Car Throttle

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

Audi's A1 subcompact is a neat little car. It's a nicely German take on the whole Mini Cooper/Fiat 500 segment - tiny but filled with aluminum and steel and Vorschprung durch Technik.  You can even get it with a powerful 180bhp 1.4TSI motor.  But up until now, the one thing it's been lacking was, oddly enough, four wheel drive. Considering Audi is a brand who's reputation is based around four-wheel-drive, that's sort of an unusual oversight on their part.  So it's not surprising that they would work quickly to fix this lack of Quattro grip.  Audi announced today that they're working on a 4WD version of the A1, and all of a sudden this overpriced subcompact starts to make some sense. The Quattro system in the A1

Another 365 days has come and gone folks, and it's now time to reflect on Car Throttle's busiest year ever (well, it's only our second year in existence, but whatever). The past twelve months have seen us form partnerships with some of the largest manufacturers on the planet, has seen our team increase in size and our reputation grow across the world wide web. We have carved out a really great niche in the performance car industry as being an online periodical containing quirky, editorial yet informative articles, and we hope to build that out in 2011. This, along with new video content and news, means that the next year should be phenomenally big. Without further ado, here are the Top 10 articles from '10 that we

Car Throttle, as well as most of the automotive world, is slowly winding down in time for the Holidays after an extremely busy year. Whilst this is no fitting place to lay tribute to a cracking 2010 (that round-up will be with you before the end of the month), I along with the team do want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. Rest up and if you are heading out - especially in the Northern Hemisphere where the weather has turned for the worse - please drive safely! And as this is an unusually short post, I found this gem of a poem on the internet which I wanted to share. I hope you enjoy it as much

In a move that shows their clear intentions, Chrysler has started designating new franchises for the FIAT brand in the USA. The initial list of new dealerships selling the Italian brand included dealerships in New York, Massachusetts, California, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Maine. Now the list is increasing to other parts of the country. Some dealers who closed their doors during the ‘08/’09 crisis are happy to take the FIAT brand. One former Saturn dealer in Florida is happy to hang the Italian logo where GM’s forgotten import fighters were once sold. It seems that Chrysler is doing its best to avoid the mistakes made by FIAT in the US in the 70s and 80s. Back then the Turin brand did not have a dedicated dealership basis, instead the

Erik "Mr. SAAB" Carlsson, the legendary rally driver who won the first British RAC Rally, and his co-driver, Stuart Turner, are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their victory with a replica of their winning car. Erik, who is an ambassador for SAAB, was a guest of honor at a lunch organized by SAAB Great Britain at the RAC Club in London. On display at the Club was a replica of the SAAB 96 with which Carlsson and Turner won the rally in 1960. The car was shipped from the company's Car Museum in Trollhättan, Sweden, and will be on display at the Club  for a week. Carlsson's victory at the RAC Rally left many dumbfounded in 1960, as the small Swedish car was powered by a diminutive 750 cc,

The Paris Auto Show brought a lot of introductions, with many of them being concepts or more long-term production vehicles. The Ford Focus ST shown was not one of those vehicles, as it is nearly 100% production material. Ford has already confirmed the vehicle will be making its way to the United States as part of the company's efforts at globalizing its product lineup. Many are eager to see the car replace the current North American Focus that debuted here in 2008, and are particularly interested in the sporty ST model. Ford has just released this video showing the car driving in the wild. There isn't a whole lot of action going on, but hey we'll take what we can get. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR0Xkr11LpI&feature=player_embedded

Lotus has been keeping busy this year, it seems.  I can't remember the last time a single manufacturer rolled out so many distinct concept cars, much less a small manufacturer like Lotus.  But so far at the Paris show we've seen a bucket full of new Lotuses that will fit into the whole "chasing Porsche" theme.  The range-topping V8 mid-engine Esprit, supercharged V6 mid-engine Elan, Ferrari California-esque front-engine V8 Elite, and the "I don't quite get it" Eterne hybrid sedan.  This isn't the Lotus we know and love, but a brand has to stay afloat somehow, right? For years, the core of Lotus' business has been the lightweight mid-engine Elise and it's various (and I do mean various) derivatives.  With the current generation having been around since

The new 2011 tC was introduced at the New York International Auto Show this year, and it will be hitting showrooms October 1st. The brand is excited about the new tC, as the 2011 model is the first redesign of the tC since it hit the market in 2004. In case you haven't noticed, there is also a full-scale marketing campaign going on currently to introduce the new coupe. To promote the tC, Scion has created a new game dubbed "Take on the Machine." But it isn't just any game, it is an augmented reality game - and it is quite entertaining. Using simply your web browser and web cam (keyboard operation is available as well), you can steer your Scion TC through a variety of urban obstacles. All you

There is a first time for everything right? This one didn't take long. Photos of exotic supercar carnage are awful to see, and one driver Wroclaw, Poland has made a us cringe first. Thankfully, it isn't a severe crash that endangered the driver. Of course, car crash extrordainaire website Wrecked Exotics is the site with the photos. There isn't any details about the crash yet - like when it happened. Wrecked Exotics says that once details are known, they they will be awarding a $500 price to a winner of a contest they launched last August. As part of the contest, entrants had to guess the date of the very first 458 Italia. The one closest to the date of this crash will get the prize. Head over there