Car Throttle

The world's filled with boring, mundane, unremarkable automobiles. For every SVO Mustang, there are 10,000 Camry LE's.  For every Alfa Romeo Guilia Super sedan, there are an untold bazillion Honda Fits.  That's just how it is: mainstream sells.  As it turns out, very few people actually want the diesel, all wheel drive, manual-transmission station wagon that internet car enthusiasts say would sell like hotcakes. Sometimes, though, some of the most interesting cars out there are born out of some of the most dishwater-dull transportation appliances.  Here's my top ten - as always, feel free to leave a comment telling me what I left out at the bottom!  On we go. 10) Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 Mitsubishi's Galant sedan is... hold on, let me go to Wikipedia, I can't

I find that, for the most part, cars pretty much sound like what they look like. A Dodge Challenger has that offbeat, staccato dull roar of a huge high-compression V8.  A Honda CRX usually sounds like a weedwhacker on methamphetamines.  A Chrysler Minivan usually sounds like an iron lung patient struggling to jog.  A Ferrari sounds like an angel playing the high notes on a trumpet, yadda yadda etcetera.  It's true there's something of a "pecking order" when it comes to exhaust sound, and everyone loves an interloper.  Here's my top ten incongruous car exhaust notes - in other words, cars that if they pass by at wide open throttle, might confuse you into thinking it's something else entirely. 10) Oldsmobile Aurora Well, yes.  On the outside,

The 1970 was the beginning of the end as far as Detroit based Muscle Cars. With the ever increasing Insurance Rates for "Big Block" Muscle, and the pending government regulations regarding emissions, bumper, and roll over standards, the car companies were spending millions trying to comply, while still trying to sell "performance". Horsepower ratings were being adjusted to take advantage of unleaded gasoline, the first electronic engine management computers were just coming on line, and the era of fire breathing muscle was coming to a close. However, while the cars didn't have the out and out acceleration numbers they once had, they were now able to handle better, brake better, and become safer than ever. Welcome to the new Muscle Car, 70's style. The Oldsmobile Cutlass

The 1960's is regarded as the peak of the performance and muscle car era. It is often referred as the time in which the horsepower wars were raging between General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. It was a time in which GM introduced the formula that defined the modern Muscle Car, to take the lightest car available, and stuff as much engine into it as possible. General Motors Pontiac Division is often given the credit for making the "first" muscle car, the G-T-O. However, performance was available even before this iconic car ever came into being. And, performance was still available in the full sized cars of the day. So take a look at these often misunderstood performance cars from the 1960's. The 1963 - 1965 Buick

Welcome to the Car Throttle Parting Shot, where we take a look at a production vehicle that has been recently discontinued, and ask "Was it really that bad?". Introduced in the Spring of 2001 as a 2002 model, General Motors introduced a totally brand new mid sized Sport Utility Vehicle, with a brand new inline six cylinder engine. But remember, this is the General Motors of the new millennium, so not only was there a Chevrolet version, but soon, there was one for GMC, Oldsmobile, Buick, Isuzu, and even one with a Saab badge. Why was there 6 different versions of what was essentially the same vehicle? Let's take a parting shot at the Chevrolet Trailblazer (and it's 5 little clones!). Since its 2002 introduction, the