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Malaise Era All-Stars

A few weeks ago, we bid a fond happy 40th anniversary to the automotive dark ages of 1973-84 that have come to be known as "The Malaise Era" - the performance ice-age when 160 horsepower was a lot and a 0-60 time of under 10 seconds was remarkable. Like music in the 1980s, everything in automobiledom didn't suck, however. There were a few bright spots. Here are five of our favorites:
1976-79 Porsche 930, aka 911 Turbo Carrera (above)
Photo Credit: Dorotheum

Get a load of Audi's TTs [w/videos + poll]

The third-generation Audi TT coupe has made its debut here at the Geneva Motor Show, showing an evolutionary design for the German automaker's fashion-forward coupe. As expected, the new TT takes plenty of inspiration from the Sport Quattro Concept that debuted in Frankfurt last year, and it draws upon cues from the model's past two generations.
After seeing it in person, the Autoblog crew on-site in Geneva is sort of torn about the new model. It's crisp and well-proportioned, but in terms of its exterior design, it also doesn't come off like a significant generational leap forward - the aesthetic distance between the original TT and the second-generation model was quite a bit larger. Of course, it's hard to reimagine a design icon, and either way we'll have to wait until we see the car on the road to make final judgments.
Audi is offering a trio of engines for the new TT, including a 2.0-liter turbodiesel powerplant that's good for 184 horsepower, 280 pound-feet of torque and an excellent 56 miles per gallon. On the gasoline front, Audi is offering two versions of its well-liked 2.0-liter TSI turbo-four. The less-powerful spec still offers up a healthy 230 hp and 272 lb-ft of torque, while the higher-output 2.0T sends 310 hp and 280 lb-ft of twist to all four wheels in the TTS coupe. Potent stuff.

Audi RS6 driven by former Stig Ben Collins egged on in 'The Duel'

Apparently driving a 553-horsepower Audi RS6 Avant with carbon-fiber egg launchers that shoot paint-filled eggs is what Stigs do when they retire from Top Gear. And unfortunately for stuntman Damien Walters, he happens to be the target.
Walters - on foot with his paint-eggs and no carbon-fiber launcher - couldn't possibly escape from the Audi, let alone launch his own offensive, could he? You'll have to find out in the video below. And while we won't give away what happens, we'll say this video will definitely put a smile on your face, if you like all-wheel-drive drifting (which you should). We also included a couple more videos for your enjoyment, one of which takes you behind the scenes of The Duel.