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Whacksy Taxi is a fast-paced, ad-supported racing game with old-school graphics and controls--and a surprising amount of quality content for a free game.

Whacksy Taxi looks superficially like an Out-Run-style racer, but your lateral movement is much more like Frogger: you're always driving forward, on an endlessly straight road, but you use left and right buttons to switch back and forth between three vertical lanes, dodging a maze of traffic that becomes more dense with every level. You also have buttons to jump cars (one or two at a time) and to brake (to give yourself some breathing room). … Read more

Infiniti G37's slow and bulky drop top

With the G37's powerful engine and sharp handling, first-rate cabin electronics, and excellent-sounding Bose audio system there was little not to like about the car. Being able to drop the top and go cruising on sunny California coastal highways seemed about as good as it gets.

Yet not everything was perfect with the Infiniti G37 Convertible. Compared to other cars with retractable hard tops, the G37's is dead slow. And while we are used to seeing trunks filled up with folded roof panels, there was only a bare sliver of space left over in the trunk of the … Read more

Garmin announces two new entry-level GPS series

Garmin has announced two new Nuvi lines, the 2200 series and the 2300 series, aimed at the entry-level GPS market.

The 2200 series consists of three new models: 2200, 2250, and 2250LT. The Nuvi 2200 features a 3.5-inch display, Garmin's ecoRoute fuel-efficient routing and driving tools technology, and a feature called MyTrends that remembers your favorite destinations and can automatically offer routes and travel times. For example, if you head to work everyday at 8 a.m., eventually the Nuvi will remember and automatically set work as your destination when you hop in the car.

The 2200 comes … Read more

2011 Hyundai Equus: Playing in the big leagues

The executive sedan ranks are populated by the likes of the Mercedes-Benz S-class, Audi A8, and the Lexus LS 460. Amongst these nameplates you would not expect to find Hyundai, but the Korean automaker has assumed the role of upstart crow, doing a lot of things that, given its brand history in the U.S., it should not be capable of doing.

Its latest foray into upsetting the status quo comes in the form of the 2011 Equus, a luxury sedan designed for the moneyed classes. But in typical Hyundai style, it will probably undercut its competition in price, without sacrificing features. Hyundai let us spend a day driving the Equus before it goes on sale in early November. Pricing had not been announced at the time of our drive.

Chauffeur not included

The Equus looks imposing, a big, meaty sedan where a chauffeur would not be out of place. Its grille and front end share design with the Hyundai Genesis sedan, Hyundai's next largest car. Hyundai's design language, Fluidic Sculpture, seen prominently on the new Sonata, also makes itself known on the exterior of the Equus, albeit in a subtle manner. Witness the slight arches over the rear wheels that disappear in the rear doors, or the contours on either side of the hood that drift down towards the bumper. … Read more

The 2011 Audi A8: Fast, economical, and high tech

Audi has been busy this decade giving its cars new levels of luxury and performance, giving even BMW a run for its money. The new A8 can be seen as the culmination of this work, a big luxury sedan with all the latest electronics in the cabin combined with thrilling performance. But Audi takes it a step further, using a new transmission and its direct injection technology to eke 27 mpg of highway fuel economy from this beast. The new A8 is quite an achievement, earning our Editors' Choice.

Check out our 2011 Audi A8 review.

Mitsubishi Outlander GT: Light and nimble SUV

Despite its GT trim level and big, jet fighter grille, the 2010 Outlander GT is not some hyper-performance SUV. Its engine is adequate, without being overpowered, and its transmission is a typical automatic. Its one secret weapon is Mitsubishi's all-wheel-drive, a system developed for the rally circuit. In the Outlander GT, that means it has excellent stability while gunning it on slippery roads.

Mitsubishi also keeps up with the cabin tech, not only using a hard drive-based navigation system with traffic avoidance, but also being one of only three companies offering voice command over an iPod.

Check out our … Read more

Google, Verizon in tiered-Net traffic talks

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Verizon & Google agreement may raise net fees RIP Google Wave FTC & Intel reach settlement Jailbreakme.com patch coming soon

Man faces jail for YouTube video of traffic stop

Have you ever been stopped by a police officer and been tempted to whip out one of your fine portable gadgets and film the encounter?

Perhaps you wanted it for posterity, as a lesson to yourself on your own bad behavior. Perhaps you wanted it for humor because the officer had stopped you for walking down a Bronx street with your underpants showing. Or perhaps the officer was in something of an intolerant mood.

It may have been one of these things that drove Anthony Graber, a staff sergeant in the Maryland Air National Guard, to shoot events that followed … Read more

China's elevated bus drives above cars

China's latest solution to its notorious traffic and road congestion combines the best features of subways and buses into a single mass-transportation vehicle that rides above traffic rather than in it. Or under it.

Eliminating the need to tunnel underground or build expensive bridges, these elevated buses straddle the road on rails and provide enough clearance for other vehicles on the road (except for large delivery trucks) to drive under. This strategy will allow the buses to travel faster than the speed of traffic without the need for dedicated lanes or structures.

Construction of 115 miles of track will … Read more

Facebook says ad spending is rocketing

The very same advertisers who were once skeptical that buying up inventory on social networks could possibly do any good are now, apparently, going completely nuts about ads on Facebook.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, the company's most prominent liaison to Madison Avenue, said in an interview with BusinessWeek published Wednesday that the company's biggest advertisers have boosted their spending on Facebook by tenfold, or even 20-fold, in the past year.

"Two years ago the big brands were experimenting with us," Sandberg told BusinessWeek. "They started buying with us a year ago. Now, they're … Read more