March 13, 2002: 2002 Ford Escape XLT 4x4. Click image to enlarge by Jeremy Cato Ford Motor Co. took aim at skate-boarders, newlyweds, small families, younger buyers and buyers young at heart - in other words so-called "active consumers" - when it launched the Escape small sport-utility vehicle in the fall of 2000. Now that it's been on sale for several years, it's clear that the Escape has appealed t... Read Article

February 20, 2002: 1999 Toyota Camry Solara. Click image to enlarge By Jeremy Cato The 1999 Toyota Camry Solara coupe arrived in the fall of 1998 as a decidedly North American vehicle - right down to its role in capturing buyers who have the same goals and attitudes of sport-utility buyers, but want nothing to do with a truck. For the record, the then-Solara coupe (and the convertible that arrived in 2... Read Article

February 20, 2002: 1995 Toyota Camry By Bob McHugh For the last four years straight, Toyota Camry has won the coveted Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) Pyramid Award, and the undisputed honour of being the "most reliable used car buy" in Canada. Based on the CAA survey of ownership experience 96% of Camry owners said that they would buy exactly the same car again, if given the opportunity to go back ... Read Article

February 19, 2002: 1994 Subaru Impreza Sport Wagon L The made-in-Japan Subaru Impreza leads a double life when it's abroad. In North America it's a pleasant but somewhat quirky little econo-box that rarely gets a second glance. In Europe (where quirky is normal) the Impreza gets instant recognition and respect as a rally car champion. The Impreza first entered the Canadian market in 1993 as a '94 mod... Read Article

February 19, 2002: By Jeremy Cato The compact all-wheel-drive Subaru Forester first went on sale in the 1998 model year, and it has been replaced by Gen II for the '03 model year. The most noticeable difference between Gen I and II is that II looks more like a sport-utility vehicle and doesn't so closely resemble a station wagon as Gen I did. There are other refinements to Gen II, but what's important fo... Read Article

February 19, 2002: 2000 Saturn LS2, Click image to enlarge By Jeremy Cato Saturn's L-series sedans and wagons have been given a modest styling makeover for 2003. It's the start of bigger things at this General Motors Corp. division. Saturn is in the first stages of a complete product makeover that for 2003 also includes the introduction of the Ion compact car. Last year saw the arrival of the VUE sport uti... Read Article

February 19, 2002: 2000 Pontiac Bonneville. Click image to enlarge By Jeremy Cato General Motors Corporation is busy restoring the performance image of its Pontiac brand. The new Grand Prix is one piece of that effort, while another is a planned line of high-performance models beginning with the 2004 Bonneville GXP. The Bonneville GXP will be the first Pontiac passenger sedan to be powered by a V8 engine ... Read Article

February 18, 2002: 2001 Nissan Xterra. Click image to enlarge By Jeremy Cato Back in the spring of 1999, Nissan's since-retired top North American designer, Jerry Hirshberg, likened the 2000 Xterra to a pair of comfy old jeans: the Xterra would get better with some serious wear and tear, rather than fall apart at the seams. Hirshberg was apparently spot on with the truth. The Xterra, introduced in the ... Read Article

February 18, 2002: 1999 Mercury Mystique By Jeremy Cato Their code name was CDW27, but virtually all the details about these four-door sedans were public knowledge long before they went on sale in the Fall of 1994 as '95 models. The cars? The Mercury Mystique and its Ford sibling, the Ford Contour. By the time they hit North American showrooms, a European version called the Mondeo had already been named... Read Article

February 17, 2002: 2000 Mercedes-Benz CLK. Click image to enlarge Honda, Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz have launched new coupes recently, the start of an emerging trend that within a year will see several other new coupes fill out company lineups that today revolve around four-door sedans and sport-utility vehicles. Jaguar and Audi immediately spring to mind. The 2003 Mercedes CLK (for coupe, light and kurz... Read Article

February 16, 2002: 1998 Lincoln Continental. Click image to enlarge It would be fair to call 1998 the year of chrome for the since-discontinued Lincoln Continental luxury sedan. Chrome, said Lincoln officials at the time, is like jewellery to Lincoln buyers. Perhaps. What we can be certain of is that the added chrome to the updated 1998 Continental did not spell this model's demise. No, the problem was that... Read Article

February 16, 2002: 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. Click image to enlarge By Jeremy Cato The Jeep Grand Cherokee franchise has been built on the fact that this truck is no mere four-by-four pretender. It definitely does the job off-roading, yet offers lots of comfort for the riders inside. Jeep, of course, reinvented the Grand Cherokee for the 1999 model year. The updated model was a significant improv... Read Article

February 16, 2002: 2002 Infiniti QX4. Click image to enlarge By Jeremy Cato Infiniti, the luxury arm of Nissan Motor Corporating is phasing out the QX4 sport-utility vehicle (SUV) after a fairly successful run dating back to 1997. The replacement for the QX4 is the Infiniti FX35/45. I mention this because many owners of late-model QX4s can be expected to turn in their older SUVs in favour of the aggress... Read Article