Car Throttle

You gotta love Mazda.  While some of their national competitors are chasing the big bucks with boring mainstream transportation appliances, Mazda still retains a bit of their whacky engineering hot-rod charm.  Want proof?  the Mazda2 Turbo that they're showing at SEMA this year.

As I guessed yesterday, the Mazda2 Turbo is powered by the engine from the MazdaSpeed (MPS) 3 - the 2.3L DISI-Turbo.  This engine, with 263 horsepower and 280lb-ft of torque, is a monster in the 3,000+lb MS3.  While the standard Mazda2 is a fun steer, consider this: dropping in the 2.3 DISI is an increase of 163 horsepower and 182 lb-ft of torque.  That's a 2.63x increase in horsepower.  This is why I love Mazda.  The normal top-mount

The yearly SEMA (Special Equipment Manufacturers Association) show happens in Las Vegas.  That's enough reason to want to go to it.  But more than the exotic locale (way better than, err, Detroit), SEMA is a hotbed of aftermarket parts.  If you're inclined to think this is a no-big-deal sort of affair, that's not the case.  The SEMA show attracts so much attention that manufacturers themselves have been getting into the SEMA game for a few years now, whether directly or through various 3rd party companies.

There are so many "new car" debuts prior to SEMA that I would literally flood your RSS feed with them.  I don't want to do that.  Plus, I can't write an entire article about a Chevy Sonic

Beauty is, as they say, in the eye of the beholder. German boutique manufacturer Weismann has made some truly stunning cars.  So I'm going to get this out of the way real quick: the Weismann Spyder... is not one of them.  In fact, it's probably one of the ugliest new cars I've seen in quite a while.  But let me tell you exactly why that doesn't matter at all. A new BMW M3 Coupe, in it's lightest form, weighs in at 1655kg - or a rather portly 3,649lbs.  That's almost 1,000lbs heavier than the original 4-cylinder box-flared M3 from the 80's.  Thankfully, it's got a 4.0L M-designed V8 under the hood that spits out 414bhp at 8,300rpm, and 295lb-ft of torque at 3,900rpms.  So despite all

Another day, another Porsche. The brand that seems focussed on making as many possible derivatives off of as few chassis as possible introduced their latest flavor today, the Cayman R.  Think of it as a Boxster Spyder without the goofy teepee-tent roof, or if you like think of it as a lighter, harder, more basic Cayman S.  However you explain it, it looks like a seriously delicious recipe. Primarily, they've focussed on a making it a better driver's car the right way: less weight, faster responses.  The Cayman R is 121 pounds lighter than the normal Cayman S, weighing in at only 2,855lbs.  The weight loss program is similar to it's topless brother, the Boxster Spyder.  It includes lightweight sport seats, super lightweight alloys, leather straps

The Audi R8 is already one of the most desirable vehicles on the market. It combines the exotic feel and performance of a Lamborghini Gallardo with all of Audi's know-how on how to make a modern vehicle.  It's coddling and comfortable, extremely fast yet nimble, refined but slight old-school - have you seen that gated shifter?  And now, Audi's cranking up the "want one" qoutient to 11.  Today the first images of the upcoming R8 Spyder have hit the web, and I like what I see. As far as the design goes, there aren't a whole lot of surprises in store.  It's an R8 without the solid roof.  And while most coupes look awful with the top chopped off (I'm looking at you, Nissan 350Z!), the

Today, Maserati is a purveyor of what I like to call automotive pornography. They produce two products - the almost criminally good-looking Gran Turismo and the equally seductive Quattroporte.  Both sell for north of $100k, are chock full of Ferrari bits, and are absolutely wonderful, top-notch modern supercars.  This hasn't always been the case. Maserati returned to the US market in 2002, after leaving without saying goodbye in 1991.  They, like Alfa Romeo, were basically chased out of the US thanks to persistent rumors of suspect reliability as well as a less than favorable exchange rate which artificially inflated prices.  Many say that the reason for Maserati's failure in the US was the Biturbo.  Let's take a look at that car (and it's derivatives) and return to

The news has been coming hard and fast out of Sant A'gata lately. Lamborghini's been one busy company, what with the new Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni (from earlier today) as well as the recent release of the absolutely astonishing Murcielago LP670-4 SV.  They announced the availability of a convertible version of the new Gallardo LP560-4 at last year's Los Angeles Auto Show, and now they've put out some more high-resolution pictures.  The way I see it, any opportunity to post high-resolution Lamborghini pictures is not an opportunity to be missed out on. The LP560-4 Spyder is exactly what you'd think it is; an LP560-4 Coupe with no roof.  All the better to hear that howling 552bhp V10 situated behind your ears.  And I think that Lime

Our friends over at Left Lane News have just released renderings on the soon-to-be Lamborghini Reventon Spyder. This will be the deluxe edition of the already immense Reventon which graced the automotive scene last year, and which is likely to have an even more phenomenal price tag to go along with it. Sources inform us that the hole in your potential wallet will be a whopping $1.6 million. Just by looking at it however, you can see why this can afford such a premium price-tag. The Reventon original was inspired by a Tornado Fighterjet, with its low and menacing front grille, its sculptured sides and the hard-edged derriere - you sure wouldn't want to see one of these in your rear-view! Coupled with the fact that