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Forza Horizon announces January Recaro Car Pack with LFA N"urburgring Edition

Another month, another car pack for Forza Horizon. This time it's the Recaro Car Pack featuring a motley gang of cars and trucks: the 1983 GMC Vandura G-1500, 1995 Ford Mustang Cobra R, 2012 Cadillac Escalade ESV, 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR, 2012 Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition and 2012 Lotus Exige S.
It'll be up for download on Xbox Live on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013 for 400 MS Points. As usual, if you have the Forza Horizon Season Pass you can get them all free, and Season Pass holders will also get a bonus car that's not pictured: the 2009 Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster.
The Pagani is everything opposite to that Vandura, but while you might not ever win anything with the van, you can always use the back of it as a place to give out free hugs. Check out the video and press release below for more details.

2016 GMC Canyon Diesel Quick Spin [w/video]

The 2016 GMC Canyon Diesel and the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado Diesel are basically the same truck. This isn't really news – the two midsize pickups have been discussed side by side since their inception. If you stop reading right now, go to our First Drive story from last week, and replace "Colorado" with "Canyon," you won't miss a beat. Samesies. Looks-wise, the Canyon is a bit more polished overall than the Colorado on which its based. The front fascia has a more upscale, yet tough aura, the squared-off headlamps mimic those of the Sierra, and the alloy wheels – especially those on this SLT tester – are a premium touch. Inside the cabin, it's all carryover stuff from the Chevy truck, just with different badges and some unique color/trim combos. So it's a Colorado Diesel with a Canyon treatment. It's the typical GMC updo. But that's fine by me; this thing's a real sweetheart. Driving Notes Talk about smooth operator. This is one of the least harsh diesel engines I've ever tested, with low levels of vibration. Credit for that goes to the fancy German torque converter, as our own David Gluckman detailed in the Colorado First Drive. There's there's also very little in the way of turbo lag in this truck, aiding the silky character. I kind of miss the "turbo moment" woosh of power, but I'll happily trade that for total overall refinement. GMC hasn't released official fuel economy figures just yet, and my drive route wasn't exactly great for testing the ol' miles per gallon rating. I spent about 45 minutes slogging through traffic in Manhattan (perfect place for a diesel pickup, right?), before getting out onto the highway for another 45 or so. The combined trip returned numbers in the mid-20s, but I have to believe this truck can do better. The steering is vague, the body rolls – it drives like a pickup. That said, even though it's on the larger side of midsize, the Canyon is easy to maneuver, sight lines are great, and it's a generally pleasant-handling truck. The 2.8-liter Duramax diesel engine adds about 200 pounds to the Canyon's overall curb weight, but you don't notice from behind the wheel. Braking feel is smooth and solid, and the truck doesn't feel especially nose-heavy. Despite the anti-aero shape, the Canyon delivers a quiet ride with very little wind or road noise. Credit this to all the sound deadening material added to keep unpleasant diesel chugga-chugga-chugga noises out of the cabin.

Expect greater differentiation in GM's next-generation SUVs

General Motors says its next-generation Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade models will offer shoppers improved interior differentiation. Car and Driver recently caught up with Chris Hilts, GM's creative manager of interior design, who said that the cabins will all feature unique instrument panels, consoles, center stacks and switchgear moving forward. Apparently GM is now aware that consumers may be bothered by the fact that today's $85,000 Escalade has effectively the same cabin as a $45,000 Tahoe. Hilts says SUV buyers want more refinement than their pickup purchasing counterparts - and those same buyers also want their SUVs to have more exterior differentiation between the company's Silverado and Sierra pickup lines. Shocking.
That all sounds good to us, but we've heard this song and dance before. GM made big waves about how different the new-for-2013 Silverado and Sierra would look from each other, but judging by what we've seen so far, GM's stylists are painting in shades rather than with the full spectrum. For more on the what to expect out of GM's new SUVs, click on the C/D link below.