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Kia punches way above its weight with the 2014 Cadenza

Update: Kia released pricing and new details about trim levels on April 19, 2013. The Cadenza wil be available for a base price of $35,100. The Luxury package, referred to in this review as Premium, raises the price to $38,100. Kia set the price of the Technology package Cadenza at $41,100.

Driving the 2014 Kia Cadenza, I contemplated the older-model Mercedes-Benz E320 sitting in front of me, and realized that the Kia had a much better cabin.

The thought of comparing Kia favorably with Mercedes-Benz was unheard of 10 years ago.

Issues of used versus new aside, … Read more

Motion-sensing, laser-laden sculpture is 'Fluidic' in the language of light

With a wave of your hand, bright lasers cascade across 12,000 translucent spheres that hang above a reflecting pool, creating a flickering, sinuous symphony of light. The ethereal experience isn't a dream, but rather Fluidic, a hybrid light show and sculpture that responds to viewers' movements.

Created by Berlin-based design studio Whitevoid Designs for Hyundai's Advanced Design Center, "Fluidic -- Sculpture in Motion" is just one of many interesting art exhibits on show during Italy's Milan Design Week, which runs through this weekend.… Read more

What's smart (and dumb) about the latest smartwatches

Why wear a smartwatch? You might have said the same thing about carrying a smartphone before those got smart enough to be truly useful. Smartwatches are a sort of mini tech trend of the moment, but here's the brutal truth: we wouldn't recommend that our friends buy any of these, unless they're early-adopter watch fetishists. The smartwatches of today have a muddy mix of good, bad, and flat-out ugly features. At best, they're quirky and stylish. At worst, they're hobbled with short battery life or don't work at all.

None of the smartwatches we'… Read more

Episode 34: The MacBook Pro rocks and rolls!

It's safe to say that upon our arrival at American Soil and Stone, we thought the MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina Display's fate was pretty much sealed. With so much equipment capable of tearing down a house around, the MacBook's chances of survival were slim to none. However, after an epic onslaught of perhaps the heaviest artillery we've ever thrown at a gadget, we were shocked at the computer's toughness.

While it's currently in the ICU, you guys will have the chance to give it some TLC, and hopefully nurse it back to health. … Read more

Lexus tries to make RX 350 a sports car, and fails

Lexus injected its brand, which had taken the place of Cadillac among AARP members, with a little excitement when it introduced the LFA and the IS-F. While those models have legitimate sport cred, the F-Sport line of cars, exemplified here by the 2013 Lexus RX 350 F Sport, comes off as much less convincing.

In colloquial terms, F Sport is all hat and no cattle.

On its own, the Lexus RX 350 works as a solid luxury SUV. Seating for five, flexible cargo space, and an easy driving character have made it a strong seller for Lexus, and a success … Read more

Top 5 uses for Google Glass

I have to admit that Google's Project Glass makes me cringe. It's not that it's ugly (which it is), or that it marks the slow creep of computers into our brains (which it does).

What troubles me is the idea of a population of people with streaming-video cameras dangling off their faces. How could that not create a cultural chilling effect? Even if Google disabled all the cameras -- it's just unnerving having one pointed at you.

Gah! Just thinking about it makes me want to craft my tin foil hat and move off the grid. … Read more

Power Grab: Turbos vs. Superchargers (CNET On Cars, Episode 15)

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Got a lot of email from you about turbos and superchargers, the purposes and differences of each. Not surprising, since there are a lot of both showing up in all kinds of cars these days, not just in hot rides. So this week we lay out the difference by walking you through some cutaway engines.

We're pretty smart about the data on our computers and phones these days, but most people do not give enough thought to the fact that … Read more

Microsoft Monocles? Redmond to make its own Google Glass?

The world is moving very quickly.

And where it's moving very quickly to is a place where we'll all look quite ridiculous and talk seemingly to ourselves as we walk down the street.

This is the heaven envisioned by Google, with its fascinating Google Glass. Yes, the glasses that make people look like no one's idea of a dinner date on the subway.

Many questions have emerged since these glasses invaded the public gaze. "Should one ban people wearing them while driving?" was one question. "How will Newt Gingrich look when wearing them?" … Read more

The 404 1,242: Where we light up the Pong (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- This is your one chance to play Pong on the side of a Philadelphia skyscraper.

- Arrested Development returns May 26 with all 15 new episodes on Netflix at once.

- Netflix also gets old cartoon shows from Adult Swim; still no Batman: The Animated Series though.… Read more