Car Throttle

BMW disappoint me. Sure they build fabulous performance cars like the BMW 1-Series M Coupe, the M3, the M5, and the to-be-built 552bhp BMW M6. But that's about it really. No gull-winged, bi-spoilered, extra wide arched, super-low supercars. This irks me as BMW are now, in my opinion, either too profit-oriented, politically correct, socially conscious or environmentally friendly for their own good. In a recent interview, BMW North America's Product Manager stated that the German brand doesn't feel the need to make a supercar and that they like to build practical cars that are drivers' cars and executive cars that one can use everyday. This thought is further cemented by the statement made by Albert Biermann, BMW M’s development chief who told Autocar last year that

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.

If you're a car guy, chances are you're a fan of the Mercedes-Benz SL.  Benz's top of the line sports car has been with us since the 50's, providing top-down joy to well-endowed bankers, dentists, and stock brokers everywhere.  The formula has always remained basically the same:  big engine up front, two seats and a drop top in the middle, driven wheels at the back.  People continue to buy them, despite the fact that Mercedes replaces the SL about as frequently as the Vatican replaces the Pope. Seriously!

• Generation 1 (W121 190SL/W198 300SL): 1954-1963 (9 years)
• Generation 2 (W113 SL): 1963-1971 (8 years)
• Generation 3 (R107 SL): 1972-1989 (17 years)
• Generation 4 (R129 SL): 1989-2002 (13 years)
• Generation 5 (R230 SL): 2003-2011 (8 years)

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

I'm back in North Carolina now, where you can swing a dead cat without hitting a Bentley.  On one hand, it sucks.  I like seeing exotics constantly.  On the other, it's nice that exotics remain exotic. I walked around LA the whole time with my camera around my neck for you guys - so I'll continue now with day two and three of car spotting in LA.  Hope you enjoy it! Classic cars, especially older Japanese cars, seem to have a much longer shelf life in California's relatively mild, dry climate.  This 240Z would have a lot more rust bubbles over here in North Carolina.  I could do without the period window louvers, but YMMV. You could do worse for your commute than driving an

Well, not quite. Though you could forgive the world's environmentalists for weeping into their wheatgrass juice over Mercedes' latest member of the AMG family. The new ML Class has had the skunkworks makeover, gaining the 5.5l biturbo V8 already seeing duty in the CLS AMG and updated E63 AMG. As ever, the badging is a nonsense. The boot says '63', but this isn't a 6.3 litre, nor the normally aspirated 6.2 V8 of yore seen in the C63 and SLS. The all-new blown engine not only performs better in the all-important EU emissions test, but twists out 516 lb/ft of torque and 518bhp. That's Audi R8 V10 shaming muscle in a luxury SUV that's not even the full-fat version; adding the AMG Performance Pack opens the

One minute of pure sound. That is the title of this new video of the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe, and it lives up to that. Aural feedback from a properly tuned engine is one of the joys of driving. Few don't enjoy the race car screams of a Ferrari or the burble of a muscle car, even not all want those sounds in the vehicles they drive everyday. The C63 AMG coupe is a jewel in an era where many manufacturers are turning to smaller-displacement turbocharged. Not that we have anything against those (we don't), but it is nice to see some naturally-aspirated big V-8's out there still. Mercedes plopped a naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter V-8 into its smallest coupe to turn it into the C63 AMG.

Inside the AMG Performance Studio in Southern Germany, there are a team of specialists that make the already insane AMG cars into most hardcore and fastest Mercedes they can be. So far there have been Black Series editions of the CLK, SLK, SL and C Class coupe. Now there's going to be a fifth member of the family, the SLS. This is it here on test at the Nurburgring. Back in 2009, AMG engine boss Friedrich Eichler said the engine in the usual SLS had 'a good deal more to come' and Mercedes revealed that the power plant in the Black Series edition is likely to produce 600bhp and 500lb ft of torque, maybe more. The 6.2L naturally aspirated V8 fitted in the everyday SLS produces 563bhp

Where to start with Mercedes-Benz at Frankfurt? Not only did they have a monstrously sized 3 storey building parked in the centre of Frankfurt Exhibition Centre, but they showed the world's press every single one of their vehicles and concepts galore. The first which we laid eyes upon was the C63 AMG Black Series, a magnificent looking car again in the eye-catching red candy paintjob. This car is the mean two-door racer variant of the already powerful C63 and is powered by a 6.2-litre V8 engine which cranks out 510bhp and 457 lb-ft of torque. With parts derived from the SLS AMG including forged pistons, connecting rods and a lightweight crankshaft the car is a meant for the track and channels power to the rear wheels

Do you like thundering great V8's in small cars?  Well, Mercedes-Benz AMG will have two new choices for you in 2012.  We've already seen some pictures of the C63 AMG Black Series Coupe, the latest in the line of more-than-normal AMG's, but Benz finally released press photos and some more specific details on this track-ready musclecar today. As mentioned previously, the C63 AMG Black will pack more power and (a little) less weight.  The 6.2L 32v "M156" V8 is treated to some of the same upgrades used on the SLS AMG Gullwing supercar, to reduce internal friction, rotational mass, and heat build-up.  Internally, the Black receives forged pistons and heavy-duty forged connecting rods, as well as a balanced and lightened crankshaft from Benz's halo