Car Throttle

One topic that automotive enthusiasts can never seem to agree on is: what is the best-sounding car? I realize it's a HIGHLY subjective field, and there isn't a possible definitive answer.  Everyone has different tastes in what sounds good - heck, some people think Harley V-Twin's sound good - but I've compiled my top ten favorite automotive noises here for you to pass your judgement on.  I think they cover a wide spread, but I welcome your comments and critiques on my choices.

10) Subaru EJ20ET Displacement: 2.0L Mechanical Layout: 180° Horizontally-opposed Flat Four Valvetrain: Dual overhead cam, 4v/cyl Aspiration: Turbocharged Applications: Subaru WRX

The EJ20 is one of the most unique sounding powerplants out there.  It's got this off-beat staccato burble

Sometimes when there's nothing else to do, the best thing to do is get in the car and drive. So yesterday, myself and a group of car buddies went and did just that... Step one, meet up at a local burger joint and talk smack for a while: On the left is Patrick's Audi TT 1.8T Quattro with modifications, to the right is John's Nissan (S14) 240SX with a Skyline GT-T motor swap (for real!), and on the right is Brandon's Volkswagen GTI VR6.  Not pictured: my Saab. Here we are departing town, headed out to where the nice roads are.  And look!  The Saab hasn't even broken down yet! Another shot from inside John's car of us getting into traffic on I-98.  The weather was just

These days, the 1980's have something of a bad reputation. There was Rick Astley,MC Hammer pants, Metallica (personal opinion here!), a minor recession, massive inflation, and a general air of bad taste was prevalent.  However, you have to give the 1980's it's fair share of credit.  Cars were quite bad in the 1970's; by the 1990's the automotive world was well on it's way to the glorious state it's in now.  Cars of the 70's were awful almost entirely without exception; they were inefficient, unattractive, poorly performing, poorly built, crippled by emissions regulations, and filled with tacky tasteless features. The 1980's bridged that gap between then general feeling of Malaise in the 70's, and the revival of the automobile as we know it.  It was a

VW's 3rd-generation Golf GTi wasn't an absolute hit with fans of the original hot hatch when it was new, but thankfully as time goes by the appreciation for these cars has grown in the VW community to an impressive level, where today we're seeing really classy MKIII's on a regular basis.  Today's picture comes from NCDubs.org member VDUBNLUVN, courtersy of the "favorite shot of your car" thread. I'm a big fan of the fish-eye lens effect - it works well with the industrial background, and provides a great contrast the clean lines of this slammed MkIII.  The Europlate's a nice touch, too.

Well, it a wrap for today, and I thought I'd do a recap of some of the other debuts that happened today. I was over at the Subaru display area, and their new Legacy took the stage, in three different versions. They include the 4 cylinder 2.5i available with a new CVT transmission, the 2.5GT that receives a 265HP turbocharged engine, and the 3.6R with a new, more powerful, 256HP flat six. The Legacy itself, celebrating 20 years as a nameplate, competes with the much larger mid-sized vehicles in it's class like the Camry and the Accord. While Subaru was introducing their Legacy, Volkswagen has introduced the new GTI and Golf models. The Golf will introduce a 2 liter TDI clean diesel with 140HP and

For a while there, it looked like Volkswagen was about to make a decision on when to introduce the new Scirocco to the US, though there wasn't any word from corporate yet. That all changed, as Autoblog broke the story on Monday, and it's not good news for the rabid VW enthusiast here in the States. Accordingly, Volkswagen of America's own public relations coordinator, Tom Wegehaupt, gave an on-the-record confirmation that the Scirocco is not destined for these shores. There are fears that this car will cannibalize any future sales of the new GTI, and that the US market will deteriorate further. So it looks like there isn't a suitable business case for this particular model. This seems to be a case of very

With each and every passing generation of the automobile, one thing (pretty much) remains constant: "More is more." It seems to be what we all want, and so that's what we get.  More size, more weight, more features, more safety equipment, and more power.  More more more, each and every time.  Today's Civic looks gigantic compared to the original Accord - and the Accord these days is about as big as an Impala, which is disgusting. Cars these days are huge, and for the most part have way too much power.  They're losing the plot and losing the point, losing focus and losing touch.  Sure, there's more, and sometimes more's better.  Like when there's not enough to begin with.  But the American mentality of "more is

For those craving the performance and handling of VW's legendary GTI, but wanting something a bit more sensible, VW might have just the car for you.  As long as you don't have a problem with pumping from the smelly pump, that is. It's called the Golf GTD, and it's just what you'd imagine - a GTI with a diesel engine.  Thankfully, it's a rather good diesel - VW's high-output 2.0L TDI, now with commonrail direct injection and a 16-valve head.  It compresses dead dinosaurs at an extremely high ratio to create 170bhp@4200rpm, and a  healthy peak torque of 258lb-ft (350nM) between 1,750 and 2,500rpm. This means that although the GTD is down about 40 horsepower on the GTI, it's got nearly 60 lb-ft more torque.  VW states

Caution! The following might read like an advertisement. VW has made the 2009 Golf GTI MK6 official, offering a production vehicle nearly identical to the Paris "concept". Needless to say, I like it! I'm a big fan of VW's totally cool Scirocco, and I can see a bit of influence from it in VW's latest and greatest GTI. No doubt that's what VW was aiming for. Unfortunately, the Scirocco's presence in the U.S is still up in the air; VW is rumored to be reconsidering their no decision but there hasn't been any information about in a while. Interior changes are miminal over the standard car, offering standard plaid seating with optional leather, aluminum pieces and a new, flat-bottomed steering wheel. The Golf GTI turns the dial up a