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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and potentially lifesaving front-lighting solutions that the federal government doesn't allow in this country due to outdated standards — and a current lack of leadership at the U.S. Department of Transportation.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.

Formula E is on track financially, with NYC race coming up

LONDON - Formula E could be breaking even already were it not investing for the future, chief executive Alejandro Agag said on Monday after the electric motor racing series reported continuing losses in its latest annual accounts. Accounts filed at Companies House showed Formula E Operations Ltd reduced its operating loss to 33.7 million euros ($38.32 million) at end-July 2016, a period covering its second season, from a previous 62.7 million. Net liabilities rose to 107.2 million euros from 72.1 million, while total revenues reached 56.6 million from a previous 19.7 million. "Everything is going according to plan," Agag, whose city-based series will be racing in New York for the first time on July 15 and 16, told Reuters in an interview at his London offices. "Actually we are doing incredibly well financially according to our plan. "We could have broken even this year but we decided to invest more in marketing and promotion. We decided to add races like the one in New York, which is in year one a race which is costing, we have significant capital expenditure." "It's really up to us when we want to go to break even or not. We could be in break-even now, we could be in break-even next season but we may decide to invest more in marketing and promotion." Agag said the shareholders, including John Malone's Liberty Global and Discovery Communications, were supportive of the strategy and the series had attracted more investors, sponsors and car manufacturers. The New York races will be held in Brooklyn's Red hook neighborhood, with lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop with technology partner Qualcomm securing the naming rights. MANUFACTURER INTEREST Agag, whose series plays down competition with Liberty Media-owned Formula One, said more carmakers were set to join a series increasingly aligned with their commercial focus. "I think Formula E has become the preferred destination for manufacturers and there are a few reasons for that," said the Spaniard. "Obviously, one is that it is electric and manufacturers are more and more focusing on electric cars...and we are the only platform really to help them promote that technology and those types of cars. "And second, because of the cost. The cost of the team in Formula E is very moderate." Whereas top Formula One teams can burn through $300 million a year, as can the likes of Toyota in the World Endurance Championship, the budgets of successful Formula E teams are between 10 and 15 million.

2015 Audi A3 Cabriolet

When my 758-mile journey on the A3 TDI Challenge came to an end in Boulevard, CA, Audi had a very nice consolation prize waiting for me: the 2015 A3 Cabriolet you see here. And with miles left to drive before reaching my hotel in Coronado (just outside of San Diego), what better way to celebrate my personal victory of achieving nearly 60 miles per gallon in the TDI than to run the rest of the route in couple of turbocharged A3 droptops? After all, the efficiency part of my drive was done, so it was time to have some fun. The A3 Cabriolet comes to market just as the sun sets on another four-seat convertible from the Volkswagen Group stable: the Eos. That car, often criticized as being too expensive, is technically replaced by the Beetle Convertible as far as VW-badged products go. But for those who still prefer something a bit more upmarket, the A3 Cabriolet will fill the void nicely, and with more style and grace than the Eos ever had. Driving Notes The A3 Cabriolet arrives with a choice of engines. On the base end lives a 1.8-liter turbo-four with 170 horsepower, 200 pound-feet of torque and front-wheel drive, or you can pony up for the 2.0T with 220 hp, 258 lb-ft and standard Quattro all-wheel drive. Regardless of engine, the only transmission available in the A3 Cab is Audi's six-speed S-tronic dual-clutch unit. This is a fine cog-swapper, with quick shifts regardless of chosen powertrain, and steering wheel-mounted paddles that offer plenty of fun from behind the wheel. That said, I found it best to just leave the transmission alone, no matter the engine. The paddles are entertaining, sure, but slick the gear selector into Sport and the A3 will instinctively hold gears through turns and always have you right in the heart of the powerband. The 1.8T's 170 hp and 200 lb-ft are more than adequate for duty in the 3,373-pound A3 Cabriolet. I was never bothered by a lack of power, especially with the engine on boil with the transmission in its sport setting. Hitting 60 miles per hour takes 7.4 seconds, en route to an electronically limited top end of 130 miles per hour. If speed is your thing, though, the 2.0T certainly delivers quite a punch. That same 0-60 sprint takes just 5.9 seconds with the more potent powerplant, and you can really feel the stronger rush of power right off the line, even with the quicker A3's 210-pound weight penalty.