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Porsche returns to Forza with Horizon 2 expansion [w/video]

The bar for driving and racing game excellence has been raised to remarkable levels in recent years, and with titles making use of Xbox One and Playstation 4 hardware. But, if you're a fan of major franchises like Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo, the most obvious-for-its-omission car brand has always been Porsche. Happily, that prohibition ends tomorrow, with an epic piece of DLC for Forza Horizon 2. That's right, Forza confirmed to Autoblog (after a series of rumors) that the $9.99 Porsche Expansion hits tomorrow. In fact, we even have an exclusive first look the full car list: 1970 Porsche 914/6 1982 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3 1987 Porsche 959 1989 Porsche 944 Turbo 2003 Porsche Carrera GT 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 (997) 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo S 2014 Porsche 918 Spyder 2015 Porsche Cayman GTS 2015 Porsche Macan Turbo Ten of Stuttgart's finest include historically significant monsters like the 959 and Carrera GT, as well as newcomers Cayman GTS and Macan Turbo. Along with the cars, the expansion pack brings 10 Bucket List events, 10 Rivals events, and 15 achievements in total (for you Forza completionists). We've already put in for a sick day. Porsche has been far more reticent than most OEMs to license its cars for video games, to date, and even this expansion required a deal with Electronic Arts to bring to pass. And, while our sources at Turn 10 Studios say that this Porsche pack will be the only such content for FH2, we can expect that the upcoming Forza Motorsport 6 will be packed with 911s, et al. We couldn't get the studio to discuss specifics about future models (your author is hankering hard for some 356 action), but reps did say that they'll aim for balance, "never losing sight of the type of varied interests and experiences that our players love." Scroll down to read the full press release, or have a browse through our gallery of images and video. We'll see you on the road. Forza Horizon 2 Porsche Expansion Porsche is coming to Forza Horizon 2! Arriving on June 9 exclusively in Forza Horizon 2 for Xbox One, the Forza Horizon 2 Porsche Expansion will bring ten amazing Porsche models for the first time to an Xbox One Forza game. With Porsche models like the 1989 944 Turbo, the 2003 Carrera GT, and the 2014 911 GT3 RS 4.0, the Porsche Expansion Pack will give fans the chance to explore southern Europe in some of the legendary German manufacturer's most beloved cars.

Porsche's 959 is still poster-worthy after all these years

Today, we have the Porsche 918 Spyder. Before that, there was the Carrera GT. While both of those cars are dramatic departures from the traditional, rear-engine Porsche formula, they owe their very existence to another wild child of the iconic German brand - the 959.
Like so many of the great performance cars of yesteryear, the 959 was a homologation special, built just so Porsche could go racing in the clinically insane Group B rally series. Fewer than 400 959s hit the streets, but those that did were some of the most advanced cars of the 1980s. A rear-mounted, twin-turbocharged flat-six sent its power through a still-rare all-wheel-drive system, creating a race-inspired rocket that was, for a short time, the fastest production car on the planet.
Xcar has the story of the 959, from its inception to its conquest of the Paris-Dakar rally, which is interspersed with a drive of the legendary coupe. Scroll down for the full video.

Automakers want to stop the EPA's fuel economy rules change, and why that's a shortsighted move

With a Trump Administration looming, the EPA moved quickly after the election to propose finalizing future fuel economy rules last week. The auto industry doesn't like that (surprise), and has started making moves to stop the EPA. Ford CEO Mark Fields said he wanted to lobby Trump to lower the standards, and now the Auto Alliance, a manufacturer group, is saying it will join the fight against cleaner cars. The Alliance represents 12 automakers: BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, GM, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Toyota, VW, and Volvo. Gloria Bergquist, a spokesperson for the Alliance, told Automotive News that the "EPA's sudden and controversial move to propose auto regulations eight months early - even after Congress warned agencies about taking such steps while political appointees were packing their bags - calls out for congressional action to pause this rulemaking until a thoughtful policy review can occur." The EPA was going to consider public comments through April 2017, but then said it would move the deadline to the end of December. That means that it can finalize the rules before President Obama leaves office. The director of public affairs for the Consumer Federation of America, Jack Gillis, said on a conference call with reporters last week when the EPA originally announced its decision that it is unlikely that President Trump will be able to roll back these changes. Gillis also said on the same call that any attempt by the automakers to prevent these changes would be history repeating itself. "These are the same companies that fought airbags, and now promoting the fact that every car has multiple airbags," he said. "These are the same companies that fought the crash-test program, and now are promoting the crash-test ratings published by the government. So, it's clear that they're misperceiving the needs of the American consumer." There are more reasons the Allliance's pushback is flawed. Carol Lee Rawn, the transportation program director for Ceres, said on that call that the automotive industry is a global one, and many automakers are moving to global platforms to help them meet strict fuel economy rules around the world.