cars

Hello Kitty now stalks us in cars too

It was only a matter of time, really. As our multitasking lifestyles force the convergence of all trends (creating some pretty weird byproducts along the way), the ultimate collision was inevitable: iPod docks and Hello Kitty--in a car, no less.

The Hello Kitty car charger works with various iPod versions by plugging into the cigarette lighter and sending your music directly through the dashboard radio, according to Engadget. The bottom line? We've said it before: You can run or drive, but there's simply nowhere to hide.

NY rains on Mercedes' parade

No matter how well you arrange the lighting and polish up the fenders, you just can't control everything. This was a lesson that Mercedes-Benz learned here at the 2007 New York auto show when the roof sprang a leak directly above its 2008 350 sedan, making its North American debut in front of thousands of journalists on the show's press preview days. Staff from the convention center did their best to clean up the unexpected interior downpour, but not before the car got a good dousing. Unfortunately, there is nothing in the Mercedes press release on the new … Read more

In-car XM weather forecast for 2008

Here at the 2007 New York auto show, we just got a demo of the next in-car offering from XM Satellite Radio: XM WX real-time weather service. As we reported last year, XM is planning to bring the WX service (originally designed for nautical and aviation use) to aftermarket devices this summer with the release of the Bushnell ONIX 400 handheld GPS device. According to XM reps, the same technology is about a year away from being integrated into in-car navigation systems in much the same way as XM's NavTraffic real-time traffic service.

XM WX makes use of a … Read more

Life begins at 40 for the Mercedes CL65 AMG

Two digits instead of three on the back of a modern Mercedes Benz mean only one thing: enhanced performance courtesy of AMG, Mercedes' in-house tuning arm. To celebrate 40 years of souping up cars (first as a standalone company, then as a part of Mercedes-Benz), AMG is building a super-limited-edition version of the Mercedes CL dubbed the CL65 AMG 40th Edition. The car, which makes its debut here at the 2007 New York auto show and which will have a production run of just 40 units, boasts a hand-built 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 engine that produces 604 horsepower and 738 … Read more

Tuned for the track: The 2008 Honda S2000CR

If it's not broke, don't fix it: this is the maxim that Honda has applied to its popular S2000 roadster for the past 6 years, making minimal modifications to the high-revving two seater.

Here at the 2007 New York auto show, however, Honda has finally given the S2000 a new "Club Racer" trim level, designed for those drivers looking for a little more juice out of their weekend convertible.

With a drive train unchanged from that in the regular S2000, the biggest structural modification to the S2000 CR is the replacement of the S2000's cloth … Read more

All-round view from the Infiniti EX concept

Infiniti is one of our favorite automakers when it comes to in-cabin gadgetry, as evidenced in our recent reviews of the 2007 M35 Sport and 2007 FX45. And here at the 2007 New York International Auto Show, the Infiniti lab coats are strutting their stuff again with the unveiling of the Infiniti EX concept. Similar in design to the space-age FX crossover, the EX concept is the forerunner to a production version due out next year. The EX concept features an arsenal of tech features that we haven't seen anywhere before.

Perhaps the most impressive is the Around View … Read more

World Car of the Year

While still fairly new, the car industry is taking a cue from Hollywood and ending the car show season with an awards ceremony.

Comparable to what the Golden Globes means for film, the World Car of the Year Awards are voted on by 44 automotive journalists in 22 countries through secret ballot. (The actual awards are giant gold spheres on a pedestal.)

This year the World Car of the Year (think Best Motion Picture), went to the Lexus LS 460, which beat out the Audi TT and the Mini Cooper, as well as seven other nominees. (It should be noted … Read more

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

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.