BREAKING NEWS - TOYOTA, LEXUS, AUDI & MERCEDES-BENZ, MINI POSTING RECORD SALES IN CANADA

Ironically, on a day when Canada's figurehead Governor General, Michaelle Jean, will fly home from Europe to deal with a political crisis that was precipitated to some degree by a lack of extra funding to the automotive manufacturing sector, Toyota says that its best ever year (and it's only December 2nd) comes as a result of Canadian-built models. Excuse the long sentence - The Good Car Guy gets excited over irony.

Not only has Toyota already surpassed 2007's record-setting sales total through just eleven months, but Audi has done so, as well. Lexus and Mercedes-Benz both posted their best-ever Novembers, too.

Details will be forthcoming over the next day or so regarding both American auto sales for November as well as Canadian sales figures. For now, consider that Toyota Canada sold more than 200,000 cars in one year for the first time ever and did so in just eleven months. Lexus Canada sold at a record-setting pace for the 8th consecutive month. Audi Canada set an annual record for the third straight year but did so this year in just eleven months. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz's year-to-date growth stands at 27.7% through November.

Toyota's Corolla, Matrix, and RAV4 along with the Lexus RX350 all posted huge sales gains and are all built in Canada.

UPDATE: Mini has joined the flock of best-ever folk with its eighth-consecutive month of record sales and a best-ever November. Chrysler, Honda, Acura BMW, and Volkswagen are all down - some by large margins - but Jetta sales are waaaaaay up because of new Clean Diesel TDI availability

BEST CONCEPTS/BEST HYBRIDS

CNNMoney, with help from AOL Autos and Edmunds.com has homed in the most cost-effective hybrids available to buyers today. Meanwhile, BusinessWeek named the best concept cars of 2007.

Edmunds.com chose vehicles with which to compare each hybrid vehicle. That meant the Toyota Prius ran up against a 4-cylinder Camry, but all other competitors were contrasted with their equivalent gasoline-fired model. After calculating the added cost of purchasing the hybrid, CNNMoney figured the fuel savings and the relationship between the two. In other words, how long will it take to recoup the loss? The lower the number, the higher you finish.

So, the Prius came first; followed by Chevy's Malibu, the Toyota Camry, Ford Escape, Saturn Vue, Mercury Mariner, Honda Civic, Nissan Altima, Saturn Aura, Lexus GS450h, Lexus RX400h, Toyota Highlander, and Lexus LS600h L. Estimates for the Prius come in at 4.2 years, stretch to 5.8 years for the Vue Green Line, all the way to 3,771 years in the Lexus LS. You read that right. 3-7-7-1.

MotorTrend's findings in an Altima/Aura/Camry comparo do not mirror that of the CNNMoney study.

BusinessWeek chose the Audi Metroproject Quattro, Chevrolet Beat, Chevrolet Volt, Ford Verve, and Toyota FT-HS among others as the best concept vehicles of 2007.

FERRARI CALIFORNIA TRUNK IRONY

Ferrari has released a photo of a trunk-filled California, the Italian company's new four-seat hardtop convertible. The Good Car Guy just showed pictures of the apparently useable rear seat but in this case, Ferrari appears to have been making somebody else's case.

Hardtop convertibles are known for lacking a useful trunk. By the time the top is squeezed into the rear of the car, space for luggage and groceries is typically limited because the top ate into that space. This is why on a bright summer's day when you most expect convertible owners to be enjoying the open air, they're cruising down the interstate with the top up. If they don't do that, they don't take their luggage.

Well, Ferrari proves the point in a picture where the luggage isn't fully inside the trunk. It's as if they're saying, "Oops, guess we can't fit all this stuff in there, can we? Take the picture anyway, Giacomo." As you can see in the image, the Ferrari California's top is not in place but instead, is resting on top of the trunk. The luggage is covered in the same leather as the golf bag and suitcases that Ferrari previously placed in the rear seat; quite clearly fitted Ferrari kit. With that being obvious, the irony is even more humourous. Ferrari can't even fit California-specific bags in the trunk of the California? 

Ach, I know it was just for the sake of display in the same way pictures of women in the front seat usually show them with one leg out of the car. But it's still funny, and still ironic.

FERRARI CALIFORNIA BACK SEAT - 5 PICTURES

Considering the likelihood that future Ferrari California buyers are more like us than the buyers of Ferrari's other cars, it's very possible that these California owners will use their cars for normal purposes. 

With a rear seat and the ease of flipping back the roof, genuine trips will/could become something regular for these people who chose not to take the Scuderia Spider 16M. And if part of their reasoning for purchasing the California was its rear seating perches, they better be useable. 

Choosing a California over a regular 430 Spider won't necessarily save you a whole lot of coin, but no Ferrari lacks in the power department and large chunks of the masses won't know that this is - in the minds of many enthusiasts - a softer, compromised Italian supercar. Supercar? Meh.

Are they? These pictures (click to see'em larger) show the Ferrari California rear passenger area with a child seat, golf clubs, set up as a load shelf, used as a load shelf, and as a traditional rear seat. Decide for yourself. Check out Ferrari's California trunk irony, too.

MALIBU OPINIONS

Malibu is represented by two very contrasting stories lately; both of which are hot. Unfortunately so in one case. Wildfires in SoCal have destroyed homes, wreaked havoc upon families, and generated unwanted attention for a region filled with celebs.

Malibu, the word, is making news for another reason, however. General Motors, specifically Chevrolet reps, are talking up Malibu sales. Over 3000 sales in the States. Hmm, 3000? Camry's and Accord's are sold by multiple hundreds of thousands each year. But Chevrolet built this news due to the restricted availability and low expectations - in the time span during which Chevy dealers sold 3000; GM had expected to sell just 500.

Opinions are starting to surface regarding the Malibu as a driving device, rather than as a commercial or heavy-duty marketing experience. Car&Driver has named the Malibu as one of their 10Best, a yearly feature where new cars must compete against winners from the past. (More to come on that story soon.) MotorTrend also named their Car of the Year this month, and General Motors laid claim to that title, too.

But it wasn't a Chevrolet. Cadillac's excellent CTS (amazing everything... bar the cheap metallic panelling inside) beat out 17 other vehicles, including the Audi A5, Mercedes-Benz C-class, Volvo C30, Mitsubishi Lancer and two new Scions. Oh, and the new Honda Accord.

Speaking of that Accord and of that Malibu, M/T editor-at-large Arthur St. Antoine wrote thus: "Technical director Frank Markus and I each did brisk back-to-back runs with the Accord EX and Malibu LTZ on the COTY test-track's handling course. Post-drive, engines off, I looked at Frank. He looked at me. "I think the Malibu handles better," I said. "Me, too," said Frank. We also agreed that the Malibu was more fun.... Our test gear also preferred the Malibu: Compared with the Accord, it's quicker, stops better, and wins every objective handling test.... Is the new Malibu not just better than the vaunted Accord on a car-for-the-money basis but actually better in many ways than the Accord - period? The answer is an unqualified "yes."


You've gotta respect the words, whether you agree with them or not. When The Good Car Guy names his "Good Cars for 2008" - the twelve vehicles The Good Car Nation should be seen driving - the Accord has a terrific chance of making the list, and the Malibu will have to truly fight for a place. Handling and striking looks are just two characteristics a car can make use of when fighting for the recommendations of the experts.

Nonetheless, Chevrolet is making unexpectedly large and deep inroads with the Malibu. With high praise comes unembarrassed buyers. If people feel free to buy a Chevrolet on its goodness rather than just its price; well, Toyota and Honda should up their game.

WHY THE SCOOPS? PONTIAC G8 GXP NEEDS TO SHED NOSTROLS

The process of distinguishing between models-within-a-model-range has perplexed countless automotive designers, marketing mavens, and head honchos for.... well, always. Automakers want buyers who upgrade to, for instance, the SE to feel as though they're car looks as though it's worth more than the base model. Thus, alloy wheels and body-colour bumpers and skirts do the trick. Ah, but what about those who head for the EX? How to make them feel good about their car? Perhaps a rear wing, larger front air dam, and fake dual-exhaust tips will do the trick.

Worse than that is the challenge of the performance edition, the SS or M or AMG? Mature consumers may want speed and panache, but they don't necessarily want to look boy racer or import tuner, do they? BMW strikes the right balance with its M5: distinguishable to the cognoscenti but simply high-lux to the eye of the plebians.

Pontiac, the hopeful answer to BMW from American conglomerate General Motors, typically fails to strike that balance. The G6, not exactly a high-profile beauty to begin with, is in dire need of deconstruction by the time GXP badges are ready to be slapped on. Pontiac's G8, meanwhile, is actually a fairly handsome and classy car. The base model looks deserving of your money, the GT ups the ante just enough. And the GXP? Ach. Ick.

The G8 has potential for greatness somewhere inside. But the addition of nostrils to its hood masks mature performance more than the stripes or huge lower air intakes on special anniversary Holdens, the exact same car. Never have I seen a mass-manufactured OEM hood so drastically ruin a car that we all want to love. General Motors had plenty of options, but as the gallery below will show you, the G8 GXP's look is a serious letdown and makes the G8 GT seem almost more desirable, despite its lower power figure and less capable chassis.

NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE: CITROEN BERLINGO MULTISPACE & 60 PHOTOS

The possible sighting of this vehicle in North America is so verily impossible that I dare suggest it is unimaginable. Citroen hasn't competed on in Canada or the USA for decades and apart from its PSA partner, Peugeot, selling scooters in the near future, nothing Citroenesque appears to be forthcoming.

So take a minute to enjoy the unimaginable. I mean, try to imagine it.... just for a second. Sitting in your Camry at a red light, a two-box 'car' with strangely-contoured windows pulls up beside you. The driver is wearing a beret and his kerchief is large underneath a velvet blazer. (The windows are huge - you can see the blazer.) You're so terribly freaked out by this heretofore unseen vehicle that you prod the throttle a little, hoping to show this dude a thing or two. He looks your way and smirks; not at your temerity but at your wastefulness. Then it is he who remembers that, sacrebleu, gasoline is only $1.50/gallon in parts of Kansas and those crazy Americans can be as wasteful as they want.

(Read other Across The Pond articles here)

Finally, you roast him away from the lights. The best-selling car in America is available with 268 horsepower after all. He has 4.75 ponies on his side. I jest, he probably has 90 bhp under the hood. Nevertheless, your problem is that you absolutely murdered something in a drag race so resoundingly that you don't even know what it is you beat. The beret-wearing dude was driving a Citroen Berlingo Multispace.

This Citroen shares much with the C4 Picasso, a car The Good Car Guy labelled as one of the Top 5 cars for the next Pope-mobile. The new Berlingo Multispace is slightly larger than before (24cm longer, 8cm wider) which makes the BM even better at what it does best: make space for people, their pets, and their stuff. It suits some consumers' needs to a T and does so extraordinarly cheaply. "It's a good car, the Berlingo. And in these difficult times, it makes even more sense than usual," Jeremy Clarkson said. In fact, the Berlingo Multispace is even a bit fun to drive they say. The full 60 photo gallery is below.