Car Throttle

The Godfather Part II. Toy Story 3. People love a decent sequel. Mickey Rourke, Robert Downey Jnr. We also rave about comebacks. That's why the first piece of performance motoring news to really excite me in 2012 is: whether or not we'll finally see Audi roll out a successor to the revered B7 RS4. A car that created a renaissance for Quattro GmbH, the resolutely all wheel drive, very front engined small exec has garnered a huge following since its 2006 début. The smart money suggests that there will indeed be a new model, but Ingolstadt will be taking a leaf from the legendary RS2's memoir and only offering an Avant (read: estate) bodystyle. A declining market for fast saloons versus more practical performance SUVs, and stylish

The Porsche lineup is expanding; after the Panamera, the next on the list is a small-crossover called the Cajun. It has been confirmed by Porsche's management, and will be produced at the same Leizpig, Germany plant as the Panamera. That will make for five model lines. In this midst of all this is the next-generation 911, which is set to arrive at the Frankfurt Motor Show. That is the car we're most excited about - and it should help increase sales for the 911. But, with an effort to increase overall brand volumes even further, there has been a lot of talk about another Porsche model. We think its a good idea, if it comes in the form of a modern day reinterpretation of

I've been bad about getting out to Cars & Coffee. It's always held relatively early on Saturdays, and to be honest I'm not a fan of waking up early on Saturdays.  It's always worth it, of course.  This week I was determined to make it out there, and the IV drip of coffee was totally worth seeing exotics stacked like cordwood in the Brier Creek parking lot at 9:30 in the morning.  There were some really interesting vehicles to be seen, along with about 30 late model Corvettes.  You know you're in rare company when 30 Corvettes look mundane. I'm fairly certain they never made Fiero convertibles.  A little research on Google shows there were conversion kits for these back in the day,

At the end of last year, I made a post compiling some of the random cool stuff I've seen around Raleigh. It's been a few months, and I've continued to see more cool stuff, which I am happy to share with you all.  Comments at the bottom! A '91 Alfa Romeo 164 LS 5-speed, in almost perfect condition.  This was a trade-in at Hendrick Fiat of Cary on a new 500 - you almost never see these cars (running) in the US any more.  There's a lot of Saab 9000 underneath, but still awesome. A Daihatsu Hijet mini-truck used as a parts runner at Leith BMW in Raleigh.  Note: sticking a BMW badge on it, does not make it a BMW!  Very odd to see

Sometimes it's hard to mask your disappointment. It'd been two years since I'd ventured from Raleigh up to College Park, Maryland for CPT (College Park Tuning's) Spring show, and I was damn excited.  The event in 2009 was large enough to fill two gigantic parking lots, and this year the event was to be moved to FedEx field in order to fit the massive amount of cars expected to turn out - easily in the thousands. With the event scheduled to start at noon on Sunday, I packed up and headed to the DC region Friday night - I've got friends and family in the DC region I haven't seen in a while; might as well kill a few birds with the same tank of

For real.  I love drag racing. I know it's simplistic, primal, and perhaps a bit stupid.  "Real racers turn, too!"  Yeah, I know.  Still, it's one of those sports that's not hard to get into.  You don't have to have a long attention span.  If you don't like the car on the tree, it's gonna be done racing in a few seconds.  And something else is coming up behind it.  Hell, it's a sport that not only condones but encourages burnouts, which is the automotive equivalent of a testosterone storm. So there's not really "news" to report from a local drag strip.  But it's loud, smells great, tons of fun to watch or participate in, and talk about.  Plus, I just picked up a new camera

Auto Shows these days are a mix of really exciting debuts, and a lot of updates. Some of these updated models are interesting, but not really worth an entire article to themselves.  I've saved you the time of clicking a thousand links to consolidate the rest of the significant debuts at the NYIAS (New York International Auto Show) this year. Revised Jaguar XK and XF Models There's nothing really wrong with the XK and XF models, which are some of Jag's most competitive models to date.  But the breakneck pace of the market dictates that if it's been out three years, it's already looking old.  Enter the new XF (left) and the new XK (right.)  The revised styling on the XF is intended to mimic Jag's

Saab has been slung through the mud over the past few years, amidst back-and-forth reports of a sale. Coverage in 2009 wasn't particularly confidence inspiring. With that as a backdrop, it is a wonder Saab sold cars any last year. The company logged just 5,445 units sold. Recently, the talk has all been positive, with Saab's message on the new 9-5 and 9-4X and future models to come. Advertising has also resumed, helping to make the marketplace aware of Saab's return. At the National Automotive Dealers Association, Saab has revealed to dealers its predictions for 2011's sales. The brand is predicting 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles this year, aided by a rebounding economy, the new 9-5 which will have full availability, and the 9-4X

Mercedes has updated the C-class lineup for 2012, and the V8-powered C63 muscle car along with it. For 2012 the C63 gets a redesigned exterior and some minor mechanical upgrades to make it a sharper driver's car as well as more efficient.  Let's take a look at what's new for everyone's favorite bonkers Merc. Most obvious are the new, swept-back headlights.  There's a new bumper up front with integrated LED daytime running lights, a new aluminum hood with a redesigned grille, and around back a new bumper as well.  The C63 gets some new wheels for 2012; these black wheels give it a pretty sinister appearance, don't they? Power-wise, it's the same as it's always been: a lot.  The standard C63 retains the 6.2L 32v AMG

With gas prices at low levels and the economy improving, sales of sport utilities and crossovers are up. That isn't stopping automakers from releasing a whole group of new compact and subcompact cars though. The subcompact segment in particular is set to be larger and more populated than ever, with manufacturers looking to position themselves for future gas price increases. Ford is a big player in the segment with its much-hyped Fiesta. General Motors' entry, the Aveo, has been pretty uncompetitive for most of its life-cycle. An update in 2007 helped improve thing for the Daewoo-sourced model, but it was clear more was needed. Enter the new Sonic, which is an all-new vehicle. GM saw fit to change the car's name from Aveo to show