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GT Academy returns, and why Gran Turismo 6 demands a pedal/wheel setup

The path to become a racing driver is a difficult one. It requires starting early, with karts, and then building up through the years and if you're really, really good (and really, really lucky), a team will notice you and sign you up. Or, you know, you could just become really good at Gran Turismo, and beat out other like-minded fanatics for a seat in the GT Academy.
The racing school, which culls its students from the ranks of Gran Turismo players has already pumped out successful racers, most notably, Lucas Ordoñez, who has a second and third-place finish under his belt at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With the 2014 GT Academy kicking off April 21 and running through June 16, you could have a chance to be the next Ordoñez.
That won't be easy, though. We recently had a playthrough on GT6 the proper way - with a racing seat, pedals and a steering wheel, complete with column-mounted paddles. (Our setup looked just like the one you see above, though that image is from E3.) In other words, it was as close to driving an actual car as most console games can get.

Recharge Wrap-up: New and old Audis get greener, as does US electricity

Audi has made environmental improvements to the its TT while boosting performance. The new TT sees an 11-percent reduction in emissions, and up to 14 percent more power. Audi says that each TT will save around 5.5 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifecycle. Additionally, the TT's manufacturing process has been cleaned up a bit, reducing emissions by about nine percent. Read more in the press release, below, or see Audi's lifecycle assessment here. Speaking of greening up Audis, Al Swackhammer of Washington converted his 1960 Audi DKW 1000S to run on electric power. Swackhammer first fell in love with the Audi Ur-Quattro, became an enthusiast of Audi and Volkswagen cars, and has owned nothing else ever since. With his DKW, he combined his passion for the classic car with his responsibility to the environment. "I am pleased that I did this project," says the happy owner, "and I enjoy driving it very dearly." Meet the man and his beloved electric Audi DKW in the video below. Toyota has chosen a sustainable design firm, Corgan, as the lead architect for its new North American headquarters. The new campus will be built in Plano, TX, and will be the workplace of about 4,000 Toyota employees. Corgan, who has already done 47 LEED certified projects, is already designing a temporary office for the site while it finishes the project. Toyota expects to begin working from the site in late 2016 or early 2017. Learn more in the press release below. In July, all new electrical generating capacity in the US came from renewable sources. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Energy Projects' newest "Energy Infrastructure Update" report says new electric generation put into service last month came from wind (379 megawatts), solar (21 megawatts) and hydro (5 megawatts). So far this year, 53 percent of new energy generation capacity has come from various renewable sources, and none from coal or nuclear. Currently, renewable energy accounts for 16.3 percent of the US electric generation capacity, providing about 14 percent of actual electricity. Read more in the press release from the Sun Day Campaign below. Positive life cycle assessment for the new Audi TT Compact sports car scores high for dynamic performance and efficiency Emissions reduced by 11 percent compared with predecessor Customer benefits from the very first mile Ingolstadt, August 18, 2014 – Dynamic performance and efficiency: The new Audi TT* impressively combines both qualities.

This '59 Cadillac is now on display at Toyota's museum in Japan

The Toyota Automobile Museum is different from a lot of other automaker collections in one very interesting way: It doesn't focus solely on Toyota's own automobiles. While the home team is certainly well represented, the love is spread to plenty of non-Toyota brands and vehicles that are significant to automotive history. And that permanent collection now includes the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible you see here. Yes, the '59 Caddy has the biggest tail fins ever, which makes it measurably significant. You still wouldn't expect to see it in a museum in Japan, though. After updates to the facility and its exhibits finish early next year, the 67-vehicle collection will also include such greats as a Renault 5 (known here as the Le Car), a '64 Ford Mustang, an Audi Quattro, a first-gen Honda Insight, and a Lotus Elite. Someone over there has good taste. You can visit the Toyota Automobile Museum the next time you're in Nagakute City, which is right outside Nagoya. We're booking our tickets now. Related Video: Cadillac Toyota Automotive History cadillac eldorado