Since the early 70's when the death of the V8 muscle car came about, the Hatchback has seen drastic transformations. Much like the 70's, Oil prices are high again and the economy is down. People are looking for the fuel efficient, practical, and funvehicle to drive, and the answer is the ..... Hatchback. Here are my Top 5 Choices. 5) 2011 Subaru WRX 5-door  Since Subaru has introduced the third-generation Impreza, Subaru has been making minor improvements to the rally-born WRX. Horsepower received a boost in 2009 to 265hp, the 2011 Subaru WRX 5-door get very similar body sty-lings to the 2010 Subaru STI.  Overall a very fun vehicle to drive, handling is un-real. The 2011 Subaru WRX 5-door is only 40hp less than the top of the line 2011 Subaru STI, and much more manageable vehicle for regular day to day doings. 4) 2010 Honda Fit Sport  With refreshing face lift from the original Fits that debut in 2006 in North America, the 2011 Honda Fit Sport comes in at number 4 for me. The price point is attractive @ $21,375 for the Automatic and $20,175 for the Manual. The versatility of this vehicle is second to none in its class, the different variations of the rear ...

Brand new model rolling out of the Honda factories for 2011, the Honda CR-Z two seater coupe is labeled as the world’s first sport hybrid. Based on the same platform as the 2010 Honda Insight, it has a shorter wheelbase and overall is shorter in length. The 2011 Honda CR-Z has a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine with the Integrated Motor Assist (IMA), equipped with a six-speed manual transmission or optional continuously variable transmission (CVT) with steering wheel paddle shifters. CR-Z has a three-mode driving system  that allows the driver to control the responsiveness from Economy, Normal or Sport modes. Much like the 2010 Honda Insight, the 2011 Honda CR-Z cannot run on its battery alone, it does however shut off the gasoline engine at idle and utilizes the battery power.  The 2011 Honda CR-Z comes in at a good price point, the manual is $24,885 and the CVT $25,685. This is a big step for Honda as they attempt once again to become a player in the import hybrid game. To date Honda has not stepped up to the expectations with the Hybrid Honda Accord being discontinued after only 1 year on the market, and the 2010 Honda Insight having suffered poor sales in its first full year.  Honda has followed in the foot steps of Toyota in ...

U.S. Department of Transportation concludes driver error behind each and every case In short, after an exhaustive analysis the U.S. authorities have cleared Toyota of any mechanical problems leading to dangerous accidents. In every case the E.C.U. or engine control unit, which is akin to the black box on an airplane,  showed the accelerator was fully depressed at the time of the reported accidents. They also cleared Toyota of the possibility that the floor mats caused the pedal to stick in all but one case. Read more at http://www.driving.ca/Toyota+cleared+sudden+acceleration+claims/3275928/story.html

Green is in; electric is next, but for now fuel efficiency is a major factor when consumers consider new cars.  With all the hype it’s almost taken for granted that fuel efficiency has increased dramatically over the last decade.  However, the truth may come as a surprise.  It turns out that more than half – six in fact – of the "Top Ten EPA-rated Fuel Efficient Cars" tested, from 1984 to present, were built prior to 2000.   The authoritative source on fuel efficiency, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA), recently published statistics that verify the Top Ten Fuel Efficient Cars. The only three new models to show in the Top Ten are the 2010 Toyota Prius at $27,800; the 2010 Honda Insight starting at $23,900 and the 2006-2010 Honda Civic Hybrids starting at $15,990. With older cars like the 1986 Chevy Sprint ER and 1990-1994 Geo Metro XFI making the list it raises questions about exactly how far technology has advanced the modern car as far as actual fuel efficiency is concerned?  With five models on the list, Honda takes top honors in the Top Ten overall.  Toyota had the 2001 and the 2010 Prius both stand out on the list.  All ...

Last week the stars aligned so that we arranged the sale of not one, not two, not three, but four Volkswagens at the same dealer on a single day! The pricing we obtained for our customers was beyond exceptional because of the volume, and because the dealer started to get a real sense of what was possible going forward with us. They had heard rumblings about the big volumes possible through us, but Tuesday was way beyond their expectations. They wanted to make sure we were pleased.  We were. And so were our customers who got a better price than 99.8% of Volkswagen buyers and had none of the negotiating hassle. rp

For the first time, Canadians are getting to drive a new trim level on a new model before the United States.  As usual the decision came down to sales. Those sale numbers show that over one quarter of all VW Jetta’s sold in Canada are powered by a diesel engine.  As a result, the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta will be launched first in Canada, with the diesel (TDI) option.  Typically, Canadians must wait patiently to drive new models released from European and Japanese automakers.  The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta is a big part of VW’s plan to make serious sales inroads in North America. The new Jetta is expected to compete with the Toyota Corolla ($15,460 - $24,110), which is the third best selling compact car in Canada.  It had 9,241 sales Year-to-Date (YTD) in May 2010. The Honda Civic ($15,990 - $28,745) was, until recently, the best selling car in Canada before being dethroned by the Mazda3 ($15,995-$32,995).  Mazda's outsold the Civic by 103 units over the fist quarter of 2010.  Hyundai, which accomplished a historic first in May by outselling Honda Canada in overall car sales, has the compact Elantra that sold 6,6615 cars YTD in May.  The Elantra ranges ...

Overall, Canadian vehicle sales for May edged up to 154,285 units, a relatively flat gain of 0.2 per cent. What a flat month of sales did was bring a few interesting changes to the automotive landscape.  Hyundai surpassed industry sales giant Honda to move into a top-five in overall sales for the very first time.  Hyundai sold 12,620 vehicles in May, up 12.6 per cent from a year earlier and outselling Honda by over 1,000 units. This marked Hyundai's second consecutive month of record-breaking sales. Hyundai's move into the top five forced Honda into sixth place in sales.  Honda sold 11,587 vehicles including its luxury Acura division. Year to date, Honda has captured 8.6 per cent of the Canadian vehicle market.  Toyota Canada's sales fell 16.1 per cent to 17,879 vehicles including its luxury Lexus brand.  Early in 2010 Toyota had shown great resilience in Canadian sales despite its global recall, but those sales have fallen by double digits for the past two months. Of the domestic automakers, Chrysler saw the biggest gain, with sales jumping 53.5 per cent to 20,861. These numbers are a major contrast to May 2009 when sales fell by 50 per cent compared to May 2008.  Ford's ...

For 12 consecutive years the Honda Civic has been the undisputed King of compact car sales in Canada.  We’re talking complete market dominance for over a decade where the Civic held the prestigious title of Best Selling Car in Canada.  However, year 13 is proving to be less than a given.  With 2010 first quarter sales in the books, Mazda 3 with a base MSRP of $15,995 outsold the$15,990 base price Honda Civic by 103 units.  By end of April 2010 Mazda sold 17,198 of the popular Mazda 3’s in Canada.  That compares to 17,095 Honda Civics sold.  Not a knockout blow by any means, but enough to get Honda’s attention.  If Honda had an ace up its sleeve it would have been the rollout of the next generation Civic, which was promised for fall 2010, but has now been officially pushed back by Honda to sometime in 2011. It makes for a very interesting battle in the compact car class.  Stay tuned. For information on the Honda Civic and Mazda3’s visit BestPriceExpress.ca and for the lowest price on both, check out the service to new car buyers.

The top selling small SUV in Canada is the Ford Escape.  It sold 8,189 units in April with a basic model starting at $24, 499. The Subaru Forester sold 1,835 units and eleven competitors sit between it and the Ford.  To close the gap Subaru is offering up two new Forester models with the addition of the Outdoor Package to the Forester 2.5X and PZEV. The Forester 2.5X Outdoor Package is priced at $25,995 with a manual transmission, while the PZEV Outdoor Package is $28,095. Subaru also offers a new 2.5X Sport-Tech, with added technology and performance features, at $28,695 with a manual transmission. The Outdoor Packages add aerodynamic roof rail crossbars, trailer hitch, cargo tray and protective mat, retractable cargo cover and rear bumper step pad. The new Sport-Tech package builds on the Forester Touring package and adds 17-inch XT-type wheels, Pioneer AVIC in-dash navigation and audio system with detachable touch-screen and 12 million points of interest, Subaru dealer listing SD card, iPod and USB audio integration with text display, and Bluetooth hands-free system.  For the lowest price on all makes and model vehicles in Canada you want BestPriceExpress.ca

Former president and CEO of General Motors, Rick Wagoner openly admitted that the worst decision of his tenure was axing the electric-car program and not putting the right resources into hybrids.   He claimed that even though his decisions didn’t affect profitability, it did impact GM’s public image.  Since Wagoner’s oversight, GM has added hybrid versions of their #1 selling Yukon SUV, and Sierra pickup.  Unlike its Detroit rival, Ford cultivated a hybrid program early on and recently announced it is investing $135 million in the company’s next-generation hybrid-electric vehicles.  Ford currently has the Escape SUV and the popular Fusion - both number one in sales - available in hybrid green. If going green is in your automotive future, these are your 2010 choices: Cadillac (Escalade), Chevrolet (Silverado), GMC (Sierra and Yukon), Ford (Escape and Fusion), Honda (Civic and Insight), Lexus (RX-h, LS-h, GS-h and HS-h), Mazda (Tribute), Mercedes-Benz (S400), Mercury (Mariner and Milan), Nissan (Altima) and Toyota (Prius, Camry and Highlander).