See that nice looking yellow car there? That is the LF-Ch concept car from Lexus, on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The general manager of Lexus, Mark Templin, has stated that Lexus is “seriously considering bringing a production version of the hatchback to the U.S. market”. Well, we will see what develops from this.

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Admittedly, since I found this on a site called “China Grabber“, this is probably going to be the lowest kind of knockoff goods, but I’m just here to tell you about stuff.

It’s the Wireless Car MP3 Player with FM transmitter, and it’s actually not a terrible idea.

For some of us with older cars that have cassette players, we all know that sometimes you can’t use those cassette adapters to hook in your MP3 or CD or whatever player.  But this bypasses that idea completely by sending your MP3 signal to an empty FM channel on your radio.  It’ll even tell you which by way of a handy dot matrix window on the front.

Sure, it’s not exactly the highest achievement in technology, but hey–for twenty three bucks, if you’re looking for an alternative to radio you may just have it right here.

Tags: car stereo, fm transmitter, iPod, MP3, mp3 player, wireless mp3 player

Let’s face it, folks, our cars STINK.

Fast food, sweaty feet, coffee, and everything else add up to make a pretty unpleasant smell in the car.  That whole “new car smell” doesn’t last any too long once you drive it off the lot, and car air fresheners are a joke.  In some places they’re even illegal!  You can’t have stuff hanging off your rear view mirror! How ridiculous is that?

Well, the folks out at Target have a solution, and for a whole twenty bucks, you too can make your car stop smelling like a stadium restroom.  The Ionic Pro Car Ionizer plugs into your car’s cigarette lighter (seems like most everything does these days), and helps recirculate air through a field of negative ions, which in turn neutralizes a lot of the hydrocarbons in the air that cause a stink.

At least I think that’s how it goes; I’m really stretching my electrochemistry history on this one.

But still, for twenty bucks at Target, this isn’t a half bad idea.

Tags: air freshener, car gadget, car ionizer, ionic pro car ionizer, new car smell, smell

Now this is actually six different kinds of awesome right here, folks–now, you all probably remember the last time we brought up the idea of the breathalyzer, how it connected to your steering column and wouldn’t let you drive unless you blew a clean meter?

Well, this one isn’t quite so restrictive, but it IS a lot more portable.  It’s the Breathalyzer Keychain, and it is pretty much what it sounds like it is, a Breathalyzer on a key chain.  You know we love our key chains out here at Car Buyer’s Notebook, so this is definitely one we had to discuss.

You can actually TRACK your progression throughout the night, seeing what makes you drunker as you go, or trying to see how many pretzels it takes to drop your blood alcohol content.  I look for something like this to become the focus of dozens of bar contests as people bet on who’s drunker, or what somebody’s blood alcohol content is.

Best off, they’re not too pricey, either.  You can get one of these for as little as fifteen bucks.

Tags: alcohol, bar bet, blood alcohol content, drunk drivier, drunk driving, key chain

The Shelby G.T. 500CR, a 1967 continuation vehicle will finally be built by Classic Creations after securing the rights from Carroll Shelby. This was announced at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The vehicle will be offered in three models: the Intro, the Performance, and the Venom. Among the leaked features of the G.T. 500CR include a 427 cubic inch engine, model specific bodyworks, custom paint, hand-stitched upholstery and an official Shelby serial number. For pricing, the introductory model is said to start for $119,000.

(Source) Bornrich

Tags: carroll shelby, classic creations, continuation, cubic inch engine, custom paint, engine model, introductory model, Las Vegas, models, sema show, serial number, upholstery, venom

Ferrari is planning on making an update of the 599 GTB Fiorano HGTE with the 599 GTO. The little GTO will have 700 HP, with a V12 engine with a design reminiscent of the 599X concept car. Like it? Well, there’s only 500 to be made, at a price of $400,000.

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This just in. Apparently, Jim Frederico, chief engineer for Buick has just said in a press conference that the new Buick Regal with have an option for manual transmission. This is similar to the Opel Insignia manual transmission, that you see above. So, will this be a trend amongst the Buicks? We will see.

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Apparently, acceleration is an issue with these new Toyotas, as drivers have been stepping on the gas a little too much. This is really a design issue, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Association is looking into shortening the gas pedal. This fix would be done at no cost to the customer, and would affect 4 million vehicles.

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I’m going to assume that this is part of Chrysler’s 5-year plan, but they intend to be the number one leader in quality sometime in the next three years. As of one year ago, Chrysler had 200 people on its quality team, and it plans on hiring 200 additional members to get its quality team to 1,700 heads.

Whoa! An automotive company that is hiring? Why that’s a quality step if I’ve ever heard one.

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The Aptera 2e, that all-electric car that has made consumers’ minds roll on what is really the score with the whole design will be delayed. This was learned after Aptera announced that the Aptera 2e will start production in 2010. Originally, this vehicle was to start production this year but apparently some money considerations has stalled the vehicle from breaking ground. The forefathers are contending that they can shell out the cash to kick off things but want to avail of the financing program before making any hasty decisions.

This means that the 4,000 people who have placed pre-orders will have to wait some more before the Aptera 2e really goes into production. Hopefully though the long wait will be worth every penny that they had deposited for the said vehicle.

(Source) Slashgear

Tags: 2e, aptera, breaking ground, consumers, electric car, ev, financing program, forefathers, hasty decisions, long wait, money considerations, score

It’s a great thing to be able to hook your MP3 player to your car stereo.  Most of the time it beats listening to the radio by a whole lot, because you have so little control over the radio.  You don’t control what songs are played, when they’re played, when they break for commercials, anything like that.  You’re at the radio’s mercy.

But controlling your iPod while driving, now that’s a dangerous, and possibly even deadly, task.  After all, you really can’t take your attention off the road just to fiddle with some device, right?

Well, that’s where the AI-talk Voice Controller comes in.  Hook this to your iPod, then plug it all into the car stereo.  Now you’ll be able to TELL your iPod what you want to hear.  Search by artist or song title, or just order a general search to hear snippets of every song on your player.

You can get one of these gadgets for seventy bucks, which is a small price to pay if you do a lot of driving.

Tags: car gadget, car stereo, gadget, iPod, ipod nano, voice control, voice controller

Considering that, now, you can both make popcorn in your car and have a variety of ways to make coffee in your car as well as keep a supply of food on refrigeration in your car, you’re likely to have more spills in the car.

That’s okay, because Wagan Tech has also managed to come out with the Wagan 9793 Auto Power Vacuum.  It plugs into, once again, your vaunted cigarette lighter, and comes with brush attachment for the seats and carpet and a crevice attachment for that part of your car seat where french fries go to die.

I can’t help but laugh, really–there are entirely too many interesting devices and too much sheer raw awesome to not talk about this.  Oh, sure, I’d likely never buy any of this stuff but there’s plenty of it to go around!

Tags: 12 volt, 12v, car vacuum, cigarette lighter, wagan 9793 auto power vacuum, Wagan Tech

Let’s be frank for a second, folks…long drives can be a real pain in the…lower back.  Just the sheer act of sitting, no matter how comfortable your seat is, for hours on end can do really unpleasant things to your lower lumbar.  This is why most people recommend that you get up and stretch every so often.

But when you’re on the road, places to “get up and stretch every so often” are in short supply.  This is why there are gadgets like the Shiatsu Lumbar Massage Cushion.

It’s pretty much exactly what it says it is, and for seventy bucks, you’ll get a cushion that fits just about every known chair and car seat. It delivers both rolling and kneading massage directly to your lower back, giving you a little extra edge in the long driving category.  Plus, it comes with both types of plug in, AC and DC, so even when you get where you’re going you can still enjoy the massage.

I’ve even heard about some of these that’ll offer heat along with the massage, so keep your eyes open, if this particular model from Merconning doesn’t agree with you.

Tags: back cushion, cushion, massage, seat cushion, shiatsu, shiatsu lumbar massage cushion

Game play for most games today such as Need for Speed needs to be as realistic as possible. And you have to wonder how they do it. Well now it can be told. Game designers try to get as close as possible to the real thing and Microsoft game developers have shown how they do it. Thanks to a loaned Tesla, the sound of squealing tires were properly recorded thanks to proper placement of mics near the wheels of the said vehicle. Game audio is essential and as far as car-based games are concerned, this practically moves them closer to the real thing.

As you can see from the large microphones placed which look like overgrown feather dusters or willows, these things actually record the actual sounds coming from the car itself. These Tesla sounds are apparently meant to prepare the audio support for their upcoming game titles, the new Forza and Project Gotham Racing. Now the question is on whether there will be an actual Tesla car in these games. Let’s just wait and see!

(Source) Crunch Gear

Tags: actual gaming, crunch, feather dusters, forza, game audio, game designers, game developers, game play, game titles, microphones, Microsoft, microsoft game, mics, Need for Speed, project gotham racing, tesla car, these games, tires, wheels, willows

Toyota is planning on launching a new version of its popular Land Cruiser to the European market. This model is a little different than the one in the States, but with 171 horsepower and 302 pound-feet of torque, who cares? it is available in three equipment grades: LC3, LC4, and LC5 with a £29,795 price tag.

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