side-view cameras in an effort to phase out side…

Back-up and sideview cameras may replace side mirrors

After years of delay, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently passed a law requiring backup cameras on all vehicles under 10,000 pounds. The law sets technical guidelines for the cameras and includes a phase-in period, with the cameras being required on 10 percent of all vehicles built after May 2016, 40 percent of vehicles built after May 2017, and all vehicles built after May 2018.

The new law grew out of the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act, which was passed by the US Congress in 2008 and originally set a deadline of 2011 for finalizing backup camera standards and timelines. Studies have suggested that mandatory backup cameras could save hundreds of lives and prevent thousands of injuries each year.

Industry analysts report that automakers are embracing the new law, as the rules finally provide standards to rely on when designing backup camera systems. Many manufacturers already include backup cameras on their higher-end Read Full Story
For Toyota’s Camry, the key to success is no secret: the Camry has held onto the number one spot among mid-size North American Photo: Simon Hill, Canadian Auto Press sedans based on its long-running…

2014 Toyota Camry XLE Road Test Review

For Toyota's Camry, the key to success is no secret: the Camry has held onto the number one spot among mid-size North American sedans based on its long-running record of dependability, value, and practicality. But what is perhaps a little bit of a secret these days is just how genuinely pleasant the Camry has become. When Toyota updated the North American Camry with the current XV50 version two years ago, it banished the blandness of previous generation Camrys with a crisp evolutionary design on the outside and a comprehensive overhaul on the inside.

Not wanting to mess with the formula for reliability, Toyota retained the same basic mechanicals under the hood of the current Camry as were found in the previous-generation car, with improved versions of the existing 2.5-litre four-cylinder and 3.5-litre V6 engines (there's also a Camry Hybrid, which Toyota markets as a separate model).

My test car had the base 2.5-litre four, which develops 178 horsepower and 170 lb-ft Read Full Story
What a difference a couple of years makes! Honda took a disappointingly redesigned 2012 Civic, completely overhauled it one Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press year later for the 2013 model year…

2014 Honda Civic Sedan Touring Road Test Review

What a difference a couple of years makes! Honda took a disappointingly redesigned 2012 Civic, completely overhauled it one year later for the 2013 model year with new front and rear styling, a reworked suspension and totally upgraded interior, and now for 2014 moved the car up a significant notch further with the introduction of top-tier Touring trim.

At first sight I was impressed with its classy chocolate brown metallic paint scheme, highlighted by fog lights, halogen headlights (that incidentally include auto-on/off), lots of chrome trim and gorgeous bright metal and black-painted 10-spoke 17-inch alloy rims on 215/45R17 rubber. It's a sporty looking little four-door, but at the same time it's endowed with a certain refined elegance that the majority of cars in its compact sedan class can't even come close to emulating.

Climb inside and that elegance factor is taken to an entirely new level. Soft-touch door uppers in front and a soft touch dash insert on the passenger Read Full Story
Nissan totally reinvented its Pathfinder last year, moving from a body-on-frame truck chassis to a unibody car-derived platform Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press architecture shared with many…

2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid Platinum Premium Road Test Review

Nissan totally reinvented its Pathfinder last year, moving from a body-on-frame truck chassis to a unibody car-derived platform architecture shared with many of its other offerings, from the midsize Murano crossover and Quest minivan to its midsize Altima and full-size Maxima sedans. These are all front-wheel drive vehicles (well, the Murano is all-wheel drive only here but offered with front-drive in the U.S.), some of which offer all-wheel drive optionally, and all use unconventional although readily more available continuously variable transmissions, the Pathfinder included. While some Pathfinder fans were no doubt upset to lose their beloved off-roader, such buyers are becoming fewer and farther between these days and rather than let go of a nameplate that's become very well known within SUV circles, Nissan has kept a good name and endowed the large midsize crossover SUV with a little off-road prowess of its own, plus for 2014 an all-new hybrid-electric version.

Say hello Read Full Story
For North American fans of Italian sports cars, the opening of the New York International Auto Show in mid-April promises to   be the biggest event in 20 years. Why’s that? Because Alfa Romeo…

Alfa Romeo 4C to debut at New York auto show

For North American fans of Italian sports cars, the opening of the New York International Auto Show in mid-April promises to be the biggest event in 20 years. Why's that? Because Alfa Romeo has chosen New York for the North American debut of its striking 4C sports coupe, marking the official return of the marque to these shores after several years of rumour and speculation, and a full 20 years since it pulled out of North America.

According to industry sources, the initial plan is to sell the exotic mid-engined sports coupe at a few select dealerships that already handle Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' upmarket Maserati brand. Over the longer term, however, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has suggested that the Alfa Romeo 4C won't be the lone Alfa Romeo, with other models under consideration for import and "better performing" Fiat dealers being allowed to participate in Alfa Romeo sales.

Future models will likely include the 4C Spider, which is expected to go into production Read Full Story
With Audi having long offered four-cylinder entry-level engines and BMW more recently returning to do likewise, it only seems 2015 Porsche Boxster GTS (Photo: Porsche) natural that these German brands’…

Porsche going way back to flat-four boxer engine

With Audi having long offered four-cylinder entry-level engines and BMW more recently returning to do likewise, it only seems natural that these German brands' slightly more upscale rival Porsche get back into the four-pot act.

The latest information from industry insiders Automotive News is that the Stuttgart firm will supplant the current 2.7-litre horizontally-opposed six-cylinder engine with a new boxer four in its base Boxster roadster and Cayman coupe models. The current Boxster and Cayman engines make 265 and 275 horsepower respectively, with torque rated at 206 and 214 lb-ft. While significant output compared to the original 1997 (986) Boxster's comparatively conservative rating of 201 horsepower, the new four-cylinder should be more enticing still. According to Porsche boss Matthias Muller, the new four could produce as much as 395 horsepower in top trimmed models, which is even more than the 340-horsepower offered in the brand's latest greatest Cayman GTS model.
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BMW’s latest model has been given the M treatment, not to mention one of the longest names   in autodom: 2 Series Active Tourer M Sport. Attaching the legendary M moniker to the German brand’s…

M Sport model to upgrade front-drive BMW 2 Series Active Tourer

BMW's latest model has been given the M treatment, not to mention one of the longest names in autodom: 2 Series Active Tourer M Sport.

Attaching the legendary M moniker to the German brand's first foray into front-wheel drive passenger cars might seem like sacrilege to the Bimmer faithful (the car itself is already causing enough of a stir), but nobody scoffs at the automaker's Mini division and its Cooper S models, or even better its John Cooper Works (JCW) cars.

Along that vein the 2 Series Active Tourer M Sport will be a zippier version of the company's new compact five-seater, a tallish MPV that's more about practicality and pragmatism than any BMW that's ever come before. Instead of an actual M-badged model, the 2 Series Active Tourer M Sport is more of a sport package, as the name implies, with all the expected upgrades such as a blacked out grille, aero body kit, 17- or 18-inch alloy rims on lower profile tires, a performance-tuned suspension, as well as Alcantara-trimmed Read Full Story