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A COMAND you can master

We have spent a good deal of time over the past few months complaining about the navigation systems in Mercedes-Benz models. As we found in the 2007 Mercedes E550, the E320 BlueTec, and the SL550 models, the Benz COMAND solution for onboard tech fails to live up to its cars' world-renowned performance credentials. With its small, poorly rendered navigation screen buried at knee-level in the center stack and fidgety controls, the existing system leads had us tearing our hair out more than once.

Well, today at the 2007 New York auto show we saw the next generation of Mercedes' cabin … Read more

Behind the wheel of the poor man's Lamborghini

If you thought the pictures of the 2008 Audi R8 making the rounds were gorgeous, wait until you see it in person...and from the inside. I had the pleasure at the New York International Auto Show on Wednesday.

The sports-car public has been lusting after a mid-engine, high-horsepower model since Mercedes debuted its C111 in 1970. But unless you count the Porsche Carrera GT (which I don't because it was about $500,000) there has been nothing available in the "reasonable" price range.

Nearly four decades later, Mercedes' German brethren finally deliver.

Remember the old SNL … Read more

Chevy makes Trax into the small car market

General Motors seems to be waking up to the idea that there might be something in this whole small-car thing. Unveiling three new minicar global concepts this morning at the 2007 New York International Auto Show, GM's design chief Bob Lutz disclosed the blindingly insightful revelation that "small cars can be cool, bold, stylish, and fun." GM used the first press conference slot of the show to unveil three Korean-designed compact cars: the Chevrolet Groove, Beat, and Trax concepts.

The four-door Groove features an upright front windscreen, flared fenders and a short snout, which according to Chevy, … Read more

Commercial success at the New York auto show

Volkswagen, Honda, and Toyota picked up the laurels at this morning's IAG Automotive Advertising Awards at the kickoff event for the 2007 New York International Auto Show. Commercials for the Volkswagen Passat Wagon, the Honda Pilot, and the Toyota Yaris won the awards for most-liked ad; best nameplate launch, and best new nameplate launch, respectively.

We're going to be wrestling the crowds at the Javits Convention Center here in Manhattan to bring you the scoop on the latest models as they are unveiled.

2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR

We've barely managed to get our breath back following our review of the 2007 Shelby GT500, and now Ford has unveiled a more powerful version of its resurrected muscle car. The 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR (the last two letters stand for "King of the Road," in case you were wondering) will make its official debut at this week's New York auto show. The GT500KR will feature a tweaked version of the GT500's 5.4-liter supercharged V-8, capable of an estimated 540 horsepower.

According to Ford, the KR's advanced ignition timing, cold air intake system, … Read more

Zoho adds Web meeting tool to online office suite

Zoho, makers of more than a dozen office and productivity tools, have announced a new meeting app called Zoho Meeting. It's currently in private beta and will be available to all Zoho users next month.

Zoho Meeting is screen-sharing without the need to install an application, as we've seen with Vyew, Yugma, and others. It also integrates Zoho Chat, allowing participants to talk without the need for a separate phone solution, although an integrated VoIP solution is said to be coming soon. What may be the standout feature is the ability to record, save, and share meetings for … Read more

YouTube Awards 2006: better late than never

YouTube has launched the first ever YouTube Awards with 70 videos in seven categories. This week viewers can vote to pick their favorites of 2006. It's kind of like the Oscars, but for user-generated video clips such as Lonelygirl15 and Ask a Ninja. As of right now, there's nothing on the awards page but a bunch of comments from confused users who have made their way to the site to find nothing to vote on. Digging deeper, clicking on playlist shows a full listing of clips. We're assuming there will be a voting system similar to the … Read more

Video smorgasbord: Geneva auto show

I love the Geneva auto show for its blend of fashion and engineering; concept cars to showroom rides. The 2007 event did not disappoint. As with every major car show I cover, the first thing people ask me is "what did you like?" So here's my personal Top 5 from Geneva (excluding the Hotel des Bergues, which is always my favorite thing about Geneva.)

5. New Ford Mondeo - Because I dream of Ford bringing its cool Euro cars here one day.

4. New Mercedes C Class - Because it's a C Class you won't … Read more

KTM X-Bow: function over form

Motorcycle maker KTM's success in racing, including repeated first place wins in the Paris-to-Dakar rally, led it to venture into four-wheel racing. The X-Bow, shown at the 2007 Geneva Auto Show, is built as a track car, with a body designed specifically for racing. Style loses out to function when it comes to necessities such as an exposed suspension spring over the hood or massive air intakes in front of the rear wheels. X-Bow's tech specifications are very impressive. The car weighs just over 1,500 pounds and is powered by an Audi-sourced 2-liter turbocharged four cylinder engine. … Read more

Paris to Dakar winners on display

The grueling Paris-to-Dakar rally finished last month, and a few proud automakers showed off their winning cars. Mitsubishi has the honor of many consecutive first place wins with its Pajero SUV. One of the Team Repsol Pajeros, which took first place, is on display in Mitsubishi's booth at the 2007 Geneva Auto Show. Another successful entrant, which placed in the top 10, was the X-Raid diesel-powered BMW X3. Volkswagen, which put out a lot of press during the rally about its top 10 placing Touareg entrants, neglected to bring any of its cars to Geneva.