Car Throttle

When it comes to being a gearhead, these days it's a case of "us vs. them." Us being people who view cars as more than automotive appliances, who won't settle for rolling crapheaps like a Caliber or buy another Camry even though we know it might just kill us.  That's what separates us from them: good enough isn't good enough, and we don't ever leave well enough alone.  Chances are, if you're reading this site there is SOMETHING about your car that's different from the way it left the factory, because you saw room for improvement.  They would say "it's fine the way it is, why mess with it?"  We say, I can make this better. With this in mind, it's still important to start with something

The appeal of the Saab 9-3 Viggen is enigmatic, to say the least. Objectively, it's not that great of a car.  It's reasonably quick (2.3L turbo I4 with 235bhp in a small car will do that!) but suffers from an awful shift linkage, massive wrist-snapping torque steer, and a chassis as stiff as cooked spaghetti in convertible form. Still, I have this deep-seated urge for a Viggen (as you can see in my recent post here).  They have character.  And I like torque steer.  Also, they're quite photogenic. This beautiful Viggen-in-the-sunset picture comes courtesy of the most talented Flickr user Mugley, who seems to have an affinity for blowup sex dolls and jackal masks in his unique photography.  Takes all types, I suppose.  The clarity of

So, one of my favorite automotive mind-stretchers is hypotheticals. "What if...?"  What would you buy if you had $500,000 to spend on automobiles, right now?  What's your favorite great car from an awful brand? (It's a toss-up between the Genesis Coupe and the Buick GNX)  What would you drive if you were Conan O'Brian?  You know, hypotheticals.  It's that tired conversation you have at Denny's at 1 in the morning over a cup of coffee with a car buddy.  It keeps your mind going. But they're usually far-fetched.  So let's be a little more realistic about it.  What's gonna be in your driveway in 5 years?  10 years?  What would you like, that you could feasibly attain?  That one's more challenging.  When the invisible hand of fate