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Retro Wrong: MotorWeek shares first unaired pilot episode

MotorWeek is an automotive institution in the United States. We all have to get our start somewhere though, and for the latest entry in the Retro Review series, the show is releasing its unaired pilot for the first time. Even today, the program isn't necessarily the most exciting thing on TV, but the modern incarnation looks like Top Gear compared to this original, very monotone attempt. The cars on display are more interesting from a historical aspect than actually being behind the wheel. MotorWeek puts the Chevrolet Citation and Ford Fairmont head to head. If you want to see progress in the auto industry, look here. The Fairmont manages a rousing 85 horsepower from a 3.3-liter inline six, and the Citation does only a little better with a 115-hp, 2.8-liter V6. The other highlight comes at the end when John Davis talks about the cars of the future. These include the upcoming introduction of the Ford Escort in the US and the mention of a possible gasoline-electric hybrid from General Motors. Given this pilot, it's amazing MotorWeek ever got the green light. However, if you're a fan of auto history, seeing the news from the past is always fascinating. News Source: MotorWeek via YouTube Chevrolet Ford Hatchback Classics Videos Sedan

Forza Horizon G-Shock Car Pack brings Nissan IDx, Subaru Brat [w/video]

With winter's icy grip around much of the nation, now may be the perfect time to sit inside at night and enjoy some video games. The latest six-car G-Shock pack for Forza Horizon 2 on the Xbox One is now here, and it gives players a very eclectic group of vehicles to race around the game's open world. This month's group of vehicles spans the decades ranging from 2015 back to 1953. The newest and only concept of the group is the 2015 Nissan IDX Nismo. Since the production chances for this retro coupe look increasingly slim, this game might be your only chance to get behind the concept's wheel. However, if you prefer driving something a bit more classic and Italian, the 1953 Ferrari 500 Mondial is available. To add one more flavor of performance, there is the 2010 Mazda Mazdasped 3 hot hatch, which is also this month's free car for download. In addition to three takes on the sports car, Turn 10 is also offering a trio of off-roaders. The quirkiest among them is the 1980 Subaru Brat GL, which features two jump seats in the back to avoid the dreaded chicken tax. If you prefer something more boxy and American, then the 1975 Ford Bronco is sure to please. Finally, for some real power to get through the mud, there's the 2013 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor as tuned by Shelby with a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 making 575 horsepower. As usual, the whole pack costs players $5 to download, or it's free as part of the season pass. Scroll down for a brief video showing all of these virtual rides off and read the press release about them from Turn 10 Studios. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. "Forza Horizon 2" G-Shock Car Pack Now Available Welcome to the New Year! Are you ready to hit the roads of "Forza Horizon 2" for Xbox One in some new rides? You better be because the G-Shock Car Pack is lighting up the new year with some amazing vehicles. Leading off the pack is a "Forza" First: the 2015 Nissan IDx NISMO is making its videogame debut in "Forza Horizon 2." The IDx prototype harkens back to Nissan's storied automotive history, with its compact size and aggressive appearance, and looks to the future with some serious under-the-hood performance. Take a spin in this gem, and you will be startled by its performance and charmed by its presence. The remaining cars of the pack also have "Horizon Festival" written all over them.

Ford Green Zone works magic with GPS to make your drive smarter, cleaner

For the most part, plug-in hybrids rely on the power stored in the battery until that charge is depleted. Unless the switch can be changed manually, it's only then that the cars fire up the internal combustion engine and begin using the fossil fuels on board. This is ideal, of course, when one's drive isn't long enough that the car needs to start sipping gasoline at all. On longer commutes, when it's certain that the route is longer than the car's all-electric range, this isn't necessarily the most efficient use of energy. Ford's Green Zone system is designed to save some of that juice for the parts of the drive that require slower speeds. Ford is working on a smart system, based on Nokia mapping technology, that uses GPS data to use both the electricity and conventional fuel more efficiently. Since battery power is less efficient at highway speeds, Ford's Green Zone system is designed to save some of that juice for the parts of the drive that require slower speeds, rather than just using up all the electrons right at the beginning of the drive. Using a website or the in-car navigation system, the driver can pinpoint the parts of the route, highlighted in green, where using battery power would be more effective, and set the car to automatically switch to electricity for those sections. Depending on the route, the car could automatically switch back and forth between the two power sources multiple times, particularly if the drive is a mix between city and highway driving. Of course, Green Zone will be go beyond that. The program is being developed to take traffic and road grade into account, details that allow the car to be make even smarter choices to improve efficiency. Ford even hopes to have Green Zone learn driver habits, and respond accordingly depending on who is driving the car. The system could control other features as well, such as anticipating corners and shifting the headlights to better illuminate the road ahead. Green Zone could also potentially use information from vehicle-to-vehicle networking to control functions in the car. The Green Zone system still has a few years before it will be ready to be put into production vehicles, but Ford is confident it will make its way onto the road eventually. As with other innovations that improve efficiency and make our vehicles smarter, we can expect to see similar technology from other manufacturers, until it becomes a regular part of driving in the future.