Car Throttle

One of the things I'm trying to do in an effort to bring more interesting content to you, the reader, is cover more local items. There are plenty of places you can read a rehash of the latest press releases, but here at CarThrottle we strive to bring you coverage and features you won't find anywhere else.  So to get the ball rolling on this, I introduce our new "Shop Tours" series, where I'll be traveling around the eastern seaboard of the US, highlighting the best and brightest of performance and modification shops our country has to offer.  First up is 3SX performance in Concord, North Carolina. If you're familiar with the world of Mitsubishi performance, chances are you've heard of 3SX before.  They are the

Enthusiasts of smokey burnouts, rejoice: your chariot has returned. Yes indeed, the SRT-8 Charger is back, and it's badder than ever.  Dodge chose the Chicago auto show to reveal the latest SRT-fettled thunder chariot, and it looks like a whole pile of whoop-ass on paper. Gone is the old 6.1L pushrod V8.  One of the (rather odd, considering it's huge displacement) downsides of the previous engine was it's relative lack of torque and high torque peak.  The new engine, the 6.4L we first saw in the Challanger SRT-8 392, has been put to use in the recently-updated Charger.  Here, it puts out 465 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque - a gain of 40 horsepower and 35 lb-ft of torque over the old 6.1L engine.  With

Chrysler's 2011 models are being rolled out, to generally very positive reviews. One thing is clear is that the company really stepped up its game in refinement and design. But what about other key areas, like safety? They have been improved as well. New testing results for the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger have been released, and they have scored "Top Safety Picks." This is a huge improvement over the previous models, which when equipped with side impact airbags, garnered the second-lowest rating available. The cars were tested under more stringent test standards than the federal government - these tests require a car to withstand 5.37 times its weight. This is in the interest of rollover protection. The two LX cars aced these tests.

This is a continuation of The Brief History of The Muscle Truck. If I've kept your attention this long, hold onto your seat: it's about to get faster. At the same time the big-block Chevy 454SS was being developed, in another division of GM, engineers were cooking up a performance truck with an entirely different recipe, a truck that lives on in legends and myths today: the GMC Syclone.  First, a minor point: yes, Syclone is spelled wrong.  Mercury (remember them?) held the trademark for the Cyclone name, and Ford wasn't about to give it up to their rival.  The Syclone was a remarkable vehicle in many ways, but mostly for it's ability to leave a stoplight like someone had strapped

Muscle trucks are one of life's gloriously pointless indulgences. They make absolutely no sense in any traditional regard.  If you wanted functionality and utility, you'd get a pickup truck.  If you wanted to drag race off stop lights and burn rubber like it was going out of style, you'd get a muscle car.  Why would you want both in the same vehicle if it would seemingly do neither task very well? Well, because it's a ton of fun, that's why.  It's a distinctly American product, a huge engine stuffed somewhere it really doesn't belong, the only benefit being the smile it puts on your face when you stomp the gas pedal.  Sure, some of these trucks would manage single-digit fuel consumption if you enjoyed the loud pedal

I was having a deep, intellectual discussion with my friend Jon yesterday. We were talking about turbos.  This is not uncommon for us; exhaust-driven air compressors are a form of religion around here.  We were discussing what the proper number of turbos for an engine should be.  I suggested two; he said either one or four.  Then the question arose: has there ever been a car with three? "Good question," I said.  "I really don't know."  A little research turned up a most interesting result.  Of course it would come from the world of diesel truck tuning, where injecting propane into an engine is not only normal, but encouraged.  A company called Bullseye Performance has a triple-turbo kit for the 5.9L Cummins 24v Turbodiesel I6 that is

Hard to believe, but the outlandishly styled Dodge Charger has been with us since late 2005. It's been one of a few bright spots in Chrysler's lineup in the past few years, posting good sales numbers every year.  Why?  Simple - it's a large, rear-wheel-drive traditional sedan with a choice of either sensible (2.7L, 3.5L V6) or proper engines (5.7L, 6.1L Hemi V8's).  It's popular with midlife crisis middle class white people because it looks like a thugged-out gangster mobile.  It's popular with recreational pharmacists for the same reason.  It's also popular with law enforcement because, with a 5.7L Hemi, it can catch those recreational pharmacists.  Sure, the headroom in the back's a little tight, the trunk's a little small, and the interior quality is nothing

What, exactly, is a muscle car? Mustang, Camaro, Corvette, and Charger fans will tell you it's simple: "A big V8.  No, make that a huge V8."  Well, they're wrong, and the Buick Grand National with it's 231ci V6 that just blew their doors off begs to differ.  Sure, a muscle car CAN have a V8.  But that's just one means to an end.  The true definition of a muscle car goes like this: "Shove the biggest, baddest motor you can into the smallest car you make."  Hell, that's what Pontiac did to make the GTO: they took a mid-sized Tempest and stuffed it with a 389ci V8 with a whole ton of carbs.  It's the whole car to engine size ratio. So I respectfully offer the

While cross-town rivals General Motors and Ford have introduced a slew of new products, Chrysler and its brands have been left pretty much with their current lineups. Remarkably, the financial situation for the automaker has begun to turn around even without a new lineup. This is surprising given the industry consensus of Chrysler being so weak. Help is on the way though, in the form of new product. The new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and the redesigned Dodge Durango are all-new vehicles. Both are based on the same platform. After teasing us for a while, Dodge has released a whole bunch of new images showing the exterior of the big crossover. In comparison with the current Durango - well, there is no comparison. The new Durango is a vast

The coachbuilding and aftermarket has opened up a lot of opportunities for people who want different vehicles. Chevrolet created a ripe clientele for the aftermarket with the Camaro. It was created for both aftermarket accessories for Camaro fans, and also body kits for Pontiac purists who really wanted a new Firebird. The same hasn't really happened with the Challenger, whose design is far more retro in nature than the Camaro's. However, there is fans of the Daytona/Superbird out there - and if you're one of them, HFP has a package for you. The Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird were created for NASCAR homologation in the heyday of the muscle car era. Today, original examples are extremely valuable. HPP realizes that, and sees a market for lookalikes. Their job was