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Photos: Ford's concept taxi

When it comes to taxicab design, there are two basic templates: the big boats out of Detroit like the Crown Victoria and the quainter, more bulbous look of the London taxi. It's that latter form factor that prevails in the new concept car--er, taxi--from Ford Motor.

In fact, underlying the hackney concept vehicle is a van straight out of Ford's European fleet, the Transit Connect. The automaker has been selling that van in Europe since about 2003 and plans to bring it to the U.S. in 2009. The taxi version is just one possible configuration; Ford is … Read more

Photos: New models at Geneva 2008

The Geneva auto show may be loaded with supercars, design concepts, and alternative-fuel vehicles, but it is also the launchpad for a host of new production models. This year's show saw a bunch of new models from Ford Motor Co., updates from Audi and Honda, and the return of an old favorite from VW. Check out our roundup of real-world models that debuted at the 2008 Geneva show.

Gadgettes 80: The Everything Old is New Again Episode

EPISODE 80

Special report: Are we getting iPhones soon? http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9886460-1.html

Taser party! http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19353066

Ford Fiesta! It’s back! http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9887525-1.html

You cook, Readybot cleans http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9887236-1.html

Robo-lawnmower goes hybrid http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9887567-1.html

Rotating Sphere Lounger http://dvice.com/archives/2008/03/claustrophobia.php

Toy for children who want to grow up to work at the TSA http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/ toy_for_children_who_want_to_grow_up_to_work_at_the_tsa_9059.asp

A propos (of) nothing (Oh, my god edition) Squeezebox Duet http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-media-receivers/ logitech-squeezebox-duet/4505-6739_7-32815168.html… Read more

Look but don't touch: Ford Focus Coupe-Cabriolet

There could not have been a better metaphor. The Pininfarina-designed retractable hardtop version of the Focus Focus on display here on the first morning of the Geneva auto show was unveiled in its full glory before the world's media. However, the salivating auto journalists could not get their hands on the car, which was raised above the show floor on a protected platform. A similar frustration will likely be felt by customers in the United States when they find out that this stylish addition to the Focus lineup will be not be making its way across the Atlantic. The … Read more

Ford brings Verve to the new Fiesta

Ford's big news in Geneva is the unveiling of its new Fiesta compact car, which it intends to sell in Europe, China, and the United States. The new Fiesta, which is closely based on the Verve concepts that has been making the auto show rounds for the past year, comes with many of the features associated with Ford's higher-end models, including keyless entry, push-button start, and USB connectivity for hooking up portable audio players to the car's audio system. It also gets the cell phone-inspired HMI center stack from Ford's Mondeo and S-Max models. Engine choices … Read more

Microsoft looks toward in-car advertising

In a conversation with Martin Thall, the General Manager of Microsoft's Automotive Business Unit, he laid out a vision for the future of infotainment systems in cars, which included connected services supported by in-car advertising. Mr. Thall suggested that five years from now, car infotainment systems will be networked and provide the latest information on local services and traffic, as just two examples. This sort of car system should offer daily relevance, so that you could have it give you the best way home from work each day. Or, you could use local search to find a particular item … Read more

Lessons learned from the new Knight Rider

Knight Rider returned last weekend in a made-for-TV movie/pilot with a new car, the Knight Industries Three Thousand (still K.I.T.T.), and a new, young driver. Of course we watched it, and would like to say we learned a lot about the world and ourselves. But the lessons we took away from the new Knight Rider were more specific to driving a high-tech car while fighting crime, something we do at CNET Car Tech almost every day (except for the fighting crime part).

If you owe a gangster $90,000, it's a good idea to get … Read more

Automotive interfaces: From worst to best

We've gathered photos from our Car Tech reviews of every major automaker's software interface. These interfaces are what you see on a car's LCD, and we've covered manufacturers from Mercedes-Benz to GM. Many of the interfaces are poorly designed, probably taken straight from the original equipment manufacturer who built the car's navigation system and stereo interface. For our comparison, we concentrated on music screens, as these show on-screen buttons and fonts. Take a look and tell us which company you think offers the best and worst interface.

Click here for photos of every automotive interface available.… Read more

Where Jeff isn't man enough to be in our presence after his Valentine's shenanigans

EPISODE 37

With Jeff Bakalar on Valentine's Day workout recovery, Dan Frommer of Silicon Alley Insider fame joins us in studio to talk about Microsoft's after school special program to stop kids from pirating, the Xbox 360's high failure rate, plus Indiana Jones 4's trailer hits the Interwebs, and please...oh please for the love of God...do not see Jumper.

Listen now: Download today's podcast