Car Throttle

Even though the recent recession fatally wounded parts of the industry and fossil fuels running dry will threaten its future, the world of cars is still very much alive and kicking. There is such a variety of new products coming out this year ranging from affordable city cars you'll actually want to own, to ridiculously expensive supercars you'll lust after, old school coupes to revolutionary family cars, petrol engines to plug-in electric motors. The list is almost endless. So to help fellow car lovers and "new kids on the block" out, here's a round-up of 33 cars we can't wait to see in 2012 in order of release date. January 2012 Kia Optima It's been available around the world for a while but the Kia Optima

News Bites for today include Dodge's hot Dart,  Audi's new diesel, teaser shots of the upcoming 2013 Dodge Viper, some good ole' fashioned intellectual property theft, an electric crossover thing, and Super Bowl advertisements from Audi and Honda.  Read on for the News Bites! Dodge's Dart subcompact was just revealed a few weeks ago, but we've already got two pieces of future speculation on where the lineup could expand.  First, Mopar will be bringing a concept Dart to the Chicago Auto Show, called the Dart GTS 210 Tribute.  It previews the two "stages" of Mopar upgrades for the new sedan.  Stage 1 will be aesthetic goodies, like the carbon fiber hood with Viper-esque scoop, and matte black side skirts, front diffuser, and other trim - along

What can you get these days for $30 grand and change?  Well, if you're a sensible sort of fellow, the kind that wears slacks and a white polo daily, you could get a really darn nice Honda Accord.  To be specific, $29,755 (plus destination fee and accessories, etc) will get you a 2012 Accord EX-L with Navigation.  It's got a 2.4L engine that makes some horsepower, leather seats, an electronic map to tell you where to go, and it will without a doubt run flawlessly with 0 issues for 10-15 years.  10-15 years of perfectly predictable, sedate, drama and fun-free motoring. Seriously!  These cars last forever.  An acquaintance of mine works as a service adviser at a Honda dealer, and they recently got a 2006 Accord

Take a bite... outta news!  I'm back again with today's News Bites, where I hand-feed you today's automotive this-and-that with a humorous spoon.  So what's news today? Cadillac's ATS has been circulating the rumor mill for a while now.  This small, rear-wheel-drive sedan is pitched directly against BMW's all-conquering 3-series and Audi's A4.  We've known a bit about it's underpinnings for a while now - it will sit on GM's new Alpha RWD chassis, which fits below the Zeta RWD chassis - G8, Camaro, CTS, etc.  GM announced what you'll find under the hood, and there's reason to get excited.  Not about the base model, which will be powered by a 2.5L I4 (likely the same one in the new Malibu, with 190bhp/180lb-ft).  No, the mid-level

I'm back in North Carolina now, where you can swing a dead cat without hitting a Bentley.  On one hand, it sucks.  I like seeing exotics constantly.  On the other, it's nice that exotics remain exotic. I walked around LA the whole time with my camera around my neck for you guys - so I'll continue now with day two and three of car spotting in LA.  Hope you enjoy it! Classic cars, especially older Japanese cars, seem to have a much longer shelf life in California's relatively mild, dry climate.  This 240Z would have a lot more rust bubbles over here in North Carolina.  I could do without the period window louvers, but YMMV. You could do worse for your commute than driving an

"Money affords exclusivity". That's a saying which pretty much rings true in life with a large wallet able to open larger doors than many would think possible. So - if money was no object - why be content driving around in a luxury vehicle or supercar that hundreds if not thousands of others like you also own? This is where Afzal Kahn steps into the fray. A British business tycoon from Bradford, this self-made mogul asked himself the same question, and then proceeded to do something about it. Enter Project Kahn who in their own words are "for the individual who will not submit to a life of uniformity and who will only accept perfection". Such individuals who have £88,875 to spare, may look toward

Aston Martin highlights from their stand in Hall 5 included the worldwide debut of the Aston Martin Zagato and refreshes of current model lineups such as the Virage, V12 Vantage and DBS Carbon Edition Coupe which was seen in a shimmering orange paintjob. The V12 Zagato is available in in two editions depending on whether you want it for racetrack use or general road use. Power comes in at 510bhp and 420lb-ft of torque thanks to a trademark Aston V12 engine unit. This is attached to a rear mid-mounted auto manual gearbox. And with those credentials, it's no wonder that the fantastically designed Zagato can do the 0-60mph sprint in 4.2 seconds. Astons have never been super rapid thanks to their heavy-weight nature, but the Zig

Right now, we wouldn't be off on saying that Aston Martin is experiencing one of the best times in its history. Its new cars have been well-received by the media and consumers alike, and it has a pretty large (if not diverse) lineup. At the same time, Aston has introduced its most expensive model ever, the One-77. The One-77 set new records for price and performance at Aston Martin. For instance, it is the most powerful naturally-aspirated engine sold. The V12 Zagato was introduced a little over a month ago at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este car show in Italy. We drooled over it and we're glad to hear that, while called a concept, it was headed for production. Time between introduction and approval didn't

I always make it out to Raleigh's Cars & Coffee event the first Saturday of every month. It's always worth it, even though I abhor waking up early, because there's always awesome stuff to see.  A lot of the same cars show up, so I won't show pictures of stuff you've already seen - for those you can check previous Cars & Coffee coverage here, here, and here. For starters, here is one of 337 Porsche 959's ever built, which was Porsche's rolling technical showcase that blew everything else out of the water in the 1980's, and set the standard for supercar performance.  None were ever imported to the US; it's likely this one has been fitted with the Canepa Design engine

Ahahaha, oh my. An "entry level" supercar - right, that makes sense.  It used to be there were sports cars that normal people could afford (Mustang, Corvette, Porsche 944, etc), and Supercars that only oil barons and filthy rich Enron executives could afford (F512M, Countach, Cizeta Moroder, EB110.)  As the industry moves along, though, we've actually developed upper and lower echelons of the supercar.  It's funny to think of something costing nearly a quarter-million dollars as being "entry level," but despite all the insanity of the Ferrari 458 Italia, it's not the craziest thing they make. There didn't used to be a lot of choice here, either - you could pretty much get an F355 or an Esprit, and a few others have crept in here