Car Throttle

A station wagon?  Bleh.  Are we catering to the soccer mom market now?  No, no we are not.  What we have here is a shining example of a balanced combination of form, function, and utility:  a lightly modified Audi (B6) S4 Avant Quattro.  This little red wagon is owned by none other than Matt Welliver, who's 360+whp Cobalt SS Turbo I featured previously. Matt has made a name for himself in the Ecotec tuning community, one of the go-to guys for custom tunes to make big, reliable power out of GM's little overhead-cam four cylinder.  So what is he doing driving a big, naturally aspirated Audi station wagon? In his own words: "I wanted something more grown up, yet still entertaining."  I can't blame him. 

At the end of last year, I made a post compiling some of the random cool stuff I've seen around Raleigh. It's been a few months, and I've continued to see more cool stuff, which I am happy to share with you all.  Comments at the bottom! A '91 Alfa Romeo 164 LS 5-speed, in almost perfect condition.  This was a trade-in at Hendrick Fiat of Cary on a new 500 - you almost never see these cars (running) in the US any more.  There's a lot of Saab 9000 underneath, but still awesome. A Daihatsu Hijet mini-truck used as a parts runner at Leith BMW in Raleigh.  Note: sticking a BMW badge on it, does not make it a BMW!  Very odd to see

Sometimes, you get a filet mignon when you're expecting Hamburger Helper. That's sort of how I feel going to an Audi dealership - for the most part, modern Audi's don't push my buttons as much as the golden oldies like the Type-44's, the ur-Quattro, and the Porsche-engineered RS2.  But when you pull up to your local Audi dealer and this is sitting outside, I'd like to see your expression. Sure, most of Audi's modern range is uninspired and just too German to be interesting, but the R8 is different.  This is the type of car that leaves an impression after you see it - one that lasts a long time.  I think it's sure to go down as one of the most beautiful designs of this

Isn't technology wonderful? Technology is what allows the new S4 to be faster than the old one, despite 25% less cylinders, 29% less displacement, and a few less horsepower.  The new generation S4 ditches Audi's old standby 4.2L V8 with a brand-new supercharged 3.0L V6, which makes 333bhp and 325 lb-ft of torque. 0-60 comes up four tenths of a second faster than the old V8 m0del, 4.9 seconds versus 5.3, but the most surprising thing is the gain in fuel economy.  For the record, the B7 S4 had a remarkable thirst for premium unleaded: 13 miles to every gallon in the city, and 20 on the highway wasn't really impressive to anyone, except Excursion drivers perhaps.  The new model returns 18 city and 27 highway,

Today's Random Capture comes from the capable lens of Dejan Sokolovski, a very talented automotive photographer who hails from Sweden.  His photos cover all types of cars, but I think he's really managed to capture the whole "Vorsprung Durch Technik" thing on film pretty damn well.  Check out this black B7-generation Audi S4: I'm a sucker for industrial area shots, but this really is a breathtaking photo.  The car itself ain't too shabby, either: RS4 wheels would look good on a Hyundai Accent.  And yes, black is the best color for an S4.  You can check out more of Dejan's work here. It's especially difficult to make a black car look good in bright sunlight, but what he's done with the angle and the direction of