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Why we can't have better headlights here in the U.S.

It wouldn't be a European auto show if we weren't teased with at least one mainstream vehicle we can't have here. At the Geneva Motor Show last week, the small but vocal contingent of shooting-brake buffs lamented that the Mazda6 wagon won't be coming to our shores, although they can take comfort in the fact that the vehicle won't get the torquey 250-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine we'll get here. Mercedes-Benz also announced a new headlight technology in Geneva that likely won't be available here anytime soon. It's just the latest in a long line of innovative and potentially lifesaving front-lighting solutions that the federal government doesn't allow in this country due to outdated standards — and a current lack of leadership at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Mercedes-Benz's new Digital Light system that debuted in Geneva uses a computer chip to activate more than a million micro-reflectors to better illuminate the road ahead. The Digital Light headlamps works with the vehicle's cameras, sensors and navigation mapping to adjust lighting for the given location and situation and to detect other road users. The Digital Light technology also serves as an extended head-up display of sorts by projecting symbols on the pavement ahead to alert drivers to, say, slippery conditions or pedestrians in the road. And it can even project lines on the road in a construction zone or through tight curves to show the driver the correct path. Digital Light will be available on Mercedes-Maybach vehicles later this year, although like any technology it's bound to trickle down to less expensive vehicles. That is, if we ever get it here in the U.S. Audi, a leader in automotive lighting, has repeatedly run into snags trying to bring state-of-the-art car headlights to the U.S. The German luxury automaker's recently introduced matrix laser headlight system, which performs many of the same trick as Mercedes-Benz's Digital Light, also isn't legal on U.S. roads. And five years after the introduction of its matrix-beam LED lighting, which illuminates more of the road without blinding oncoming motorists with brights by simultaneously operating high and low beams, Audi still can't bring that technology to the U.S. either.

New Forza 6 car pack adds 1,000 hp German race truck

Today, Forza Motorsport 6 continues its pattern of monthly updates with seven new cars in the Turn 10 Select Car Pack. The diverse group of cars spans nearly 60 years of motoring history with a combination three street and four track cars from Germany, Italy, the UK, and the UK. Turn 10 Studios will also release an update that brings back Monza, Catalunya, and the Circuit of the Americas tracks. The seven vehicles in the pack are the 1957 BMW Isetta 300 Export, the 1969 Ford Brawner Hawk III, the 1980 Fiat 124 Sport Spider, the 2014 Jaguar #14 Emil Frey GT3 Jaguar XK, the 2014 Chevrolet #4 ROAL Motorsport RML Cruze TC1 WTCC, the 2015 Mercedes-Benz #24 Tankpool24 Racing Truck, and the 2015 McLaren 570S Coupe. The BMW, Fiat, and McLaren all represent iconic vehicles for their respective brands. While the BMW may not be fast and the McLaren is the baby of the brand, their importance can't be overstated. It also can't be a coincidence that Fiat is releasing an all-new 124 Spider, now based on the Mazda MX-5 Miata, just as Forza is adding in a version of the original. The racecars share a similar iconic nature. The Ford Brawner Hawk III won the 1969 Indianapolis 500 with Mario Andretti at the wheel. The team behind the GT3 XK has ties with Jaguar going back decades. The Chevrolet Cruze is one of the most successful cars in the history of the World Touring Car Championship. Finally, the Mercedes-Benz racing truck was added because the developers saw them in real life and thought racing these big trucks would be cool. The car pack is available to for $7 total, or players can purchase each car individually. Related video: Related Gallery Forza 6 Car Pack Toys/Games BMW Fiat Mercedes-Benz forza car pack

Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes also under diesel emissions scrutiny

The controversy over Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal isn't limited to the US. In Europe, where diesel engines are far more popular, the issue is shining a harsh light on the NEDC emissions test. As already known, the evaluation does a poor job of reflecting real-world production of NOx, and it appears a significant number of automakers are affected. The Guardian in the UK has been reporting on real-world test results from a company called Emissions Analytics. After the latest round of checks, vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi were found to generate far more NOx than they should. The newspaper also published similar results for Renault, Nissan, Hyundai, Fiat, Volvo, Jeep, Citroen, VW, and Audi. On average, the figures are about four times over the limit of producing the pollutant. Unlike VW and its defeat device, these automakers aren't actually breaking the rules. The vehicles perform up to the NEDC lab test for emissions, but those results simply aren't translated to the street. "The VW issue in the US was purely the trigger which threw light on a slightly different problem in the EU - widespread legal over-emissions," Nick Molden from Emissions Analytics said to The Guardian. A big fight to decide the future of this issue appears to be on the horizon. Automakers claim that they can't meet the next round of tightening emissions regulations and are asking for compromises. Although, spokespeople for Mercedes and Honda told The Guardian that the brands would be in favor of the stricter rules. Meanwhile, some European governments began backtracking their support of diesels well before this scandal came to light. The added scrutiny certain hasn't helped the future of the oil-burner. Related Video: