Oh! Gizmo

By Luke Anderson

How many times have you had someone riding a bit too close to your bumper that you’ve wanted to tell off? Sure, you could always flip them the bird, but if they’re not paying enough attention to you, they might not notice. So why not put a nice light-up sign in the back of your car that can let them know how you really feel with the push of a button?

This little device goes in the back window of your car and can be made to emote things like “Thanks”, “Sorry” and well, flip them the bird for you. Of course there’s a good chance that when you flip this thing on, you’re going to make their driving even worse. Pick one of these up for around $50.

[ Drivemocion ] VIA [ Gearfuse ]

By Luke Anderson

I’m sure at some point you’ve all imagined having an awesome car that would turn heads everywhere you go. Of course those are merely dreams, and you end up driving a Saturn that blends in with every other car on the road. Well here’s an upgrade for your ordinary car that will get you some attention next time you’re sitting at a red light.

Something tells me that shooting 20-foot flames out the back of your car isn’t street legal, however, there are few accessories for your vehicle that will make you feel more like James Bond. Just install this Autoloc Flame Thrower to the ends of your exhaust, and press the button on your remote to send flames shooting out. The site does note that these are for off-road use only, so use at your own risk. Kits start at $125 for a single exhaust system.

[ Hoffman Group ] VIA [ GearFuse ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Whenever I’m driving through farm country and see one of those huge combines, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if a couple of them crashed into each other. But for the longest time I assumed I was the only one. “Some day…” I would think to myself, “some day…” Well it turns out that ’some day’ is actually June 14 when the town of Lind, Washington holds their annual Combine Demolition Derby. The town itself is pretty small, but the derby manages to draw crowds of close to 5,000 people from all over the state. The competing teams seem to go all out too, bringing support people for on-the-fly repairs and painting the combines with colorful slogans and nicknames. There’s even a cash prize for the winners, though something tells me it doesn’t quite cover the cost of the actual combines that have probably seen their last harvest.

[ Washington Combine Demolition Derby ] VIA [ GoSleepGo ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It seems the radio just isn’t enough to satisfy today’s tech-savvy passengers. So while adding a mobile entertainment center is a solution offered on a lot of new vehicles, retrofitting one into an older ride can be kind of messy. Unless of course you manage to cram everything into a package that can easily replace the passenger side sun visor. Not only does this replacement visor include an actual DVD player with a 7-inch 16:9 display, but it also serves as a classic gaming machine with a built-in emulator. I’m not sure what classic games it can actually play (I’m assuming it runs MAME) but I know it does include a disc that’s already full of titles you just know will be amazing.

There’s also a remote control if you can’t reach 2 feet, or happen to be sitting in the back seat, as well as an integrated FM transmitter so you can play the sound through your car’s stereo. On the side you’ll find an SD/MMC slot for loading games, videos or MP3s via a memory card, but the DVD drive can also handle mixed media discs. For gaming the visor includes 2 controllers that connect to mini USB ports, but anyone playing in the back seat will have a distinct disadvantage because of the 7-inch display.

It’s available from Chinavasion for about $100.

[ Sun Visor DVD+Game Player ] VIA [ technabob ]

By Andrew Liszewski

A company called Sekurus has developed a device called the On Time which will actually force a new car owner to make their scheduled payments or face the risk of the vehicle not starting. The devices run about $250 and are typically installed by car dealerships or finance companies who cater to buyers who don’t have the most exemplary of credit histories. When a payment on the vehicle is nearly due, an LED light on the box starts to blink. On the actual deadline day it will start to make an annoying beeping noise as well. If the owner makes the payment, the lender provides them with a six-digit code they can punch in which will disable the alerts. If they fail to make that payment, the vehicle simply won’t start. And if they continue to avoid paying up, they’ll soon get a visit from the repo man. And I don’t mean Emilio Estevez either.

[ High-tech gear disables car if borrower misses payment ] VIA [ Gear Diary ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Given the choice, these days I’d rather go for a spin in the Tumbler Batmobile from the latest Batman films, but as a kid I was definitely a fan of the Tim Burton version. Sure, he didn’t actually design it, but he definitely helped influenced what has become another iconic iteration in the history of the Batmobile. And if your own infatuation with the Burton Batmobile is still going strong, it’s time to get out that credit card (or credit cards) since one of the Batmobiles used in the original Tim Burton Batman film is now on eBay.

This particular Batmobile is the 5th one built for the film and features a custom chassis powered by a Chevrolet 350. The only door is the sliding cockpit canopy, so it might not be the best choice for taking the family out on a Sunday afternoon drive. But having this thing parked in your driveway will definitely make you the king of your neighborhood. The reserve on the car is $500,000 and a 20% deposit is due within 48 hours of the end of the sale. On top of that, since the car was originally owned by Warner Bros Productions, you’ll have to sign a contract with them and comply with a few other legal terms before taking ownership.

[ eBay - Batmobile ] VIA [ Autoblog ]

By Luke Anderson

I’ve always thought about getting a hybrid car, as it would would save some cash, in addition to saving the environment. Unfortunately a new car just isn’t in my current budget. If I did have a hybrid, I would definitely consider an add-on like one of these SEV Solar Roof Modules.

This solar panel fits on all 2004-2006 Toyota Prius models and will keep your car going for an extra 20 miles each day just by catching some rays. No word on price just yet, but the company claims that it will pay for itself withing 2-3 years.

[ SolarElectricVehicles ] VIA [ RedFerret ]

By Luke Anderson

Getting a flat tire on your car always sucks. I don’t care where you are, it’s never fun to change a tire. Usually the worst part is actually trying to jack your car up so you can take off the wheel. Usually you’ll find the worst excuse for a car jack known to man in your trunk. You know the kind, they have some kind of rod that you have to twist about three hundred times, then you get to do it all again when you’re done changing the tire. I believe I’ve found the coolest jack ever.

This Exhaust Air Jack is a work of pure genius. It is a big orange bag which you set underneath your vehicle. There is a hose coming out of it which you connect to the exhaust of your car. In about 30 seconds the bag will have inflated enough to raise your car up off the ground. There’s even a one-way valve to prevent air loss if you decide to turn off your vehicle This will work on just about any surface, which isn’t the same for traditional jacks. I’d say that $129.99 for one of these would be money well spent.

[ AJPrindle ] VIA [ SlipperyBrick ]

By Andrew Liszewski

There are a few online tools you can use to help you determine if a used car is a lemon or not, but here’s one you can actually carry on your keychain. The Paint Thickness Tester does pretty much just that. The probe on one end allows you to determine if there are irregularities in the paintwork on a car, which will tell you if the vehicle still has it’s original paintjob or if the bodywork has had extensive, but well-hidden repairs.

Place the test probe on the car roof, for example. By pressing a button, the paint thickness tester will store this paint thickness as a reference value. Now, by placing the test probe on any part of the vehicle body, you can compare it with this value. You will immediately determine whether parts of the body have been replaces or repainted and if the purchase price is suitable.

The tester runs about $20 from Westfalia.net so it’s not a terribly expensive tool if you’re trying to avoid being ripped off by the stereotypical used car salesman.

[ Paint Thickness Tester ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Evan Ackerman

Also at CPX yesterday I got to take a closer look at the BMW Hydrogen 7 and the Tesla Roadster. We saw them last year at the LA Auto Show, but CPX was casual and laid back and I got to talk with some of the actual engineers instead of PR drones (yay!).

The awesome thing about the BMW Hydrogen 7 is that it’s a production ready car that can use either hydrogen or gasoline. And when I say either, I mean that if you’re driving along using conventional gas and feel like saving the environment for a little while, you just push a button and the car transitions seamlessly into using hydrogen combustion. Unless you listen very, very carefully there is no way to tell that the car is using an entirely different fuel system. This means that you can get hydrogen when and where it’s available but not have to worry about being stranded due to lack of fuel.

Unlike most hydrogen powered vehicles, the Hydrogen 7 uses liquid (as opposed to gaseous) hydrogen, stored in a big tank in the trunk that’s been insulated and cooled down to -418 degrees F. The advantage of this technique is that you can store more hydrogen in a smaller space at a much lower and safer pressure (about 40 psi as opposed to 10,000 psi in cars that use hydrogen gas); the disadvantage is that if you let the car sit, the tank heats up, the liquid hydrogen starts to vaporize, and you gradually lose fuel.

Fuel is of course the big problem in the whole hydrogen car equation. Hydrogen gas comes from two primary sources: natural gas, and electrolysis. Natural gas is not particularly eco-friendly, but electrolysis creates hydrogen from water using nothing but electricity, which we can get from all sorts of renewable sources. It just has to, you know, happen. The current cost of a kilo of hydrogen (equivalent in energy to a gallon of gas) is something like $12. That’s sounds like a lot, but I’m paying $3.95 a gallon out here in California for regular unleaded which sucks for the environment and is backed by a huge production infrastructure that hydrogen doesn’t have yet.

There are currently 20 Hydrogen 7s on the road in the US (out of 100 worldwide), and an additional 2 hydrogen only models. These cars are totally ready to go in that they’ve passed all of the necessary crash tests and stuff; the only thing that has to happen now is that hydrogen has to get cheap enough (or gas has to get expensive enough) that there’s a market for them.

As for Tesla, they’re already producing the Roadster. There was some question a little while back as to what was going to happen with the transmission… The 2 speed transmissions originally designed for the car just couldn’t handle 150,000 miles worth of the massive amounts of torque output by the engine. Although the transmissions will have to be replaced, the first production cars are still shipping with the 2 speed transmission, while the final production cars will have a 1 speed transmission that is not yet off the drawing board. Believe it or not (and I didn’t at first), this won’t have a significant effect on the performance of the car. The engine will be retuned towards the low end, maintaining the sub 4 second 0-60 time, and since the top speed is electronically limited to 125, you won’t notice any difference there either. Interestingly, I was also told that the engine is physically capable of outputting something like double the power that it currently does. ‘Course, making that happen would certainly void the warranty and probably tear the car in half, but I’m confident that someone will figure out how to hack the Tesla Roadster and see just what it can do.

After the jump, I’m going to take a stab at making a gallery of pics of the Hydrogen 7 and Tesla roadster. Read the rest of this entry »