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Let there be no doubt: Classic American muscle cars are the bread and butter of the Woodward Dream Cruise. And why not? These machines hearken back to a time when horsepower was king, nameplates like Mustang, Camaro, GTO and Charger first started rolling off the tongue and Detroit was at the forefront of the automotive world.

That said, we’ve noticed an interesting trend over the last several years. Modern muscle is making up a more significant portion of the festivities than ever before, a fact we can surely attribute to the rise in quality and performance of today’s crop of high-horsepower offerings. Naturally, you’ll see plenty of Detroit muscle from the 1960s straight on through today in this gallery from the 2011 Woodward Dream Cruise.

We’d like to take a moment to explain our definition of muscle cars. We’re mostly cutting Detroit’s history into two segments: classics and muscle, using 1964, the inaugural year of the seminal Pontiac GTO, as the dividing line. Two seats, four seats or five; two doors or four; modern or vintage – these are the cars that place straight-line performance above all else… and we love ‘em for it.

We went ahead and labeled each vehicle, but if we’re off by a year or two on some of them, we apologize in advance to all you hardcore muscle car enthusiasts out there… With all that in mind, enjoy the gallery!

Woodward 2011: Muscle cars light the fires at the Dream Cruise originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew Audi was up to something when it invited us to drive the super-hot Quattro concept late last year. The coupe, currently based on the RS5 architecture, pays homage to the original Ur-Quattro from 1980, and by inviting the media to drive the delicate concept, Audi wanted to show us how serious it is about someday offering a production version.

Now, Inside Line reports that a decision about whether or not the Quattro will get the green light should come in September, before the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Stephan Reil, head of Quattro GmbH, admits that the final decision about whether or not Audi will build the Quattro concept has indeed been delayed, but that he is “optimistic” about the concept getting the green light.

Reil told Inside Line that, if produced, the Quattro would be a low-volume product with a production run of around 500 to 1,000 cars. Part of the Quattro’s goodness is its focus on lightness, and with a target weight of only 3,086 pounds, plenty of exotic (and expensive) materials will need to be used in the car’s construction.

Furthermore, the RS5 powertrain will need to be revised quite extensively, with Reil citing that the Quattro will need to be more powerful, and that the engine will have to be mounted longitudinally rather than transversely. Even so, Reil said that if given the green light, we could see a production Quattro in about two to three years. Here’s hoping.

Audi Quattro could get green light by September originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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