Car Throttle

I'll be honest, my original interest in the Kia Optima SX 2.0T was the engine.  Plain and simple, I was curious about it.  They're claiming some stuff that to me seems impossible, and I wanted to plant my foot to the carpet in one and see if they were phoning it in, or if it was the real deal.  Turns out there's more to the Optima SX 2.0T than just a cool engine.  I was, if not shocked, then at least pleasantly surprised by this car on a lot of levels.  Read on to find out why. The Optima is not a new model; it's been around in the US since 2000.  Until it's most recent redesign last year, it never entered the conscious of people

Hyundai's Genesis Coupe took everyone by surprise when it came out in 2009.  A brand previously known for building cheap, boring transportation appliances had given us a shapely rear-wheel-drive sports coupe with great weight balance, and a choice of two engines: a tuner-friendly 2.0L Turbo base model, and a 3.8L V6, both available with 6 speed manual or automatic transmissions. In doing so, they pitched the GenCoupe directly against established musclecars like the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger - as well as against some import sports coupes like the Eclipse, Infiniti G35/G37, Nissan 350/370Z, and the BMW 1-Series.  It's a tough crowd.  And while the Genesis still shines as a driver's car, it doesn't shine as brightly in comparison any more.  Almost all it's competitors have gained

So my big question is this: what do we call it?  The original VW (in the '30's) was eventually called the Beetle.  The one that came out in 1998 based on the MkIV Golf was the New Beetle.  So wouldn't this be the New (New) Beetle?  And here you get to a simplified version of the problem VW faced with the really new Beetle: how do you update a car that's retro in the first place? While Ford's answer with the Mustang is basically "new grille and tail lights," Volkswagen has reimagined the entire Beetle - so even though it's remarkably similar looking on the outside (you won't mistake it for anything else), it takes about 10 feet behind the wheel of a 2012 to tell

Eos, for those not well-versed in Greek mythology, was their culture's goddess of the dawn. So it's not some made-up corporate-speak name like "Integra," even if the average recognition level with Americans hovers close to 0%.  Sadly, America's recognition of the Volkswagen Eos in general has been hovering near 0% since it first debuted here way back in 2006; on sale for four years now, you still only occasionally see Eos convertibles on the road today. Why has this car enjoyed such minimal market success here where other VW convertibles have succeeded so greatly (Cabrio, Beetle Cabrio)?  Perhaps it's important to examine what the Eos is and what the Eos is not. The Eos is: Clever. The Eos isn't the first car to have a folding, retractable metal

Let's face it, most family sedans are pretty darn boring. I would know, I have one.  They are comfortable, well put together, efficient, spacious, economical, and about as fun as calculus.  Bleh.  Enthusiasts with the means generally steer clear of them like a nasty case of SARS.  This category includes cars like the Camry, Altima, Sonata (arguable), Accord, Malibu, and other biegemobiles that give me narcolepsy.  It's entirely seperate from sports sedans, which generally have hefty pricetags, suck down copious quantities of 93 octane, cost more to insure than a house on the coastline, and go through rubber faster than a rock band's lead singer. Think BMW 335i, Cadillac CTS 3.6DI, Acura TL SH-AWD, Audi S4, or Chrysler 300C. So suppose you have the need and

Excuse me for being excited, but it's been a while. And by a while, I mean 12 years.  And by "it" I mean the introduction of a new 9-5.  We've heard a lot about the car that is to save Saab (if anything will) here on CarThrottle, but Saab has finally put out it's official set of press releases for the new 9-5 and now we've got all the little details to share with you.  On paper at least it looks extremely promising in a lot of regards, but the proof's in the pudding...  or at least behind the wheel.  Still, get 'em while they're hot: new Saab 9-5 specifications! As you probably know, the new 9-5 sits on the Epsilon II chassis shared with the Opel

Not to sound like a broken record, but some of the cars for sale in Europe that we as Americans don't get a chance at is mildly sickening. Now there's one more to add to the list: the piping-hot Volkswagen Scirocco R. The Scirocco R debuted at the 24 hours of Nurburgring today (rather than at Worthersee, where it was expected).  The Scirocco R the high performance variant of the Golf-based Coupe, using bits and pieces from the corporate parts bin to put together one exciting overall package. The engine comes courtesy of the Audi TT-S and S3, an updated and uprated version of the 2.0L direct injection turbo 4 that VW uses for everything.  The main difference is the change from a Borg-Warner K03 to a