Car Throttle

It's apparently hot hatch week.  Hot on the heels of yesterday's first pictures and details of the 5-door Fiest ST comes this: the new Vauxhall Astra VXR (or Opel Astra OPC to those on the continent.)  Although the shape itself isn't a surprise (the current Astra GTC three-door has been around since 2009), the big news is what's under the hood.

The VXR is made to compete with the Focus ST, Golf R, Scirrocco R, and Megane Renaultsport in Europe, so a 2.0L Turbo gas motor is a given.  Where the previous Astra VXR was no slouch with it's 237bhp turbo motor, the new motor benefits from direct injection, which allows a higher compression ratio and more boost.  Total power rises to 280bhp and 400nm

"Oh, a Cobalt?  I think I rented one of those once.  What's the big deal?" Well, before you click on another article, let me put some numbers in front of your face:  355 horsepower and 426lb-ft torque on a stock turbocharger.  Those aren't "oh, it might be makin' this" crank output estimates - that's how much this white Cobalt SS sedan puts down at the wheels on a dyno. In the world of sport compacts, the Chevrolet Cobalt SS is an under appreciated vehicle.  Most people take one look at the pedestrian exterior - no huge hood scoops, stripes, giant blingy wheels - and immediately think "rental car."  And it's true there are a lot of Cobalt rental cars out there.  They make good rentals; they're cheap, reliable,

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

Big shoes to fill.  Very big ones.  Big, black menacing shoes to fill.  They look like this... Because any time Buick makes a high-performance car with the "Regal" nameplate attached, it has that to live up to.  It's an unfortunate comparison for Buick's new Opel Regal, but it's not necessarily a valid one.  The whole automotive world knows the Grand National was awesome - a turbocharged, tire-smoking musclecar that liked a steady diet of Corvettes and 5.0 Mustangs.  The new hot-rod Regal GS is not the drag-racing Darth Vader-mobile some of us might wish it was.  But it is a high-tech, thoroughly modern turbocharged sports sedan - it just happens to have a Buick badge. It is pretty.  The Regal is a carbon-copy of

Auto enthusiasts and members of the press often have a desire to see European models brought over to the United States. With General Motors deciding to keep Opel in the corporate stable, the Opel Insignia is being brought over as the Buick Regal. Needless to say, it has garnered a lot of attention, with questions about a sport wagon variant and a GS performance model that was shown at the North American International Auto Show (shown below). The Regal is a unique situation for Buick - the car is being produced in Europe and that brings up the situation with fluctuating currency exchange rates. Especially with non-luxury models, this makes it harder to turn a profit.  For this reason, many manufacturers are moving production to the United

Since the restructuring of General Motors, all the existing brands have started to transform. With only half the brands they once had for the US market, GM needs each of it's divisions to cover more of the market.  And if ever there was a sign that GM is not afraid of change, and the future in general, it's gotta be this: the Buick Regal GS "concept." You've probably already had an earful on the new Regal by this point.  If you haven't, here's the cliff notes:  Take one Opel Insignia, mix with Buick grille and badges, and bam - instant Regal!  This isn't the first time GM has slung Adam Opel's wares as Buicks in the US (Remember the old Buick-Opels?  Buick-Opel-Isuzus?), but it's probably going to

Buick has been dominating headlines lately - and thankfully, it is for all the right reasons. The introduction of the Buick Regal is a welcome change for the brand. The Regal is sourced from General Motors' Opel, which was just announced that GM would be keeping. In typical fashion for those in the automotive blogosphere, we're always looking forward to the next thing - particularly when it comes to performance. The standard Opel Insignia has been brought over as the Regal, but Opel also has the OPC (Opel Performance Center) performance model that many are pining for. Speculation about future Regal models has mainly centered around bringing that model over here as the Regal GNX. Car & Driver talked to Bob Lutz about this possibility at

Well, well, well - look what has transpired here. General Motors' cash crunch over the past year resulted in attempts to rid itself of global assets. That has included Saab and curiously until now, Opel. Opel's sale to Canadian supplier Magna International has been in the works for quite some time. Now, GM is announcing the termination of that deal struck with Magna International.  That's right, after all of this wrangling, GM's Board of Directors has decided to keep Opel. Opel has been integral to GM's current product lineup and it looks to play an even bigger role in the future. For instance, future new product like the Buick Regal is being sourced directly from the brand. Without control of Opel, GM would lose that developmental prowess, as

If you've followed my articles you know I love covering small, independent manufacturers and the unique creations they come up with. Once such company is Zolfe, a British sports car manufacturer. Britain has a long history of sports cars, and Zolfe is working to continue that. In their words, it was "conceived to fill the gap left by the tragic disappearance of several great marques." While I've heard the car referred to as the Zolfe Orange, it doesn't seem to be the car's official name. It's the Zolfe Classic GTC4, thank you very much. It just so happens to be orange though (I love the color!). Zolfe is a product years in the making, a collaboration between British Midlands businessman Nic Strong and former Caterham Technical

When it comes to Saab,  SaabsUnited is the place to go for all the details. This latest scoop they've gotten is their best yet though. The new Saab 9-5 is a highly anticipated release for the brand. How could it be anything else?   The new 9-5 will replace an again, 15-year old flagship and it's the car that GM's CEO Fritz Henderson was reportedly afraid of bettering it's Opel platform mate the Insignia. Saab can't afford for the car to be anything but a hit. From these pictures, it looks like they're not going to let us down on that. WOW. What you're seeing is likely an official, leaked image of the new Saab 9-5. Doesn't look real? That's because it's probably a CGI image. Nearly all manufacturers use