Car Throttle

The Chicago auto show is upon is, which means... well, some facelifts, some new models, but not huge news like Detroit or Geneva.  Still, new stuff!   Inside: Two new Acuras, perhaps the world's most powerful 4-seat production convertible, minor facelifts for a Datsun, a big ol' GMC, and a sweet new Kia they need to make pronto.  Oh, and some bad news on Fisker. Acura officially debuted two new production cars - the ILX (pictured above) and the new RDX.  The ILX takes over for both the Canadian-market CSX sedan (Civic based), and will replace the US-market TSX sedan (Euro Accord-based) as Acura's entry-level model.  Why don't they call it the Integra?  Dunno.  Power comes from three sources.  The base model has a 2.0L I4

Cars and Coffee is always an opportunity to see both the newest, coolest stuff (the first Nissan Leaf I saw was at Cars & Coffee) and some old classic iron as well.  It seems like each month there's a "star," a car that people crowd around to get their first good glimpse of.  Guess what it was this month? If you guessed it was the Fisker Karma, you'd be correct.  There was a crowd around the Finnish-built extended-range electric vehicle like flies around a pile of rotten fruit.  Errr, bad metaphor.  And if that looks like a GM LNF (which I really need to stop writing about), that's because it is.  This is the first Karma I've seen in the flesh, and the overall impression

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

Welcome back to News Bites, Car Throttle's one-stop-shop for the this-and-that of all that's auto news.  What's on the plate for today?  Track times, the President's old whip, Volvos, wrecking Datsuns, and some other fun stuff. Car and Driver is one of the few automotive print publications people still like, because they still produce some unique content.  Best example: the annual Lightning Lap challenge.  They take road-going cars, divided up into classes by price, for hot laps around Virginia International Raceway - street tires, pump gas, license plates and full interiors, to see what's fastest.  This year they didn't run any LL5 cars ($250,000+) or LLU (non-street-legal, like the Ariel Atom and KTM X-Box), but they did add a new class: LLT, for trucks.  There's a

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

Every car lover's calender starts with a new batch of machines on show in Motor City. I'm talking, of course, about the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The city is famous for being the beating heart of the American motor industry and at the start of every year all the world's manufacturers congregate and show off their new products to see what our stateside friends think of their latest offerings. Here's a half-time round-up of the motors on show for 2012 from each stand from the day so far. Bentley Two new Continentals broke free from the covers at the Bentley stand; the V8 coupe and V8 GTC Cabriolet. Little differences to tell these from the bigger W12 on the outside include a gloss black

The year 2012 is now upon us, which may mean a few things.  One is that we've only got 350-odd days before the Mayan's prediction of the apocalypse comes true and we all die.  (I'm not betting on it!)  The other thing it does mean is the Detroit Auto Show is just around the corner- just a few days, in fact.  So I've awoken from my Christmas/New Years slumber to share the news. This little trucklet is the new Ford EcoSport, debuting at the New Delhi Auto Expo.  Based on the Fiesta, this miniature soft-roader is the second generation of the EcoSport, which was previously only sold in Brazil.  This new one should be more widely available, with production in Brazil and India, as part of

I went to a junkyard yesterday in search of a few parts for my '97 3-series.  By this point, E36's are starting to pop up in junk yards with mechanical maladies or wreck damage, and the absolute cheapest way to get good parts is from a junk yard.  Sure, it's more of a hassle than finding the bit you need on eBay and clicking "buy it now" - you have to drive to the yard, pay a fee to get in, and find the kind of car you're looking for.  If it's got the part you want, most of the time you've gotta take it off yourself - unless it's already loose.

Turns out the only E36 there was a

In order to keep you, our reader, more abreast with current news without taking up an inordinate amount of your time, I'm introducing this column - "News Bites."  One paragraph and picture per topic of today's automotive news.  One article.  If we were a paper publication, we'd say we were going green.  Let us know what you think! Fiat has dropped a load of new photos of the 3rd-generation Panda supermini today.  This pint-sized product (which I still believe Fiat should be selling in the US pitched against the Fit, etc) debuted at the Frankfurt show in September, and is going on sale next year.  Engines are all tiny, ranging from an 800cc TwinAir 2cyl up to a 1.3L diesel.  Full high-res gallery here.

Right across the street from Charles Agapiou Bentley/Rolls Royce on Santa Monica Blvd is the kind of dealership you could just stand and drool in for a while.  Heritage Classics is exactly what it says on the label: a purveyor of high-end desirable classics parked wall to wall.  Unlike a lot of classic dealers, this one didn't seem to specialize in one marque or even genre: there was everything from a classic Porsche 356 to a Cadillac Eldorado.  But what lured me in the door first was this... A Ferrari 330GTC, what I think is probably the prettiest front-engine V12 Ferrari ever made.  Styling by Pininfarina, a 4.0L Colombo V12 breathing through six carbs up front, a five-speed, two seats and independent suspension.  The