Car Throttle

The US car market is waking up from it's slumber.  Finally.  Cars are making a resurgence as people realize they don't need that giant SUV/pickup truck in today's economic conditions.  This means that makers are pouring more money into developing cars in an increasingly competitive market, and that's great news.  The two biggest domestic manufacturers are releasing brand-spanking-new versions of their bread-and-butter midsize sedans: the Chevrolet Malibu and now, the Ford Fusion.  Judging by pictures, specs, and a variety of other things: Ford has knocked the ball so far out of park that GM didn't see which way it went.  What?  Why?  Follow along and find out - and also why you should care. The 2013 Fusion is new from the sidewalls to the

Auto Shows these days are a mix of really exciting debuts, and a lot of updates. Some of these updated models are interesting, but not really worth an entire article to themselves.  I've saved you the time of clicking a thousand links to consolidate the rest of the significant debuts at the NYIAS (New York International Auto Show) this year. Revised Jaguar XK and XF Models There's nothing really wrong with the XK and XF models, which are some of Jag's most competitive models to date.  But the breakneck pace of the market dictates that if it's been out three years, it's already looking old.  Enter the new XF (left) and the new XK (right.)  The revised styling on the XF is intended to mimic Jag's

Technology is awesome.  I mean, you knew that. High technology has long been one of the selling points of the most exotic sports cars and sedans.  Things like night vision, laser guided cruise control, rain sensing wipers - stuff that would have been considered science fiction back in the 60's is reliable reality today.  But what's more awesome than high technology for the upper echelon of society?  High technology for everyone when it trickles down. Ford announced the  engine lineup for the 2011 F-150 quarter-ton pickup truck yesterday.  Now, normally, we don't give much of a rat's posterior about pickups here at CarThrottle - due to the ox-cart suspension, center of gravity comparable to a Zamboni, slow pushrod motors and a shortage of gears, and the

The American buying public moves in fads - in the 1970s it was wagons, minivans were the child of the 1980s and SUVs took off in the 90s into the 21st century. Now, the traditional SUV is dying off in favour of the crossover, vehicles that aim to blend the attributes of a car and SUV. Regardless of all the fuel spikes and supposed shifts in customer buying habits, America still likes its vehicles big, with a lot of space and power. Ford is happy to oblige with the three-row Flex, sitting a three-row "crossover" at the top of Ford's range. Is it the ultimate family vehicle? Car Throttle spent some time with the Flex to find out. To our eyes the Flex looks quite unlike anything else

These days one of the fastest-growing market segments are Premium Subcompacts. Manufacturers (and customers) are finally realizing that a car doesn't have to be gigantic to be luxurious or at the very least interesting, and that's nothing but good news for us.  Audi's recently debuted A1 Supermini takes all the traditional characteristics of the brand and reduces them to 6/10th's size, in a small and efficient package - but still crammed with technology, luxury, and clever design. It looks like Ford wants to get in on the game too, and this concept car - the Start, which debuted today at the Beijing Auto Show - is definitely a great start.  Sitting below the Fiesta size-wise, the Start still is packed with interesting stylistic and technical details.  Seeing

Lately, Ford has been on a roll. The new Taurus is gorgeous, the upcoming Focus and Fiesta seem like best-in-class products, the 2011 Mustang lineup kicks ass and takes names, and even the unloved Edge crossover is getting some well-deserved attention for the 2011 model year. Most obvious is the visual restyling of the mid-sized crossover SUV.  Ford's new corporate looks is massively attractive to me, and this reskin has turned what was a lumpy, uninteresting CUV into a rather attractive proposition.  The whole front end is redone to be sharper and more aggressive, with neatly sculpted headlights and a massive chrome "Gillette Mach 3" grille.  (What else are you going to call it?)  The back end is largely unchanged save for some new taillights, but

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

These days, the consumer in the sports sedan market is spoiled for choice. There's pretty much always been the 3-series BMW (and before it the 2002 and the 1600), and there's always been a comparable Audi and Mercedes (at least since the 190E appeared on the scene in the mid eighties), but the field has never been as diverse as it is now. Take, for example, these two seemingly unrelated sedans: the 2009 Infiniti G37 6MT sedan, and the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO EcoBoost.  On paper,  about all they have in common are four wheels with pneumatic tires and a sticker price hovering somewhere around $36,000.  Experiencing both back-to-back just proved exactly how different of a sports sedan your $35k and change will get you these days. This

We're pretty big fans of the Ford EcoBoost V6 here at CarThrottle. In fact, the twin-turbocharged direct injection V6 found under the hoods of the Ford Taurus SHO and Flex, as well as the Lincoln MKS and MKT, haunts my dreams with the promise of huge torque output at low rpms, clean emissions, tons of power in the mid-range where it's needed, and what seems like the potential for unlimited aftermarket support.  If you've been reading this site, you probably have noticed my strong desire for one of the new SHO's, and it's mainly because of how awesome this motor is. The really good news?  EcoBoost isn't a one-time thing for Ford, but rather a design philosophy.  They announced a 2.0L four-cylinder EcoBoost motor back in July

A bit of good performance news for Ford fans!  Maybe the Pony Car wars still have life left in them yet. You would have thought that these programs would be cancelled or at least put on hold like GM's elusive "Zeta" RWD platform program, but Ford is continuing on. They're smart in recognizing that there will always be a market for such products. Ford is using foresight and that is why it is in the better position that it is today in comparison with it's domestic (and indeed foreign!) competition. Ford Mustang mules were spotted in January with a new engine under the hood. No official word from Ford was out to alert anyone of a new engine. But just recently in an interview with Australia's Drive Ford development director Russell Christophers revealed the existence of