By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

I’ve always thought it’d be fun to make a driving simulator by transplanting a video game wheel into a junker and mounting a monitor on the hood. But this Scirocco shows what you can do if you’ve got mad coding skills and a little more ambition. These hackers in Finland used an ODB-II connector to patch into a new Scirocco’s CAN-bus, so that the car’s wheel, pedals and stick can be used to control the video game. They’re playing Rally Trophy in this clip, but this set-up could conceivably work for any game and with any vehicle. One of the commenters over on Hack a Day joked about the airbags going off if you crashed, and I thought that was a hilarious—if dangerous—idea. Hack a Day via Jalopnik

VW Scirocco as Game Controller

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

During the height of the dot com boom, I lived right around the corner from a bar that had a two-player version of Sega Super GT. And there were many, many nights when I’d come home burned out from a 12-hour day staring at my machine, head there and wind up pumping an entire roll of quarters into it. So as impressed as I am with the new racing games like Forza 3 and Gran Turismo, I’ve never bought an X-Box or a PlayStation. I know myself, and I know that as much as I like virtual racing, I also like to do things like have friends, eat things that aren’t delivered, go out with girls and see the sun. But if I came home and suddenly found this F1 simulator chair in my living room, I would probably forget about those things. It tilts to simulate G-forces and everything. Keep this incredible piece of awesomeness out of my house. Please.

Formula 1 – Simulator

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Not even fearless leader Kazunori Yamauchi knows exactly when Gran Turismo 5 will hit shelves, but deep down in my greasy little heart, I know the latest installment will be amazing. Want some proof? Check out this clip that shows just how well the company’s data logging technology maps the movements of this driver lapping a circuit.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Try it out and post your high score!

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Everybody who’s ran hot laps in a video game has wondered how their skills would translate to reality, and that’s why the latest video from Ford’s Mustang ‘10 Unleashed campaign is so fun to watch. Ford held a competition to find the best Need For Speed gamers, had the top four practice driving a Mustang in the game, then took them to a track to see who could come closest to their times in a real car. From the clips of them practicing virtually—um, and why the hell are they playing with controllers instead of wheels?—I was thinking the poor Ponys selected for this stunt were going to wind up in the crusher, but the Ford folks wisely chose to do this on a course without barriers.

By Ryan Porter

IN-N-OUT Editor

During lunch yesterday Rob and I played a good hour of Forza 3 and I must say the game is awesome. The graphics and sounds are amazing, and the feel of driving the different cars is like none other. I am no “gamer” and have very little experience in driving games like this, but I this game allows for people like me to really enjoy it no matter what your skill level is.

If you’re like me and hop directly into a Bugatti Veyron or the Ferrari FXX you will quickly find out what it’s like to slam head first into the walls and to finish the rest of the race entertaining your self with burnouts and head on collisions with the other racers. But if you step back and admit that improving at the game takes baby steps, you will be much better off picking the Rabbit GTI or the Dodge Charger R/T. Get in one of these cars and get your ducks in a row with the controls, your preferred driving view, the handling, and the passing. Watching Rob it was funny to see where he would try to pass and to then call him out on it as if he thought he could really get by with that kind of driving, just cause it was a video game.

Once you’ve got yourself situated, you should think about getting this setup! I’m looking to get myself a 360 with the entire racing wheel setup post SEMA.

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

There are 400 cars to choose from in the forthcoming Forza 3 game, and if you read about my trip out to Turn 10 Studios, you know just how much work goes into rendering them accurately. You can check out these stills of the Lamborghini Reventon, Audi A4 touring car, Corvette ZR1, BMW M3 GT2, Nissan Skyline R33, and Mustang SVT Cobra R right now, but you’ll have to wait until October to actually play. Don’t worry though, it’ll be worth the wait.

Continue reading "Spanking New Forza 3 Images: Really Intense" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

A couple of weeks back,  Ryan and I got a chance to go over and tour the Turn 10 studios, where the developers and testers are putting the finishing touches on Forza 3. Ordinarily, getting out of the office in the middle of the day to go play video games is a sweet enough deal by itself. But the really cool part?  We got to take the tour with drifters Rhys Millen, Dai Yoshihara, and Chris Forsberg, who were all in town for Formula D Seattle! Obviously we were both curious to see how their real driving skills would translate to the virtual world, and we got plenty of opportunities to see them behind the wheel.

Continue reading "Sneak Peak at Forza 3!" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

When GTChannel interviewed Gran Turismo 5 Producer Kazunori Yamauchi, he couldn’t give much info about the forthcoming game. But he did say that the designers deliberately included NASCAR because of it’s massive popularity stateside, and that he enjoyed going to a race in Texas. The interview is cool of course, but the sexy parts of this clip are the new teaser shots from GT5, which look completely insane. Yamauchi wouldn’t give a definite release date for the game, but damn, it looks like it’ll be worth the wait.

Midnight Club Los Angeles hits stores today, and I have to say, I think it looks pretty dope. I love the attention to detail in the police pursuit trailer below—check out the articulation of the bike’s rear end—and the shots of the GT running from the cops look hot as hell. The best part? When that uber Ford skids off the road and smashes into a parked car, you don’t have to fret about the fact that some innocent exotic got sacrificed for the shot. So why am I talking about how much I enjoyed this trailer? Well, it’s because I’ve got a copy of the game sitting on my desk, and I want to mail it out to one lucky member. So if your thumbs are itching to cause havoc on the streets of LA, just leave a comment with a link to your ride page before noon PST Friday. That’s all you have to do, because we’ll be picking a winner randomly! Head over to the official Midnight Club site to check out more trailers. Note: this copy of the game is for Xbox 360. Good luck!