Cars

Over the last decade, Subaru has been a follower, not a leader, in automotive technology. But in one swoop the company is giving its cars a set of advanced driver assistance features competitive with those from Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

Subaru's new EyeSight system, which will first be available on the 2013 Legacy and Outback, uses two cameras to monitor what is out in front of the car. These cameras use stereo processing to determine the distance of other cars or objects ahead. They also can recognize lane lines.

These sensors enable a whole raft of driver assistance features. Collision … Read more

During a brief drive in the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth, we stopped for a photo shoot. But as CNET editor Antuan Goodwin and I circled the car with our cameras, the idling Abarth suddenly gave a vicious growl.

The engine decided a few extra revs were in order, resulting in a burbly rumble from the exhaust. The car was either camera-shy or annoyed that we weren't driving it.

The Abarth scorpion badges look pretty cool, but the first thing that will make you sit up and take notice of this Fiat 500 is the exhaust note. It grumbles loudly running at a steady speed. Run up the revs, then let them drop, and it backfires, which makes me unreasonably happy.… Read more

BMW's original 6-series earned it the nickname "shark" for its profile, but nobody applied that moniker to the revived 6er from the last decade. BMW designers, forced by regulation to make the trunk lid a certain height, seemed to just sort of give up when it came to the rear of the car.

As a result, the trunk lid looked like a piece merely tacked on to what could have been a nice profile. Maybe BMW's designers were hoping an aftermarket would develop in modded trunk lids. Given the price of the car, the 6 buyer … Read more

Using the phrase "unparalleled torsion and strength to weight ratio," terms usually reserved for cars and spacecraft, TAG Heuer gets into the smartphone business with the most likely very expensive Racer (not to be confused with Razr).

Today's release contains very little detail about the actual phone. Wrapped in an industrial-looking case made of carbon fiber and titanium, we are told it is Android-based, uses a 3D interface, and has a high-speed processor. … Read more

Another excellent European auto show kicks off in Switzerland, with automakers bringing their latest and greatest new cars and concepts to show the world what they can do. The International Motor Show in Geneva always features an impressive roster of cars for the world's wealthiest. This year it also plays host to the latest automotive-technology innovations as well as a focus on low carbon emissions.

The 2012 Geneva auto show runs from March 8 to 18. Here are a few of the cars we saw at the show. Click through to our full coverage of the show for many more videos, photos, and articles. … Read more

Bjarne Sorenson, Bang & Olufsen's Automotive Technology Director, is a very lucky guy. As we sat in the Aston Martin DBS listening to music, he described the approval process for the company's recent work with BMW. As BMW was putting the final touches on its new 6-series, Sorenson got to spend a few days driving the Autobahn at 100 mph in the car, making sure the optional Bang & Olufsen audio system produced the same perfect sound at high speeds as it did at a stop.

Sorenson has also been lucky in launching Bang & Olufsen's automotive … Read more

Harman International, in looking for a way to personalize the in-car experience, found that the most unique thing everyone carries is a phone. In its demonstration of a new dashboard electronics system, Harman pointed out that people are more likely to loan someone else their car keys than their phones.

At the 2012 Geneva auto show, Harman used Rinspeed's Dock+Go concept car to show off the new system. In the car we had a number of smartphones, each equipped with near field communications, belonging to a variety of different people (set up for the purposes of the demonstration). … Read more

Very few people change the performance software on sport cars, but today Ford showed people that upgrading a car's software can be as routine as installing computer updates. The company is shipping owners of its cars with the MyFord Touch infotainment system a USB drive that changes the look and performance of the screens that access navigation, entertainment, climate control, and communications.

CNET got an exclusive look at this update when Ford's Director of Electronic Systems Engineering Jim Buczkowski stopped by to show us how it is done. After plugging in the USB drive, the car's infotainment … Read more

Switzerland has set itself as neutral ground in Europe, a role it plays every year between the automotive manufacturing powerhouses of Germany and France. The International Motor Show in Geneva gives equal time to not only the regional automakers, but interlopers from the United States and Asia.

Geneva's proximity to the wealthy gearheads of Monaco also assures a good mix of exotic and specialty carmakers. CNET will be covering the show's press days, sending back photos, video, and stories during the week of March 5.

Here are some of the cars we expect to see. … Read more