Hyundai Motor and Broadcom are building Ethernet networks into vehicles. Using a variant of Ethernet that Broadcom has developed specifically for cars, Hyundai hopes to replace older, slower data networks used to connect infotainment and telematics components in vehicles. Hyundai also wants Ethernet to power the new wave of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) such as lane departure sensors and surround view cameras. The reason is that Ethernet is fast, cheap, and is used by billions of networked computing devices. Broadcom has formed "One-Pair-Ether-Net (Open) Alliance Special Interest Group" of which there are 81 members, including Ford Motor, General Motors, …

What does the third-generation Beetle launched last year represent? Paul Eisenstein writes that, from a designer's view, "it is a morph somewhere between the original 'people's car' and the so-called 'New Beetle' of a decade back." He says that a closer look shows that the vehicle revolutionary. "That's because the real breakthrough comes in the way the newest Beetle - and virtually everything else that will now be developed by the German automotive giant - is being designed and manufactured." He says that going forward, any model build on a new platform called MQB could roll down the same assembly …

What's perhaps more interesting than this brief about luxury retailer Nordstrom Inc. openly supporting the rights of gay and lesbians to marry was the fact that embedded in the article was an ad asking readers to vote on whether Chik-Fil-A should be able to exercise the right of religion and free speech. In any case, Seattle-based Nordstrom joins Starbucks Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. in favor of approving Referendum 74 to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. Company president Blake Nordstrom sent a companywide memo -- co-signed by brothers Erik and Pete, also executives at the retailer -- laying out the …

U.K. maxipad maker Bodyform has responded in a big way to a blog rant from someone named Richard Neill. He posted a rant on Bodyform's Facebook wall, humorously calling out the brand for false advertising-saying his girlfriend doesn't have happy periods like those depicted in the ads, but instead becomes "the little girl from the exorcist with added venom and extra 360 degree head spin." The post has gotten more than 84,000 likes. So Bodyform decided to play (the video is at the jump). The company pretends to confess that it has been lying pathologically . An actress playing the …

Home-focused flash sale site One Kings Lane has debuted its first national brand advertising campaign, "Design is Never Done." One ad has a golden retriever knocking over a lamp perched on the bedside table. The homeowner first replaces the lamp, then puts some new artwork on the wall above the bed, then replaces the linens, switches the dec pillow on a chair in the room, adds an area rug to the room, then a throw. The ad diverges briefly into a few products for a child's room. The spot, created by Wieden+Kennedy New York, ends with the tag line "Design …

cConvenience stores are focusing on the coffee category for promotional activity. 7-Eleven Inc. has its fourth annual 7-Election Presidential Coffee Cup Poll, which lets customers vote by picking a blue donkey- or red elephant-themed cup. Pumpkin Spice coffee has returned to Wawa Inc.'s stores, while Pumpkin Spice cappuccino is at The Pantry's Kangaroo Express customers through this fall. Kangaroo Express is also selling a Roo Mug, a reusable Bean Street Coffee mug that debuted Oct. 3 and retails for $1.69 - the same price as an extra-large coffee. "McDonald's has upgraded its offering and other retailers like Subway have entered …

The Japanese are most certainly from an advanced galaxy. If you doubt this at all, check out TokyoFlash watches, which would fit right in at a "Blade Runner" party. These make those wrist-porn Swissies look positively medieval. The company's latest watch, and not nearly its coolest, is the Kisai Maze, which hides the info in the negative space of a maze that's only readable with some practice.

I knew I was waiting for a reason. The world's most inexpensive automobile, the Tata Nano micro car, is coming to the U.S. The vehicle, made by India-based Tata, which also owns both the British Jaguar and Land Rover marques, is a step up from a motor scooter, with only the most minimal creature comforts and a severe lacking of safety features, as well, according to critics. The U.S. version will have to meet federal laws, meaning airbags and electronic stability control. It could come in under $10,000.

Following a media backlash, Pizza Hut has retracted a marketing campaign and contest daring people to ask President Barack Obama and GOP candidate Mitt the hard-hitting question, "Sausage or Pepperoni?" Instead, the company has moved the promotion online, where a contestant will be randomly selected to win free pizza for life.

Gulp, here comes trouble. The American soft-drink industry, joined by several New York restaurant and business groups, has filed a lawsuit versus restrictions, proposed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and approved by the Board of Health, on sales of supersized sugary drinks at many dining locations in the city. The suit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, contends that the Board of Health did not have the authority to ratify the new rules unilaterally.