Car Throttle

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

The current Viper saga is finally coming to a close. Last year, the future of the car was in doubt as Chrysler hit financial hard times. After they attempted to sell and only received one long-shot bid from the now-defunct Devon Motor Works, many thought they would be shuttered. However, the Viper plant was actually the first Chrysler plant to resume production after the bankruptcy. It was then announced that a new model would be introduced in 2012, in cooperation with "Italian operations." The current model's production is being ended soon to preserve the value of the current run. As such, the last run of current Vipers is set to end this summer, with the 50 Final Edition models. As far as special models go, the Final Editions are pretty

Production of the Dodge Viper is set to end this year - but the car's future won't end there. Last year, Ralph Gilles, CEO of the Dodge car brand, said that production of the current Viper will end in July of this year. He said then that a run of 500 final edition Vipers will be produced before that date, and that they will be the “most special Vipers ever.” The ACR-X is one of those Vipers, a hardcore, track-only (not street legal) version of the Viper. According to Gilles, Dodge wants to end with a bang, preserve the value of the current generation car until a new vehicle (which is being developed right now, in partnership with "Italian operations") is ready in 2012. Long wait? Yes, but

Attack of the superminis! There hasn't been any shortage of introductions in the segment lately. Alfa Romeo MiTo, Ford Fiesta, Audi A1, just to name a few. Let us know what your favorites of the lot are in a CarThrottle Asks post on the subject. The Fiat 500 is one of those models, and much fanfare has been made out of its planned sale in the United States market. It is gunning for basically the only successful model in the segment in the U.S, the MINI. Twitter has a lot of uses for those interested in the automotive industry - it can add confirming a time frame for the new 500's arrival to the list. Ralph Gilles, the Chief Executive Officer of the Dodge brand

Most people see large diesel trucks as tools for accomplishing a job. What most people don't realize is that with a few choice modifications, a modern turbodiesel truck can produce an absolutely obscene amount of weapons-grade power.  I recently spent a few hours up to my elbows in a Cummins 6.7-powered Ram 3500, installing a Gale Banks Engineering Ram Air Intake, and the quality of the parts and the general insanity of the install inspired me to share some pictures and impressions with you all. This is what we're starting with: a 6.7L Cummins ISB-powered Ram 3500.  This is the latest and greatest powerplant from Cummins, who has supplied diesel engines to Dodge for decades.  This massive iron-block inline 6 makes 350 horsepower, but more importantly,

The 3000GT VR-4 is a sign of both what's right and what's terminally wrong with the automotive industry. Which is remarkable, because they haven't made one since, oh - 2000.  US imports ceased in 1999, meaning the freshest of 3000GT's are more than a decade old at this point, so the relevance of the VR-4 is questionable.  But it was quite telling. The 3000GT (marketed in Japan and other countries as the GTO, which you know wouldn't have gone over well here) was Mitsubishi's flagship halo car, a rolling testbed to show just what the company could do.  It replaced the ancient (but awesome) Starion Coupe when it debuted in 1990, and when the specifications were announced it sounded like a world-killer. Based on a shortened Diamante

Another small operation starts, only to close. With Devon Motor Works though, it isn't because the company ran out of cash. Back in the dark days of summer 2008, with Chrysler heading toward bankruptcy, Devon Motor Works made an offer for Viper while Chrysler was attempting to sell it. Being a lowball offer of only $5.5 million, Chrysler rejected. Apparently there was more to the whole thing than it first appeared. Chrysler recently announced that the current Viper will be ending production in 2010, with a new model to come in 2012. This has thrown a wrench into Devon's plans. Beyond sharing the same V10, the sharing goes deeper than that, to include the chassis and other components. Given that, all the work Devon has done to produce

Top Ten lists are a longstanding tradition with automotive journalism outlets. And why not?  People love a Top Ten list (it gives them something to argue about!), and man, they're not exactly hard to throw together.  The issue is that the vast majority of them are fluff, crap, really just a slap on the back to whichever manufacturer schmoozed that rag the most that year. ('’) Well we here at CarThrottle don't subscribe to that happy, shiny version of things.  To be honest, a large number of the cars on our roads are complete, total junk.  This has always been obvious.  The world's full of Chrysler Sebrings and Kia Amantis.  But there are even cars trying to pass as performance vehicles (which is a heavy focus