Car Throttle

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

Mercedes-Benz is one of the pioneers in forming the car-like luxury crossover segment. The original M-Class first launched in 1997 as a 1998 model and it became a spectacular success for Mercedes. For 2012, the car is entering its third-generation and it refines the formula more than ever before. The new M-Class is longer, lower and wider and is quite attractive in the styling department. Its proportions are different from the more upright look of the the previous car. Over its three generations the M-Class has become steadily less SUV-like in appearance. The 2012 model also addresses one of the biggest complaints about the last generation: the interior. It has been replaced with a beautiful, high-quality design that appears to be one of the best

Black Series - AMG speak for "wickeder than normal." And considering most AMG Benz's have a copious dose of wicked in the first place, anything with the Black Series label is usually a bit nutty.  There was the lightweight, tail-happy CLK63 Black, and the 661bhp SL65 Black, so what's next for Benz's top label? Turns out it's a C-class Coupe.  The Coupe is a recent addition to the C-class lineup, and it takes the lower end of the market that the CLK used to inhabit - the other end being occupied by the (also-new) E-Class Coupe.  In addition to the C250 (Turbo 4) and C350 (V6) as well as the "normal" C63 AMG Coupe, pictures surfaced recently of AMG's next "Black" project - a lightened, widebody,

Ahahaha, oh my. An "entry level" supercar - right, that makes sense.  It used to be there were sports cars that normal people could afford (Mustang, Corvette, Porsche 944, etc), and Supercars that only oil barons and filthy rich Enron executives could afford (F512M, Countach, Cizeta Moroder, EB110.)  As the industry moves along, though, we've actually developed upper and lower echelons of the supercar.  It's funny to think of something costing nearly a quarter-million dollars as being "entry level," but despite all the insanity of the Ferrari 458 Italia, it's not the craziest thing they make. There didn't used to be a lot of choice here, either - you could pretty much get an F355 or an Esprit, and a few others have crept in here

Continuing along with the rest of the new stuff at NYIAS this year, welcome to Part 2 of our "best of the rest" coverage, a sort of all-at-once splurt of information to keep you up to date on the latest developments, without boring you to death with new paint colors for the Kia Optima.  Here we go. 2012 Subaru Impreza Sedan/Hatchback Subaru has finally come to their senses with the Impreza.  While it's always been a relatively fun-to-drive car even in non-turbocharged form, it hasn't really experienced great sales in the economy-car market compared to more conventional rivals.  The biggest reason would be the big-car fuel economy in a small, unrefined package.  The current Impreza 2.5i makes a fairly impressive 173bhp from it's single-cam 2.5L horizontally