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Latest Forza Motorsport 5 car pack leaves us scratching our head (in a good way) [w/video]

As we scrolled down the roster of the latest car pack for Forza Motorsport 5, the Hot Wheels Car Pack, our expression became bemused over the strange mix of vehicles that we now have at our disposal. This is quite unlike any of the other sets of DLC Turn 10 Studios has offered. Sure, there are the typical headliner cars – the Lamborghini Veneno and 2015 Audi S3 – that will appeal to the mainstream racing fan or auto enthusiast. But this latest car pack is so jammed full of nuggets of automotive weirdness that it's hard not to get excited. The Hot Wheels pack has no shortage of racers, with a particular focus on historical offerings. A 1939 Auto Union Type D covers the pre-war era of Formula One, while a 1967 Lotus 49 and a 1952 Ferrari 375 represent post-war racing. For a modern twist, a Mazda USF2000 car slots in below the Indy Lights car from the Nurburgring booster pack. From here, things get vintage and weird. There are a pair of delightfully offbeat coupes, in the form of a 1974 Toyota Celica GT and a 1973 Ford XB Falcon GT (here's hoping we get a vintage Holden Monaro in the future). Those two are joined by a 1956 Ford F-100, which your author already plans on converting into a dragster with vinyl flames down the side (because that's what all vintage pickups should be). The new ride we're most excited about, though, is the 1983 GMC Vandura G-1500. Yes, that's the van from The A-Team, and we're sure it will prove to be an excellent canvas for the artists of FM5 to cover with airbrushed, fire-breathing unicorns and mystical, gray-haired wizards (or just poorly painted letters that read "Free Candy"). This latest car pack is the final monthly car pack for FM5, although Turn 10 is quick to point out that while the monthly updates are over, there will still be new batches of cars made available to gamers. As for the Hot Wheels pack, it's available now on Xbox Live for $9.99. Scroll down for the press release from Turn 10 Studios, as well as a video of the newest additions to Forza Motorsport 5's vehicle roster. Forza Motorsport 5 Hot Wheels Car Pack Now Available Turn 10 Studios is bringing the Hot Wheels® Car Pack to "Forza Motorsport 5," available for download today. The pack features a collection of vehicles built from the ground up for the new generation that car fans can collect and customize while putting their virtual driving skills to the test.

2021 Mazda CX-30 gains 227 hp Turbo model

Well, the rumors were true. The 2021 Mazda CX-30 subcompact crossover will be offered with a 227-horsepower turbocharged engine producing 310 pound-feet of torque. Dubbed the 2.5 Turbo, the new entry will come with standard all-wheel drive when it goes on sale later this year.  Following in the footsteps of the lower-slung Mazda3 sedan and hatchback, the CX-30 gets the 2.5-liter turbocharged engine that was previously reserved for the company's larger offerings. Capable of producing 250 hp and 320 lb-ft with 93 octane gas, the grunty four-cylinder has revived some of the old "Zoom-Zoom" that many felt the company's lineup was lacking after the demise of Mazda's 2.3-liter turbocharged engine and Ford-sourced V6.  "The 2021 Mazda CX-30 2.5 Turbo will help uplift itself in its class with elevated performance and capability, new advanced technologies and superb craftsmanship and design," Mazda said in its announcement. For once, that's not marketing hyperbole. In the mainstream market, there's nothing in its class with this much going on under the hood — period. The 200-plus-horsepower subcompact crossover is a thing of luxury manufacturers, which should tell you just how serious Mazda is about pushing into premium territory. Don't believe us? Check the numbers: BMW X1/X2: 228 hp & 259 lb-ft.  Mercedes-Benz GLA250: 208 hp & 258 lb-ft.  Audi Q3: 228 horsepower and 258 lb-ft.  You won't see these figures coming from the Honda HR-V or Toyota C-HR, that's for sure. Even the meatier offerings in the segment hit the wall at about 200 horses. For once, Mazda is ahead of the mainstream market, and with the CX-30, is simply adding more upside to an already practical, high-quality and enjoyable car.  Mazda says the CX-30 2.5 Turbo will be available before the end of the year. While final pricing and packaging information won't come until we're closer to its eventual on-sale date, the CX-30 tends to run about $1,000 more expensive than the equivalent Mazda3 hatchback, so we're inclined to expect a starting MSRP of around $33,000 for the high-output CX-30. 

Why Mazda did so well and Volvo so poorly in Consumer Reports survey

The poor performances of Tesla and all three domestic automakers got the headlines in Consumer Reports magazine's latest reliability survey, but there were other results that caught our interest. Tiny Mazda notched the biggest gain among the 29 brands included in this year's list, leap-frogging nine spots to No. 3. Buick, which was in the top 10 last year, fell 11 spots to No. 19, the biggest decline of any brand. And then there's Volvo, a brand often vaunted for its quality and reliability, dropping six spots to dead last. What gives? For starters, all three brands benefited or suffered in large part due to their relatively small portfolio of vehicles. So when raves or complaints rolled in for even one particular model, as was often the case, it weighed heavily on the entire brand. That's especially true when it involves a relatively high-volume, hot-selling model such as the Buick Enclave (more on that in a moment). Mazda fared as well as it did despite the CX-3 losing Consumer Reports' influential "recommended" status due to problems with its climate system, including leaks from the condenser and refrigerant unit that triggered a service bulletin from the automaker in late 2016. Deputy auto editor Jon Linkov said that scratch didn't hurt the overall brand, since the CX-9 crossover and MX-5 Miata both jumped up to replace it on CR's list of newly recommended vehicles, thanks to several back fixes Mazda made to both models. For Buick, the redesigned Enclave SUV earned a "Much Worse Than Average" rating after owners reported problems with the new nine-speed automatic transmission it shares with the Chevrolet Traverse as well as some issues with the climate system. There were issues with rough shifting, plus complaints about the torque converter that necessitated fixes to the computer or outright replacement. "Again, similar stuff that we saw with the Traverse: both first-year vehicles, similar powertrains," LInkov said. He said all-new vehicles or redesigns typically fare poorly in CR's reliability survey due to issues that are hard to suss out before vehicles go into everyday use by consumers. The top-selling Encore and Envision fared well, Linkov said, but were outdone by the Enclave's problematic transmission components. The Enclave was Buick's second best-selling model through September at 35,227 units. Then there is Volvo, about which there is one word to sum up its woes: infotainment.