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2014 Toyota Highlander gets a much-needed update in NYC

NEW YORK--Toyota's soccer-mom-mobile gets an infusion of cabin tech, modernized safety features, and an updated sense of style with the debut of the 2014 Toyota Highlander midsize SUV at the New York International Auto Show.

With the previous generation pushing seven years old, the Highlander was very much in need of an update. Also, the SUV still seats up to eight passengers across its three rows or seven passengers when equipped with the optional second-row captain's chairs. Both configurations benefit from increased interior volume for passengers and cargo thanks to a new, double-wishbone rear suspension that removes the … Read more

BMW adding Rhapsody and Audible to app roster

NEW YORK--Adding to its existing roster of app integration, which currently comprises Pandora and Mog, BMW announced its next four apps to work with BMW cars at the New York International Auto Show. Music fans will be able to easily use Rhapsody and TuneIn, book lovers can listen to Audible, and Glympse lets drivers share their current whereabouts and destination.

Each app shows up on the LCD in BMW models equipped with the app integration feature, in a format similar to other car applications, such as navigation or the hands-free phone system.

Rhapsody subscribers will get a similar feature set … Read more

New Audi A3 revealed with big car tech

NEW YORK--Audi showed off the cabin tech for the new A3 model at 2012 CES, setting the first milestone for what looked like a highly anticipated update. And while Audi put the updated A3 in sedan and Sportback form on the stage in Geneva and Paris last year, it is only now that we get to see the U.S. version of the car.

However, shown as a 2015 model at the New York International Auto Show, the A3 will not hit showrooms until next year.

The new A3 will come out in far different form than what most Americans … Read more

T-Mobile gets iPhone, kills the contract

CNET Update keeps it simple:

Tuesday's Update explains T-Mobile's new plans and how its selling top smartphones for less than the competition.

Also featured in this tech news roundup:

- Google+ allows animated GIFs for profile pics

- Google+ updates apps with new photo tools and location sharing

- Facebook creates comment threads with reply option

- New BMW 6-series takes dictation, shows virtual gauges

- Sneak peek of New York Auto Show (pictures)

Watch CNET Update in the video above, and subscribe to the podcast via the links below.

Subscribe:

iTunes (HD) | iTunes (SD) | iTunes (HQ)… Read more

Buick updates tech in 2014 LaCrosse

When Buick updated its LaCrosse model with its mild hybrid system, eAssist, and the IntelliLink infotainment system for the 2012 model year, the car was the most technically advanced Buick available. Rather than rest on its laurels, Buick gives the model new internal tech features for a 2014 model year update, including a new LED panel in the instrument cluster.

The 2014 LaCrosse model will feature the same drivetrain options as before, a 2.4-liter four-cylinder aided by a 15-horsepower electric motor or a more traditional 3.6-liter V-6 with direct injection.

The look gets refreshed slightly with new LED … Read more

Cadillac delivers 420 hp with new twin-turbo engine

Cadillac once again leads GM's technology efforts, this time with a new drivetrain for its 2014 CTS model. One of this new model's three engine choices will be a direct-injection 3.6-liter V-6, producing 420 horsepower.

The current CTS comes with either a 3-liter or 3.6-liter V-6, both featuring direct injection, outputting 270 horsepower and 318 horsepower respectively. The new CTS comes out with the twin turbo, a revised nonturbo 3.6-liter V-6, and a 2-liter four-cylinder using direct injection and a turbo to produce 272 horsepower.

The danger of using a turbocharger to boost power is … Read more

Washington Post to start charging frequent site users

The Washington Post won't be completely free online much longer.

The publication this summer plans to start charging users who access more than 20 articles or multimedia features a month. The Washington Post hasn't yet decided how much it will charge, according to an article on the newspaper's Web site.

Large portions of The Washington Post's audience will be exempt from fees, though, including home-delivery subscribers. Students, teachers, school administrators, government employees, and military personnel will have unlimited access to the Web site while in their schools and workplaces, the article said. And access to The … Read more

Scientists briefly revive extinct frog from dead cells

The Rheobatrachus silus frog has been extinct since 1983. This unusual Australian creature was known for swallowing its eggs and then releasing the young from its mouth. That's way too awesome to just let the animal be resigned to the biological history books.

Australian researchers have spent five years conducting experiments using somatic-cell nuclear transfer, a technique for creating a cloned embryo. Appropriately enough, it's called the Lazarus Project. The scientists took donor eggs from a related frog and replaced the nuclei with dead nuclei from the extinct frog. Some of the eggs then began to grow.… Read more

Range Rover Sport to make mad dash through New York

Last year, Land Rover took the wraps off its fully re-engineered, weight-reduced Range Rover. At the upcoming New York International Auto Show the company will unveil the Range Rover Sport edition, traditionally a more powerful, lowered version of Land Rover's big truck.

Land Rover promises a drive through New York as the first public appearance for the new vehicle on Tuesday, March 26.

I picture it something like this: Land Rover, wanting to enter Manhattan in style, sends the driver on a route over the Brooklyn Bridge, surrounded by camera cars. However, due to construction on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, … Read more

Take a computer-generated first look at the 2014 Hyundai Equus

Details and a pair of computer-animated videos of the upcoming 2014 Hyundai Equus (known in some world markets and referred to in the videos as the Centennial) have found their way onto the Web ahead of the Korean flagship's debut a the 2013 New York auto show later this month.

The 2014 Equus features a visual refresh that, with its reshaped front end, gently whispers "Mercedes-Benz S-Class," thanks to more wedge-shaped headlamps that are now available with full-LED adaptive front lighting. The Equus' profile is largely unchanged, as is often the case with a mid-cycle facelift. Around … Read more