Car Throttle

Even though the recent recession fatally wounded parts of the industry and fossil fuels running dry will threaten its future, the world of cars is still very much alive and kicking. There is such a variety of new products coming out this year ranging from affordable city cars you'll actually want to own, to ridiculously expensive supercars you'll lust after, old school coupes to revolutionary family cars, petrol engines to plug-in electric motors. The list is almost endless. So to help fellow car lovers and "new kids on the block" out, here's a round-up of 33 cars we can't wait to see in 2012 in order of release date. January 2012 Kia Optima It's been available around the world for a while but the Kia Optima

Once the Megane range gets a mid-life face lift in April, we will be saying bye-bye to the 250 and a big hello to the new 265. It's Renault's latest record breaking hot hatch to hit our roads with a lap time of 8 minutes and 8 seconds around the Nurburgring which makes it the fastest front-wheel drive car ever to go round the famous German track. Thanks to the new 'Renaultsport Dynamic Management' system, the new 265's 2.0L Turbo will produce 261bhp and 265lb ft of torque meaning a 0-60mph time of around six seconds and a top speed of 160mph. All that is available once you've pushed the 'Sport' button, with the car acting calm and civilised, "ish", in normal mode. Renault have

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

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

The Paris Auto Show is just around the corner, and it has already brought a lot of interesting introductions. Hopefully, it will bring a few surprises too. Vauxhall can't quite keep a secret though, revealing its GTC Concept entirely ahead of the show. It promises to be a good preview of the next Astra hatchback. There isn't a whole lot of meaning to the word "concept"  in the GTC Concept's name - minor details, in fact. As such, the GTC Concept isn't groundbreaking or showing off a new design language for Opel. It continues on with the theme debuted on the current Astra, and it looks quite good in two-door sport hatchback guise. It has an aggressive stance and nice proportions, showing off similar side detailing and side creases

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

If you've been reading my posts, you know doubt know that i have a soft spot for: A) The Opel Insignia VXR, and B) Station Wagons. All of my hopes, prayers, and dreams (except one!) were fulfilled today with the official debut of the Insignia VXR/OPC Sports Tourer, which is marketing double-speak for "station wagon" - since apparently calling a spade a spade is just not done any more. The Sports Tourer is just like the regular OPC/VXR, only more useful and better looking.  Ok, I'm biased with the two-box shapes, but I think the proportions just make a lot more sense on the wagon.  It's up for debate, as the taillights are a bit strange looking, but in my eyes this is one seriously attractive

There are a lot of things you can say about GM.  They've been around for a long, long time and made a whole lot of cars. Like any big prominent brand, they've accumulated a set of sayings attached to their reputation.  One is "A GM car runs poorly longer than most cars run at all."  Everyone still driving an Oldsmobile Aurora can tell you that; I have a personal favorite, though.  "When GM does things wrong, they do them really wrong.  But when GM gets it right, GM gets it right big." There are a lot of examples of this.  For the first part of the statement, see: X-Body's like the Citation that blew up and fell apart at will.  The original Fiero.  Oldsmobile diesels.  Cadillac V-8-6-4. 

So much for those teaser shots. Today, official pictures and details on the brand-new 2010 Astra were leaked onto the interwebs by automotive leakmasters CarScoop.  The Golf-sized GM competitor has been completely recast to bring it up to speed with other rivals, and features a range of brand-new engines to boot. The Astra, as mentioned previously, is based off the new Delta II architecture, shared with the Chevy Volt/Vauxhall Ampera/Chevy Cruze.  The styling seems highly reminiscent of the recently debuted Insignia, with a hint of Mazda3 thrown in for good measure.  I like it.  Power will come from a wide range of engines, of course.  Base motors will be a 1.4L naturally aspirated gasoline mill or a 1.3L turbodiesel.  Upgrades will come in the form