Would you know what to do if your car crashed into the sea and began to sink? For every foot you descend towards Davey Jones' Locker, 850 pounds (385 kg) of pressure are being exerted on your car door, making the simple act of opening it and exiting an impossibility at the worst possible time.

For this episode of The List, we've brought our hosts, Jessi and Patrick, to the experts at Amphibious Medics to learn the various techniques for escaping a car underwater. That's right, there's more than one school of thought on the best course of action in these situations, and we're going to try them all. While our hosts express their preference for which technique worked best for them, we're no experts and encourage you to do your own research.

Of course, we set up a completely controlled situation wherein we could ensure the safety of Jessi and Patrick, so don't try this at home with your winter beater and a local pond. We found a location perfectly suited for dunking cars, hired some trained medics and divers to watch their backs, and enlisted the services of the show's trusty BMW 3 Series (see its other starring roles in Work as a Professional Stunt Driver and Buy a Used Car Online) to play the part of the hapless sinking auto.

Will this knowledge ever come in handy? Hopefully not, but if you ever do find yourself slowly sinking underwater in your car, you'll be glad you scrolled down to watch the video below.

Microsoft has just unveiled the third generation of its Xbox gaming console, called Xbox One, and the first game demoed on stage was the fifth installment of the Forza Motorsport franchise. The teaser trailer for Forza Motorsport 5 shown during the keynote pitted the two supercars of McLaren against each other: the original F1 and the upcoming P1.

Developed by longtime steward of the franchise, Turn 10 Studios, Forza Motorsport 5 will return to the more traditional simulation-style format of its forebears, as opposed to the open sandbox party world of the more recent Forza Horizon. The new game will be a launch title for Xbox One, so expect a release date in Q4 2013 in time for the holiday shopping season. With a built-in Blu-ray drive, 500 GB hard drive, 8 GB of RAM and 64-bit system architecture, the Xbox One should have the bits underhood to make the best-looking console racing game ever (assuming Sony doesn't move Gran Turismo 6 to its upcoming next-gen Playstation 4 console).

We're also pretty excited about the system's built-in Kinect, with a 250k pixel depth sensor. In addition to facilitating gesture- and voice-based commands for Xbox One, the sensor is said to be sensitive enough to measure human body temperature – that's as cool as it is freaky and could have interesting ramifications for hardcore racing simulations.

The Xbox One keynote presentation has just finished up, but you can view the whole thing on Xbox.com. Expect a lot more news about the system, Forza 5 and other racing titles as we get close to E3 in June.

Click here for a look behind the scenes at the making of Forza Motorsport 4.

Honda must really love Formula One racing, as evidenced by today's announcement that the Japanese automaker is returning to the world's most popular motorsport for the fifth time in its history. Honda has entered into a team partnership with McLaren to develop and manufacture power systems – the engine and energy recovery system – for the 2015 F1 season. McLaren will be in charge of chassis development and running the day-to-day operations of this newly formed team, which will be called McLaren Honda.

Honda says its decision to re-enter F1 racing had to do with new regulations for the 2014 season that require cars to be powered by a 1.6-litre direct-injection turbocharged V6 engine paired with an energy recovery system. Apparently the chance to develop this particular powertrain for F1 racing was too enticing for Honda to pass up, which suggests it has bigger plans for the knowledge learned while developing these systems beyond just winning races.

As mentioned, this is Honda's fifth foray into F1 racing, the first being back in 1964 when it participated as its own team through 1968. Its longest stint came from 1983-1992 as an engine supplier, during which time it partnered with many teams, including McLaren, and won six Constructor Championships. Honda then returned from 2000-2005 as an engine supplier for British American Racing (BAR) before buying that team outright and running it as Honda Racing from 2006-2008. Then the global economic crisis hit. Honda's return to the sport will surely be welcomed by fans as its partnership with McLaren should produce a formidable team. It's a strong signal that the company has returned to health after a few tumultuous years, and hopefully its rediscovered motorsports mojo will help yield more passionately engineered street cars.

Scroll down to read the official press release and watch a video news report.

We certainly have sympathy for this hapless driver who had a difficult time leaving a Wits University parking lot in Johannesburg, South Africa. The lot is overcrowded and probably beyond capacity, making the driver's efforts to turn down its lanes an exercise in futility and frustration.

It doesn't help that the camera operator and his friends offer nothing but colourful (read: explicit, hence the NSFW warning) commentary. They refer to the driver as being female, but it's not possible to tell from the video's perspective which sex was responsible for bungling the dozen-plus-point turnaround.

Scroll down to watch the excruciating extrication below.

Faced with truck drivers not heeding warnings when their tractor trailers were too tall to enter the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, officials turned to a company called Laservision to put an end to these costly crashes that were not only closing the tunnel for weeks at a time, but also put other drivers on the road in considerable danger.

Developed and implemented back in 2011, Laservision's Softstop system projects a familiar bright red stop sign, seemingly in mid-air, at the tunnel's entrance if a vehicle too large to enter is detected. In fact, the stop sign does not float in mid-air, but rather is projected onto a water screen that, should a vehicle not heed its command, would cause no damage from being driven through.

The Softstop water stop sign is a last resort, mind you. If a driver's truck is tall enough that it would crash into the tunnel were it to enter, a number of brightly flashing warning signs are activated that signal the driver to stop earlier. Only if those flashing signs are ignored is the Softstop system activated at the tunnel's entrance. Likewise, the Softstop system can be activated for other reasons, including keeping drivers out for their own protection if there's a fire or other disaster inside the tunnel.

Though we admit to chuckling at the occasional truck-crashes-into-low-overpass video (11foot8.com is a whole website devoted to vehicles crashing into a low railroad trestle in Durham, NC), this clever solution for preventing such accidents is even more interesting to watch in action.

For those hoping the next iteration of Polyphony Digital's storied 15-year-old Gran Turismo franchise would take full advantage of the Sony Playstation 4, sorry, but we're going to burst your bubble. The next-gen console is slated to debut this holiday season, and while Sony officially announced today that Gran Turismo 6 would be released at the same time, it will be for the seven-year-old Playstation 3 console, not the new PS4. But hey, at least we won't have to have waited five years for this version like we did for the fifth.

GT6 will launch with a roster of 1,200 cars, 33 locations (seven more than GT5) and 71 track layouts. The racing simulator is also said to utilize new game and physics engines, which Sony claims "pushes the limits of the PS3." Today's announcement was made at the well-known Silverstone racing circuit in the UK, which is one of the new tracks in GT6. A demo version of the game with 19 cars (see the full list below and view them in the image gallery) will be released before the holiday season; Sony says it's scheduled for July and will kick off GT Academy 2013.

We'll see more of Gran Turismo 6 at the E3 games show in June, but for now you can watch the trailer below for what has become the Playstation 3's best-selling franchise with 70 million copies sold. This sixth iteration will likely lock down that honour for good.

Following last week's entertaining and wildly popular Spock vs. Spock video, Audi has come back with a bevy of videos for its new advertising campaign that will begin airing tonight in primetime and on cable.

There are five ads altogether, but the longest one, a 60-second spot titled It Couldn't Be Done, is our favourite by far. Set to a reading of the poem of the same name by Edgar Albert Guest, the commercial chronicles the history of Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt from the days of its founder, August Horch, through its many decades of innovation, competition and creativity. Indeed, watching the commercial gave us chills similar to when we first heard the Ram brand's Farmer commercial that aired during this year's Super Bowl.

The other four commercials are shorter 15-second spots that focus on such familiar themes as the company's Quattro all-wheel-drive system, the safety of its vehicles, their style and the company's advances in LED lighting. While less impactful than the longer ad, we think they effectively sound the drum beat of Audi's preferred tag line: Truth in Engineering. Scroll down to watch all five new ads, starting with the 60-second It Couldn't Be Done.

After watching this video of Brazilian police ramming a suspected drug-smuggling plane with their car to prevent it from taking off, I've realized that Hollywood has once again lied to me. My last exposure to Brazilian law enforcement was courtesy of their portrayal in 2011's Fast Five, in which the country's police force was presented by Tinsel Town as easily corruptible and able to be defeated by a couple of Americans in Dodge Chargers towing a safe.

In reality, though, it appears not all Brazilian cops roll over that easily. The ones in this dramatic video did their own real-life stunt work when they decided to ram a suspected drug transport plane during takeoff. Appearing to take out the plane's tail section and then ram it from the side, the officers also braved some flying bullets, though it's unclear from the video who was doing the shooting. Huffington Post reports that five people were arrested and 230 kilograms of cocaine base paste were seized.

The Brazilian police aren't even newcomers to the plane-ramming business. An equally, if not more, dramatic video was captured in 2011 that showed Brazilian police using their car to shear off an entire wing of a plane while it was taking off. All of which makes me now believe that if Hollywood were more realistic, Fast Five would've been over in 20 minutes with Dom and Brian in handcuffs. Scroll down to watch this real-life car-vs-plane chase scene.

As is the case every year, Volkswagen engineers have built and brought a new toy to their fans at the annual Wörthersee festival in Reifnitz, Austria. Called the Design Vision GTI, this track toy is a Golf that's been widened, lowered and given an injection of twin-turbo V6 steroids. We reported on this uber-fast hatchback concept last week, and now we've got photos the back up the rumours.

The powerplant providing motivation is a 3.0-litre V6 paired with two turbochargers to produce 503 horsepower and up to 413 pound-feet of torque. With all-wheel drive and Volkswagen's famous DSG gearbox (the gear count is unknown), the Design Vision GTI can erase what's between you and 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.9 seconds, as well as a reach a terminal velocity of 300 km/h (186 mph). Carbon ceramic brakes, 20-inch wheels and a specially tuned chassis round out the hardware upgrades, while engineers compressed the car's dimensions to be shorter, wider and lower than a stock GTI.

The exterior of the Design Vision GTI is meant to evoke the future of GTI styling, which is fine by us as we especially like how the car's iconic C-pillar is pulled away from the body and flows into the significantly flared rear fenders. It looks like the reflection of a GTI in a circus mirror with menace-making bends. The interior, meanwhile, is an exercise in editing, with switches, knobs and all manner of unnecessary controls removed, and the centre console more severely oriented towards the driver. The rear seats have been replaced by an X-shaped crossbar, and red straps appear where door handles used to be (à la Porsche). There's even a camera embedded in the A-pillar that can shoot either the track ahead or the driver at work.

While not as stout in the power or performance departments as the 2007 GTI W12 Concept, the Design Vision GTI looks even more the business than that King of Golfs. For now we only have renderings, but we'll update this post with live images of the Design Vision GTI as soon as they're available.

Scroll down to read the official VW press release, then watch a video showing the Golf R facing off against the Mini Cooper S.

SRT will be documenting its second season – and first full season – of Viper GTS-R racing in the American Le Mans Series with a new web series called Beyond the Checkered Flag. We don't know much yet, but the team has released a teaser video (below) and promises the series will run at least four episodes, if not more. The videos will feature all six drivers who are responsible for piloting the No. 93 and 91 Viper GTS-R cars that compete in each race, and each episode will be told from a different perspective of the action (drivers, the pits, the fans, etc.).

As we've mentioned before, the return of the Viper to motorsports is a big deal, and we're excited that SRT Motorsports has decided to document it. The car's first go around in racing began in the late '90s and peaked during the fledgling seasons of the then-new American Le Mans Series when the Viper GTS-R won 16 of 18 races during 1999 and 2000. The new Viper GTS-R hasn't been nearly as dominant as the original since returning to ALMS racing last August, the team having only just achieved its first podium finish a few weeks ago in Long Beach with one of its cars finishing third.

The first episode of Beyond the Checkered Flag, which should air in mid-May, will focus on preparations for the 2013 season, specifically the time leading up to the season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring in March. Spoiler alert: the team didn't win its class, though the No. 91 car did lead for much of the race and finished fifth, scoring valuable championship points to kick off the team's first competitive season back.

Scroll down to watch the trailer for Beyond the Checkered Flag.

The only thing that makes a sci-fi geek happier than William Shatner and Patrick Stewart in the same room is when two Spocks collide. Audi has somehow managed to do just that ahead of the release of the second film in this historic franchise's new go-round called Star Trek Into Darkness, which opens in theaters later this month.

We won't spoil the fun (you can, and should, watch it yourself below), suffice it say that the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy, steals the show from the franchise's new Spock, Zachary Quinto. The short video has the two Vulcans battling wits in a series of challenges that quickly comes to involve cars, but Audi manages to outwit them both in the final scene by leaving these logical beings with an emotion that resembles amazement.

This is the second summer blockbuster that Audi has tied its four rings to, the other being Iron Man 3. Whereas Tony Stark's garage and the Marvel universe have more Audis than people, we aren't expecting to see an Audi logo on the warp drive of the USS Enterprise in this latest Trek tale.

Scroll down and set your phasers to amuse.

A person's portfolio of automotive experiences should contain more than just family vehicles and the occasional sports car. That's why our list of 1,001 Automotive Things To Do Before You Die includes driving all sorts of different vehicles. So far we've driven drift vehicles, off-roaders and even tanks, and there are many more interesting conveyances we still want to sample.

One that's been on our list since the show's beginning is driving a big rig truck. We all pass these beasts of burden on the highway and probably don't give them a second thought, except maybe to question why one is blocking our way on the one day we're late for work.

Still, these many-wheeled machines account for the bulk of shipping that occurs in North America, and there's an army of highly trained drivers who pilot them all. You can't just step out of your Ford Explorer and into the driver's seat of a big rig; you need schoolin' first.

We sent hosts Jessi and Patrick to Southern California's Dootson School of Trucking, and because we had high hopes our two pupiles could be taught to drive a big rig on public roads, before school started they were required to pass a Commercial Drivers License written permit test, as well as receive a physical and drug test as ordered by the Department of Transportation. With that out of the way, their lesson could begin.

Scroll down to watch some of what it takes to become a real big rig driver.

It's nighttime in China, and Buick has just concluded an evening event the day before the first – and only – press day of the Shanghai Motor Show. The star of this evening's party was the Buick Riviera concept vehicle, a plug-in electric hybrid coupe that the automaker says gives a glimpse at its future design direction, not to mention resurrecting some nomenclature from the brand's history that includes a similarly named concept from 2007.

The shape of the Riviera is said to be inspired by water. While the traditional Buick "waterfall" grille is present, the front end gains a more aggressive note thanks to what appear to be vertical air inlets below each headlight.

As for the concept's drivetrain, Buick says it uses General Motors' new dual-mode wireless plug-in hybrid electric vehicle propulsion system, or W-PHEV for short. The keyword there is 'wireless,' as the Riviera can charge its onboard battery packs with a traditional cable or wirelessly via a "sensory recharge panel" underneath the car.

The car's other features include 10 high-res cameras and 18 micro high-precision sensors for image and distance monitoring of objects in the vehicle's path, which are then displayed on the inside of the windshield for the driver as a holographic image. Other electronic goodies include baked-in 4G LTE internet connection, night view assist, eagle view (like Nissan's Around View Monitor), full-range adaptive cruise control, an autopilot system and something Buick calls "transparent" A-pillars. A lot of this sounds like concept car hokum, but buried there somewhere beneath all that future-tech is an aesthetic Buick hopes will resonate with buyers, and maybe a production coupe it can sell in both China and Canada.

Click through to read Buick's press release.

The Crossover For The Kardashians Of 1895



My wife and I are holdouts among our friends and family in the offspring department. Our heir-free lifestyle, however, affords us the opportunity to travel this great land, and road trips are our favourite. So while I'm unqualified to remark on how well the new 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport will swallow an infant son and stroller, I can pass judgment on this two-row crossover's talents for carrying people and cargo over great distances.

The lady and I recently drove a new 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport to one of this country's national treasures: the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. The Biltmore was built between 1889 and 1895 by George Vanderbuilt, grandson of Cornelius Vanderbuilt who was one of this country's earliest captains of industry. Despite the Biltmore being the largest privately owned home in the United States, which it remains to this day with a footprint of 16,623 square metres (178,926 square feet), George and his wife, Edith, only ever had one child. A family of two parents plus one child would have made the Vanderbuilts exactly the type of people Hyundai hopes to attract with this two-row Santa Fe Sport – George's eldest brother, Cornelius II, had seven children and would've had better luck fitting his brood in the larger three-row Santa Fe (sans the "Sport" suffix).

Like George, the all-new Santa Fe Sport is now the youngest in a large family of redesigned Hyundais that have been pushing the Korean brand's sales ever higher. Being last in a line of overachievers has its advantages, as this new Santa Fe Sport comes to market with the brand's latest design, technology and safety features, all of which it needs to compete in a midsize crossover segment that is more crowded and competitive than perhaps any other.