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Economy-car buyers increasingly get the best deal on technology

One of the great things about technology is – with the exception of Apple products – consumers get more for their money every year. For example, the first 1GB USB drive I bought in 2005 cost me $30. Today you can get 10 for that price, delivered to your door thanks to Amazon. The same goes for car tech. Features such as navigation and Bluetooth started out on high-end vehicles before trickling down to entry-level cars. Same with driver assist features ranging from rearview cameras to forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking — so now it's not only rich people who are protected in car crashes. I've found that this democratization of tech has reached a point where amenities on low-cost cars can be as good — and sometimes even better — than those on vehicles costing tens of thousands of dollars more. While attending a media event for the launch of the all-new 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback, I was impressed by the car's cool styling and go-kart performance. Equally noteworthy is the amount of standard tech on the low-cost hot hatch. (Pricing will be announced later this month, but expect it to come in a bit higher that the current Corolla iM's roughly $19,000 base.) Even the base SE CVT trim of the 2019 Corolla Hatchback comes with an 8-inch touchscreen and Toyota's Entune 3.0 infotainment system. Among other features, Entune 3.0 provides Wi-Fi capability, Amazon Alexa connectivity, the Entune App Suite for integration of smartphone apps such as Pandora and Yelp and, for the first time in a Toyota, Apple CarPlay (but no Android Auto). The 2019 Corolla Hatchback is also the first North American vehicle to get the second-generation Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) suite of driver assists that's also standard on the base model. TSS 2.0 includes Toyota's Pre-Collision System (forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking) with new daytime and low-light pedestrian detection and daytime cyclist detection features, lane keeping and lane departure alert with steering assist, auto high beams, adaptive cruise control, and road sign detection. While the 2019 Corolla Hatchback sets a new benchmark in standard tech on a budget-mobile, competing cars aren't far behind. The 2018 Honda Fit LX, for example, includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning and assist and adaptive cruise, while the automaker's Lane Departure Mitigation and Lane Watch camera system is added the two top trims.

2022 Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance Mega Gallery | The show in pictures

COMO, Italy — Held annually, the Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance is, in many ways, Europe's version of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It takes place in a beautiful location, and it brings together an impressive selection of rare and valuable cars. It's a real treat for the eyes, the ears, and, if you're into champagne, the palate. The 2022 edition of the show was no exception: About 50 cars were shipped to Lake Como from over a dozen countries, and it wasn't just the usual suspects. Sure, there were a lot of pre-war cars (including a couple of one-off models), but some of the icons that younger enthusiasts grew up with (like the Lamborghini Countach) were present as well. This year's event was split into eight categories: The Art Deco Era of Motor Car Design, The Supercharged Mercedes-Benz, How Grand Entrances Were Once Made, Eight Decades of Ferrari Represented in Eight Icons, "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday," BMW's M Cars and Their Ancestors, Pioneers That Chased the Magic 300 KPH, And a design award for concept and prototypes. The jury gave the coveted "best of show" award to a 1937 Bugatti 57 S owned by Andrew Picker of Monaco, while the aforementioned classes were won by, respectively: The Bugatti 57 S, shown below, A 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet, A 1956 Chrysler Boano Coupe Speciale, A 1966 Ferrari 356 P Berlinetta Speciale Tre Posti, A 1961 Porsche 356 B Carrera Abarth GTL, A 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL, A 1989 Porsche 959 Sport, And the Bugatti Bolide concept unveiled in 2020. Winning at Villa d'Este is a big deal: The cars are judged by a panel of highly experienced judges. No one gave me a scoring sheet, presumably out of fear that I'd award points to the late-model Fiat 600 lurking in the parking lot, but several cars that didn't win an award caught my eye. One is a 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports, a grand-prix racer that was once owned by King Leopold III of Belgium and that has never been restored — its patina is inimitable. Another is a 1961 BMW 700 RS. One of two built (the other is in the BMW collection), it's a tiny, ultra-light roadster related to the 700 and powered by a 697-cubic-centimeter air-cooled flat-twin tuned to develop 70 horsepower. It won several hill-climb events during the 1960s, and it's one of the rarest cars ever to wear a BMW roundel. Aston Martin's freshly-restored 1979 Bulldog concept was cool to see as well; check out the cassette player integrated into the headliner!

Lotus Esprit S1 gets wet and wild in 'Forza Horizon 4' James Bond trailer

It only makes sense. When the official trailer for Forza Horizon 4 ( FH4) first debuted at E3, details showed the game is set in Britain. Those who were ahead of the curve might have recognized this as a foreshadowing of sorts. Celebrating the launch of FH4's XBOX One and Windows 10 demo on Sept. 12, Playground Games announced that the next version of the beloved racing simulator will launch with an available Best of Bond pack that includes many of James Bond's storied rides. As expected, the list is heavy on the Aston Martin, but there are plenty of other goodies, too. Included in the 10-car pack are the 1964 Aston Martin DB5, a 1969 Aston Martin DBS, a 1986 Aston Martin V8, a 2008 Aston Martin DBS, a 2015 Aston Martin DB10, a 1974 AMC Hornet X Hatchback, a 1977 Lotus Esprit S1, a 1981 Citroen 2CV6, a 1999 BMW Z8, and a 2010 Jaguar C-X75. If you can name every movie that all of these vehicles are from, pat yourself on the back and grab a martini. View 15 Photos Microsoft is rewarding those who are all-in on FH4. The Best of Bond pack will come with the Ultimate Edition of the game that is allowed an early play date, starting Sept. 28. For those who haven't fully committed, the Best of Bond pack will be available as an add-on for purchase when the game launches globally on Oct. 2. The action-packed trailer shows many of the vehicles transforming or busting out tricks they're known for from the films, including the Lotus emerging from the sea. Although players will not be able to drive any vehicles under water (that we know of), several of the gadgets will make it into the game and will be viewable during Forzavista mode. The '64 DB5 has many of its features, such as the bumper rams and revolving license plate, while the Lotus will have an available body kit, fins and all. The Bond pack also comes with a few features irrelevant to the cars, including two Bond outfits and six "quick chat" phrases that can be used during multiplayer. The pack adds to an already impressive catalogue of vehicles that includes more than 450 different rides. Available now to pre-order, the FH4 Ultimate Edition is priced at $99.99, the Deluxe Edition is $79.99, while the base game is $59.99. For those who love Bond but don't own a gaming system, don't forget about the recently announced DB5 Lego kit.