Car Throttle

Auto Shows these days are a mix of really exciting debuts, and a lot of updates. Some of these updated models are interesting, but not really worth an entire article to themselves.  I've saved you the time of clicking a thousand links to consolidate the rest of the significant debuts at the NYIAS (New York International Auto Show) this year. Revised Jaguar XK and XF Models There's nothing really wrong with the XK and XF models, which are some of Jag's most competitive models to date.  But the breakneck pace of the market dictates that if it's been out three years, it's already looking old.  Enter the new XF (left) and the new XK (right.)  The revised styling on the XF is intended to mimic Jag's

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

If you're a car guy, chances are one of your past times is Craigslist. The free online classified ad website that has been running since 1996 is the perfect place to find everything from a sitter, to a new dog, to furniture, to your soul mate, to... a car!  Heck, my last car came from craigslist - friendly, knowledgeable seller, cool car, good price.  And while most stuff on craigslist is a bit normal ("2003 Camry, Grey, 86k, call Jeff...") occasionally you'll find something cool.  Here's what turned up with a quick perusal of my local CL. Don't tell me you're not tempted.  What is this heap?  Why, it's an Alfa Romeo Milano!  And what the hell is that?  Well, it was Alfa's competitor

Top Ten lists are a longstanding tradition with automotive journalism outlets. And why not?  People love a Top Ten list (it gives them something to argue about!), and man, they're not exactly hard to throw together.  The issue is that the vast majority of them are fluff, crap, really just a slap on the back to whichever manufacturer schmoozed that rag the most that year. ('’) Well we here at CarThrottle don't subscribe to that happy, shiny version of things.  To be honest, a large number of the cars on our roads are complete, total junk.  This has always been obvious.  The world's full of Chrysler Sebrings and Kia Amantis.  But there are even cars trying to pass as performance vehicles (which is a heavy focus

These days, the consumer in the sports sedan market is spoiled for choice. There's pretty much always been the 3-series BMW (and before it the 2002 and the 1600), and there's always been a comparable Audi and Mercedes (at least since the 190E appeared on the scene in the mid eighties), but the field has never been as diverse as it is now. Take, for example, these two seemingly unrelated sedans: the 2009 Infiniti G37 6MT sedan, and the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO EcoBoost.  On paper,  about all they have in common are four wheels with pneumatic tires and a sticker price hovering somewhere around $36,000.  Experiencing both back-to-back just proved exactly how different of a sports sedan your $35k and change will get you these days. This

I'm sure this has been said during every era of automotive history at one point or another. Perhaps not during the mid-seventies, but otherwise technology continues to march on, and everything continues to get better.  And the way it is now, and the way it's going to be soon, is easily as good as it's ever been.  Even though the news seems to be overwhelmingly negative these days with regards to the automotive industry, (anyone know any companies with increased sales and healthy numbers lately?) this only really has a little to do with the products themselves and more with the overall condition of the economy as it stands. The products themselves are easily the best they've ever been.  Competition seems to grow stronger and stronger by

I am entirely aware of the fact that "realistic" and "fantasy" are antonyms. A "Fantasy" garage is packed with the best of the best, picked for possessing an all-star list of attributes.  Like a Fantasy Football team, I suppose.  A realistic fantasy garage can't exist, because in the real world circumstances are never ideal for average people.  Still, we can all dream - even if we're dreaming small.  I've never had a problem deriving the basic joy of driving from any automobile (possible exceptions include a Prius and a Cavalier) and thus I've never had trouble dreaming small. For me, this is simply a list of cars that I plan to own at some point in the future.  There aren't any Pagani Zonda's or Ford GT's or

Ford's EcoBoost has been a rare engine that has truly lived up to all the hype surrounding it. The V-8 performance, combined with V-6-like fuel economy of the twin-turbocharged engines is pretty amazing. The good thing is that this technology will not be limited to just a few high-end models, it will be spread across the entire lineup over the next few years, coming to 4-cylinder engines as well. To really show the differences in V-8 vs. twin-turbocharged V-6, Ford has offered up this new comparison video of the Taurus SHO EcoBoost against the Audi A6 4.2 FSI V-8. While the result was predetermined - 0.60 numbers don't lie, it's still pretty interesting seeing it happen live. It's all about creating good press, and I think appearing

The Taurus is back. Big time! What am I talking about, Ford as a whole is back. From the Fusion to the Fiesta, to the Taurus to the line of new products at Lincoln, Ford is undergoing a product renaissance. Couple that with the company not accepting government loans and you have a powerful combination out there in the marketplace. Ford has gotten a lot of free publicity over it's stance on the loans. Today is the launch event for Ford's Taurus SHO, a model that car enthusiasts everywhere are drooling over. Driving impressions of the model are still under embargo, but Ford thought it was fitting to release some new pictures of the car to coincide with the event. Wow! Is that good looking or what? The more

Ford's perenial family hauler, the Taurus, has never been known for provided seat-of-your-pants thrills.  That might be about to change, with the upcoming 365-bhp twin turbocharged AWD SHO.  You know I'm a fanboy.  This car is going to be epic, no matter how you look at it.  And while media testing hasn't started yet (Ford?  Test car?), AOL Autos (really?) had an opportunity to ride along in a pre-production SHO with one of Ford's Vehicle Dynamics Development Engineers, Christina Rodriguez.  On a racetrack!  Lucky! From the look of things, A) Christina knows how to throw a car around, and B) the Taurus doesn't mind being thrown around a bit!  I have to say, this is one devastatingly handsome car, which isn't something that could be said