Hasta La Gadget!

What made the 2009 LA Auto Show a big deal? Small cars. The onslaught of big SUVs and green marketing seems to have passed. The full wrap-up of the 2009 LA Auto Show is a click away.

The fact is, even at last year’s LA Auto Show, SUVs, large cars and crossovers were still the money-honeys of the car marketplace — and anything green was for mass marketing not the mass market. This year, however, automakers are thinking big by thinking small. The big reveals were two door or compact four-doors. Maybe the Carpocalypse wasn’t about the death of the auto industry or the internal combustion engine, but rather about living within one’s means. That said, here’s the whole show in one shot.

Cadillac CTS Coupe Very Very Point In Person
Yep, the Cadillac CTS Coupe is real, and it’s also really pointy. We can’t wait for a version ending in V.

2011 Infiniti M: Where To Put A 5.6-liter V8
The new 2011 Infiniti M is the best of a long, lean luxury car with a big’ol truck V8. Also, it comes along with “forest air” to duplicate how air moves in the woods.

2010 Infiniti G37 Goes Beverly Hills, Gets Nose Job
The 2010 Infiniti G37 has received a nose to match the rest of the Infiniti lineup and a few upgraded interior bits. Otherwise it’s the same G37 we love and forget about it occasionally.

Chevrolet Cruze: Live And In The Metallic Flesh
The 2011 Chevy Cruze is an exciting new small car for the American market designed overseas. Sort of like the Fiesta but without all the tweeps.

2011 Toyota Sienna: Like A Venza But With Interior Space
The new Toyota Sienna looks much better, comes with AWD and has a drop-down extrawide DVD screen. It’s ready to tackle the toughest church trips.

2011 Mazda2 Gets Happy US Face, Summer 2010 Launch Date
The 2011 Mazda2 is a bit tiny, but it’s also more aggressively cute than the other small cars in this segment. We’ll take the Mazdaspeed2 version please.

Honda P-NUT Concept: Oh Good Grief
The Honda P-NUT Concept (Personal Neo Urban Transport) is a lot like other microcar concepts from other manufacturers — but with the stupidest name yet. Victory!

2011 Hyundai Sonata: ‘Bama-Bound And Down
The 2011 Hyundai Sonata not only gets an attractive new look, they’ve ditched the V6 in favor of a trio of four-cylinder engines including a hybrid and a direct-injection turbo fourbanger.

Audi e-tron: Sexiest Electric Car Concept Ever
The Audi-etron Concept is sexy despite its uncapitalized name. With electric motors front and back it’s the electric quattro Audi R8 we’d never realized we wanted.

Porsche Boxster Spyder Glides Almost Weightlessly Into LA
The Porsche Boxster Spyder is actually less gimmicky and more attractive than in person. Plus, the door handle loops are fairly entertaining to use — at least judging by the reaction of Brazilian car journalists.

2011 Kia Sorento: Signed, Sealed, Delivered
All the people involved in building the first Kia Sorento tiny SUV, which does look fairly decent, signed the outside of it. Unlike some past Kia products, we’re guessing no one refused to take credit for it.

2010 Hyundai Tucson: Swoopy Comes To Compact SUVs
Korean carmakers have so much money to spend, so they’ve skipped a generation of design with their recent vehicles. The 2010 Hyundai Tucson isn’t our thing, but it’s clearly a player.

Scion Kogi sD Mobile Kitchen: Insert Iron (And Steel) Chef Joke Here
The only thing the Scion xD needed, most people will tell you, is a reverse-osmosis sink. People who own xDs are always on the go and don’t have time for “drive thrus” or “restaurants.”

BMW 5-Series GT Has Some Positive Elements
It visually mimics a fish, has a lot of space, and has frameless windows. Otherwise, we’re having a bit of a tough time appreciate the weirdo CUV.

Chevy Caprice Police Car
The Chevy Caprice Police Cruiser is good news for enthusiasts who want to own used Caprice police cars and, of course, obese criminals cramped in Dodge Chargers.

Dodge Bids Adieu To Viper With Two Limited-Edition models, More On Way
We’re going to miss the Dodge Viper, but at least it’s going away with more special edition Mustangs than a Wal-Mart parking lot. A revised fifth gear shaves 14 seconds off the 0-to-200 MPH time.

2011 Ford Fiesta: The Party Finally Comes Stateside
The 2011 Ford Fiesta is actually a huge deal for Ford even if it’s just a little thing. It looked awesome next to a fleet of SuperDuty trucks.

Recent bionic breakthroughs hint that we may be on the threshold of a new wave of bionic devices that will boost the quality of life for many people around the world. What would you most like to see next?

A retro-inspired concept MP3 player from Mintpass includes three VU meters and big, chunky buttons.

A Hearst-backed startup is readying an e-reading service platform that will debut in 2010.

Skiff, formerly known as FirstPaper, will deliver magazine and newspaper content to e-readers, smartphones, and netbooks using Sprint’s 3G network. Skiff says its interface will preserve newspaper and magazine layouts via “high‐resolution graphics, rich typography and dynamic updates.”

“Skiff’s goal is to connect publishers and marketers with consumers,” Gilbert Fuchsberg, president of Skiff, said in a statement.

Skiff is backed by publishing company Hearst, which has also provided early stage investments for Netscape, XM Satellite Radio, Sling Media, and E Ink Corporation.

The company is currently working with “major consumer electronics manufacturers” on a deal to integrate the Skiff platform into their devices. Their names will “be unveiled soon,” Skiff said.

Skiff has signed a multi-year agreement with Sprint, whose 3G network will power the devices. The wireless provider will also sell products with the Skiff system at Sprint retail stores, Skiff said.

Get the rest of this story on pcmag.com.

University of Michigan students winding up a course on turning mobile phones into musical instruments will take to the stage to perform their original compositions.