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

The satisfaction to be derived from driving down a twisty, curvy road cannot be understated. If you're a car person (and I'm assuming you are, since you're reading this) you have probably done just that before, and for no other reason than it's fun.  But you must keep something in mind - not all the good roads necessarily have pavement.  Because while flying down the blacktop balancing adhesion with inertia is fun, it can be more fun with less inertia - and less adhesion! Oh yes, dirt roads: Here's my good friend Patrick at the wheel, trying his hand at some low-adhesion driving.  This particular 70° corner was perfect for getting the Haldex all-wheel-drive to shuffle some torque to the back end.  See below:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kntjvnmGUGA

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

Top Ten is another new featurette I will be producing on a weekly basis.  It's a very simple concept: the 10 best of SOME genre, in order.  You are encouraged to leave comments either praising my choices, or yelling at me for what I missed, at the bottom.  Game on! The public stigma of a station wagon (estate to Europe) is frankly pretty negative these days.  I can't say I understand it; in many ways, wagons are the most useful cars on the road.  They offer car-like handling (since they're normal cars) and loads of cargo space.  I generally think the two-box shape of wagons is a positive thing stylistically speaking, too.  So why are they so universally loathed? Maybe it's this generation's childhood memories of getting sick

The second-coming of the butch station wagon seems to be upon us. After Saab's debut of theirVolvo XC-clone, the Saab 9-3x, Audi is following up at the Geneva show with their own butch pseudo-off-roader station wagon.  Based on the mid-sized A4 Avant, the A4 allroad Quattro is basically a smaller version of the A6-based allroad, which has been around since 1999. It's a pretty simple formula: take a standard station wagon (or Estate, or Avant, or whatever they're calling them this week), raise the ground clearance a bit, tack on some black rubber body cladding for that "tough" look, and there you go.  This is what Audi's done with the A4 allroad. Outside, to differentiate the allroad from standard A4 Avant, Audi has given it a

So, apparently London has been "buried" under a "blizzard" recently - all 8" of it.  Regardless of my tactless American opinion on the relative pathetic-ness of 8" of snow crippling a city for a few days, and all the messages about "don't take any unnecessary trips!" one must remember that snow days are not all doom and gloom.

If your vehicle is relatively snow-capable (leave that Corvette Z06 at HOME, kids) and you know what you're doing, snow driving is three and a half barrels of fun.  I've assembled a collection of what I consider to be the greatest YouTube snow driving videos below.  Hopefully you enjoy it!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V48LsEjiFJ4

Here's world-famous Porsche test driver (and former World Rally star) Walter Rohrl driving

Audi's critically acclaimed R8 sports car gets an upgrade for the 2010 model year, with the addition of a second optional engine to the lineup.  The R8, which is largely based on the Lamborghini Gallardo supercar, gains an optional V10 engine next year that will make the R8 all the more desirable to those with the money for one.  You can debate just how finite a number of people that is in today's economy, but if this car doesn't bring a smile to your face, you're not quite alive: The 5.2 FSI offers a bit more of everything over the regular R8.  While the normal R8 "makes do" with a 4.2L, direct-injected V8 making 420 horsepower, the 5.2 FSI utilizes a 5.2L  V10.  This race-bred 90°