Driving

In the car business, it's always a good idea to stay a kilometre ahead of the rest of the pack. Acura hopes its redesigned 2013 RDX compact crossover will keep a wheel up on the competition.

Apart from the Chevrolet Volt, few General Motors vehicles are electrified. That's going to change with the introduction of the eAssist in the new 2013 Malibu.

Brian Town of Sidney has seen his monthly fuel bill drop from $140 to around $12 when he switched to an all-electric Nissan Leaf. In March, he drove 1,300 kilometres for a cost of $12.

With three months and less than 2,000 kilometres on the clock of my i MiEV, I don't have anything new to report this week, so I'll share a conversation I had with Brian Town, who drives a Nissan Leaf.

The engineers at Porsche obviously wanted to disprove the old saying "You can't have your cake and eat it, too.

To car lovers, auto shows are like candy stores, and there was lots of candy on display at the recent Vancouver International Auto Show. Manufacturers were well-represented at the show, one of the largest in Canada.

I have a reader who insists my electric car - and presumably all electric cars sold today - is powered by coal and natural gas, not electricity generated by hydro. His argument is that the province's hydroelectric generation is fixed.

The B.C. government announced it will spend $2.74 million for 570 car-charging stations across the province at the Vancouver International Auto Show last week The move is part of the government's Clean Energy Vehicle Program.

Honda has added "made in Canada" as another reason for buyers to choose the redesigned 2012 Honda CR-V, its popular compact SUV. As of January, the CR-V is assembled alongside the Civic, which has been manufactured in the Alliston, Ont.

Chrysler adds S model to the 300 line. The S gives the 300 a factory "bad-ass" attitude, with revised grille, 20-inch rubber and killer sound system. New German-sourced 8-speed transmission gives it fuel economy and silky-smooth shifts.