Car Throttle

Small Peugeots have always been popular in the UK. Not only are they very affordable but the 206 and 207 were very stylish compared to other superminis at the time and in the 1990s the 205 GTI was one of the most fun hot hatches of it's time. Now though with very stylish and nimble rivals such as the Ford Fiesta among us it was time for the 207 to sign up for a gym membership. After spending some time working out, the result is the new 208. Weight wise it has lost 173kg meaning that the 208 promises to be more agile and efficient and it's more aerodynamic and compact with 7cm off the length and 1cm off the height. Even though it's smaller

Ford is finally bringing their forbidden-fruit ST lineup to the United States.  We'll be receiving the 247-horsepower Focus ST next year, with it's trick direct-injection motor, low suspension, and bespoke bodywork.  Chances are good that we'll get a crack at it's baby brother, the Fiesta ST - which Ford is showing a "concept" 5-door version of at LA this month.

They showed a three-door concept at the Frankfurt Show in September, which our man Adnan covered live.  For those in the US, it wasn't much of a story: we don't get the three-door Fiesta here (just the 5-door and the oddly shaped sedan), so it's unlikely we'd get the three-door ST.  The five door is a pretty solid bet, though.

Here's Part II of the SEMA Preview coverage.  Alternative title: Turbos, widebodies, big brakes and roll bars, oh my!  In the previous post I covered GM, Mopar, Mazda, and Hyundai.  Now we're moving on to Toyota.

Toyota, Lexus, and Scion have always had a strong presence at SEMA. This year will be no different, with all three divisions bringing concept cars in a futile attempt to convince us the brand is still interesting. Toyota's "big announcement" was the introduction of the F-Sport package for the new-generation Lexus GS350 sedan, which makes the car better looking (negotiable) but not any faster. The exterior gets 19" alloy wheels with 235/40/19 tires (RWD F-sports get 265/35/19 rears, AWD's are square), a more aggressive front

The state of the small car here in the US market has been, let's be honest, pretty pathetic for the last few years. It's probably because until recently, America was about as interested in tiny cars as they were in colonscopies.  Gas was cheap, insurance was cheap, financing was cheap - why not get a big sedan? But with gas rising towards $4.00/gallon as we speak (I think I can hear it rising now!  Listen!) Americans are realizing they can schlep their two kids and groceries around just as well in a Honda Fit as they can in, say, an Explorer.  The market has been inundated with small cars from every corner, some of them great - and some of them awful.  But we're finally getting

2010 is undoubtedly the year of eco-consciousness among automotive companies. I mean, there have been some exciting gas-guzzling debuts (hello, Audi R8 V10 Spider, 2011 Mustang GT500, and Ferrari 458 Italia!) but for the most part the focus of the industry has been on boring things, like diesels and hybrids and, god forbid, diesel-hybrids.  Still, there's a whole heap of fresh metal coming out this year, and there's quite a bit to be excited about.  What upcoming cars are you the most stoked to get your greasy little paws on in 2010? For me, it's a pretty long list.  And atop it is Honda's polarizing CR-Z.  While "Hybrid" and "Sports Coupe" seem to go together like peanut butter and salmon, it's an intriguing concept to me

Tiny economy cars are, by nature, not all that exciting. The challenge is creating one that's both good at being a cheap economy car, as well as being a car people actually want to own.  Whether it's related to how expensive gas has gotten lately, or the fact that it's just an attractive car, it would seem Ford already has a home run with the Fiesta even though it hasn't hit dealers yet based on the press hype around the car. The new Fiesta has been on sale in Europe for about a year now, and has been flying off lots like it had wings and was free.  Ford is using the Los Angeles motor show to debut their sub-Focus entrant for the US market, and it's

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