Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

I don’t know what possessed François Knorreck to create the Snaefell, a handcrafted motorcycle/sports car hybrid, but the results are like a terrible traffic accident gone right. The motorcycle part of the Snaefell is based on a Laverda, while the sidecar is a mashup of a Volkswagen GTI, an Audi 80 and a Citroen Xantia. Overall the creation cost about $21,000+ to build, but what’s more impressive is that it took François 10 years and over 10,000 hours to make it a reality! Congratulations?

[ Snaefell Project - Completed!... ] VIA [ Autoblog ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It’s nice to know that in this troubled economy there are still people who are willing and able to drop over $1.4 million on a motorhome, though ‘mobile luxury apartment’ seems to be a better description for this thing. The VARIO Perfect 1200 Platinum comes with every amenity one could ever want including cherry wood accents, leather upholstery, corian countertops in the kitchen, granite flooring, a dish washer, a rain shower, mirrored sliding doors in the bedroom, LCD TVs, a satellite system and of course a Bose stereo.

But the most notable and obvious feature of the Perfect 1200 Platinum is the garage located ’round back that uses a hydraulic system to house a compact car like a Cooper Mini. Now it isn’t the first RV I’ve written about with a built-in garage, but it’s definitely the most assinine nicest.

[ VARIOmobil Perfect 1200 Platinum ] VIA [ Born Rich ]

By David Ponce

I think Ford CEO Alan Mullaly said it best: “The new Taurus rocks!”

After spending a day with the car in a snaky mountain drive from Knoxville to Asheville, I came away impressed and with a new outlook on a vehicle I wouldn’t have thought about even twice just a few years earlier. For its target market, the Taurus hits a sweet spot; an engaging mix of class-leading technology, muscular and elegant design, and exceedingly civil road manners. While there are some minor issues that I’ll address in the body of this review, Ford may just have hit on a product that could allow it to pull ahead of its rivals. After all, simply “still being around” isn’t quite enough. With the Taurus, they seem to be bringing their A-game.

In this review, I’ll mainly focus on the plethora of gadgets and technological features that make the Taurus not only an enjoyable drive, but a treasure trove for any gadget lover. OhGizmo! is, after all, a gadget site. But let me spend at least a little bit of time telling you about the car, the engine and how it feels on the road.

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By Andrew Liszewski

On one hand this triple gooseneck mount looks like a pretty handy way to have easy access to your phone, GPS device and MP3 player while driving, but on the other hand, how can having this thing suction cupped to your dashboard or windshield NOT be distracting? Each of the device mounts can rotate 180 degrees, facilitating landscape or portrait views of the displays, and the flexible arms can be adjusted and positioned as needed. $29.99 from USBFever.com.

[ Super Universal Car Mount for Phone, GPS, iPhone, iPod... ] VIA [ Gear Diary ]

By Evan Ackerman

Is your car missing something? Of course it is, you just don’t know it. There’s no car on the planet that couldn’t be made that much more stupenderrific with the addition of one (or more!) plastic fins with blinking red, blue, and green LED tips. And before you freak out, the LEDs won’t be sapping a jot of your precious horsepower since they’ve got their very own WIND TURBINE. That’s right, all that fabulosomeness and eco-friendly to boot! Just stick them on with double sided tape and you’re good to go. $6, available in either I-wish-I-had-a-sporty-car red or I-can’t-afford-paint-at-all silver.

[ SourcingMap ] VIA [ RGS ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If your toddler prefers watching the antics of Jeremy, Richard and James instead of Dora or Big Bird, you might want to consider upgrading their ride-on toy to something with a bit more class. And let’s face it, nothing says your toddler is better than all the other toddlers on the playground than what they’re driving, so for a mere ~$104 you can equip your child with their very own BMW.

The Baby Racer II features actual rubber tires which not only provides extra grip and handling in the corners, but also makes it easier to overcome small obstacles (like a minefield of LEGO bricks) and are considerably quieter than their plastic counterparts. The upholstered bright red seat is damp-wipeable for those nasty spills, and a low center of gravity ensures the racer stays on all 4 wheels even in tight curves. And to top it off, it’s even certified by the German Technical Inspection Association (TÜV).

[ PR - BMW Baby Racer II ] VIA [ Born Rich ]

By Andrew Liszewski

A Long Beach-based design firm called Nectar Product Development has created a new anti flicker lighting system that eliminates the problem of flickering in high-speed video recordings of automotive crash tests. The new system uses computer-controlled high intensity lights in conjunction with a complex reflector system that evens out light distribution and compensates for the flickering. While the system was specifically developed to solve the problem as it relates to automotive crash tests, I’m sure it would be just as useful for any scenario involving high-speed video recordings, including busting myths.

[ Designboom - nectar design: anti flicker lighting ] VIA [ Cribcandy ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Now that Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale have shown us how Batman movies are supposed to be, it’s hard to watch the previous 4 films without cringing. And that’s why I’m a bit confused as to why sculptor Bob Causey has put so much time and effort into creating a drivable replica of the Batmobile seen in Batman Forever, arguably where the original series of films first took a turn for the worse. Now I’m not knocking his craftsmanship or attention to detail, since this replica has a full working interior and a retractable hard top, but given the choice, I’d definitely go with the homebrew Tumbler instead.

[ TechEBlog - Sculptor Builds Working Batman Forever Batmobile in Garage ]

By Andrew Liszewski

These fish sculptures made from carbon fiber Formula One racing parts might seem a little odd at first, but when you consider that Alastair Gibson, the artist who created them, was the lead mechanic for the Benetton F1 team for 4 years, and later served as the race team chief mechanic for BAR Honda for another another 10, you can kind of understand where he drew his inspiration.

The parts used in his creations are from actual F1 cars (like the snazzy exhaust pipes on the back of the ‘Racing Mako’) and each one is documented so you can trace back where each fin, tooth or gill actually came from. Unfortunately these pieces aren’t available for sale, but Alastair is “undertaking a number of private commissions” according to his website, so all is not lost if you really wanted one of these hanging over your fireplace.

[ CarbonArt45 - Fish Sculptures ] VIA [ PistonHeads ]