Self-parking automobiles aren’t new, but Ford’s system, which is part of the company’s new power steering technology, will work on hills and uses sensors to monitor blind spots and notify the driver of approaching traffic. This new auto-parking technology debut on the 2010 Lincoln MKS sedan and Lincoln MKT luxury crossover vehicle.

The fancy new power steering uses the vehicle’s battery instead of it’s hydraulic system, which improves fuel economy and reduces carbon emissions. It should be showing up in almost ninety percent of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles by 2012.

In many states you aren’t supposed to hold a cell phone while driving. It’s the law. I once saw a teenage girl talking on her phone while driving a pick up truck, run straight into a parked car. There was nothing else around her for miles. She was simply distracted and didn’t have her focus on driving. This VR3 Bluetooth Steering Wheel Console might help those who have trouble doing two things at once.

It gives you hands free wireless chatting directly in front of you, with a design that keeps your hands on the wheel for safety. Sure, it’s ugly as hell, but so is an ambulance ride or a mangled corpse. It’s only $99.99.

The Honda Ecological Drive System (HDAS) will be included with the 2009 Honda Insight. It will alert drivers to their driving habits through a color coded speedometer. For instance if you’re going along at a grandmotherly yet fuel efficient speed, the speedometer goes green, indicating that you are a responsible and possibly elderly driver.

When you find yourself trying to outrun the fuzz at 90mph, the speedometer turns blue, indicating that you are most likely on COPS and should really slow down. Seems like red, yellow and green would have been better colors to use. It’s a great idea that should save many gallons of gas as well as keep you safe from yourself.

According to the description on this eBay auction, some nutty doctor in California took a 1973 GT Opel and converted it into a Batmobile to bring to the hospital for kids. The kid part is a noble idea. But a 1973 Opel? It’s unique, we have to give him that.

The auction ended at $9,000.00. Some of the specs include: a SONY Digital Navigation System #NVX-F160, SONY Pre-Amp XDP-U50D, SONY 10 Disk CD Changer CDX-U404, SONY Hi-8 VCR, Pioneer CD player DEH-85 in the dash….comes with the batman theme on cd!, Alpine Bat Phone #91530, Super Nintendo NES Game system with Batman Forever game, SONY Interface Equalizer #XE-744 and a whole lot more. Strange, but we dig it.

Anybody who has ever found themselves stranded and in need of a jump on a freezing day can appreciate this device. It’s like having a handy man with you. Many of us have jumper cables but don’t have any idea how to use them properly. The device can talk you through the whole jump-starting process and get you back on the road as quick as possible.

It features an onboard air compressor to pump up flat tires and can also serve as an substitute for a power generator, giving you 340 watts of continuous AC with a 450w peak. That’s plenty to run your laptop or even a small TV. If that isn’t enough, it has a USB port to charge your gadgets. For $150, you’ll feel pretty secure with this in your trunk.

If you thought your Hummer was tough, think again. I bet you never considered outfitting it with tank treads. Engineers have added aftermarket track belts in place of the standard wheels. You can do this yourself. You might lose some speed and your MPG will go down drastically, but you’ll be able to crush anything in your way. And I’m assuming these treads make it a giant snowmobile too.

You might know him from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. You might know him from his solo work. Hell, most of you own at least one CD with the man’s songs on it. Soon you’ll know him for electric cars.

Turns out he really has a heart of gold. Neil’s started a company called Linc Volt to develop electric car technologies, and he knows a little something about it since he already converted his own ‘59 Lincoln. The subject of an upcoming documentary. According to Young, he’s mostly focused on developing the technology. Linc Volt will provide instructions and it will also be performing the actual conversions. Pretty nice when famous people with some power set out to innovate.

Sure, we’ve heard it all when it comes to Ford jokes. Found On Road Dead, Fix Or Repair Daily, etc. Say what you like about Ford, you can’t deny the coolness of their SmartGauge LCD panels in their new 2010 hybrids.

Instead of the usual boring analog dials, Ford gives you a LCD screen cluster and even some animations. Notice the fuel gauge. Nice to look at, easy to find and functional. The best part about using an LCD display is that it’s fairly customizable. You can display battery charge, GPS and Satellite radio coverage, maybe even current mp3 track information. Of course there’s the usual boring MPH and RPM indicators. They just don’t look boring.

This is how Mercedes-Benz sees the future of racing. Formula Zero racing combines elements from land yachting, the luge, and Formula One of course, but it also incorporates environmental responsibility. Each team has a certain amount of energy to complete the race, and points are awarded based on elapsed time and energy efficiency.

It’s all very futuristic since it’s to take place in the future. The race will even be run on a glass track allowing the audience to watch the race from below. How’s that for a view? Will it ever happen? Maybe one day. Or maybe we’ll just see certain elements. But probably not for many years to come.

You want a sweet ride, while keeping the environment clean. The economy will bounce back eventually right? Have a look at the Electric GPR-S motorbike that helps you reduce your carbon footprint by relying on electricity to drive you around town. The GPR-S comes with a powder-coated steel frame and braced aluminum swing arm, capable of hitting 70 mph with a 35 to 60 mile range. A full charge will take around 4 hours via the on-board charger. An optional speed charger with integrated BMS will be just 1.5 hours. At $8,000, it might seem expensive but compared to other e-bikes in the same class, those retail for around $10,000 to $12,000. What are you waiting for? Oh yeah, the economy.

Yesterday we told you about Marty Mcfly’s jacket showing up on ebay. Well, remember Griff Tannen’s hover BMW from the second installment of the futuristic trilogy? Jeff Chabotte never forgot. He tracked down the original movie car, bought it and gave it a complete restoration. Sadly there wasn’t a thing he could do about it’s ability to fly. Chabotte spent a lot of time and money on the project, not to mention the usual blood, sweat and tears. Yep. He loves BTTF and it’s cars just that much. The end result should probably be in a Movie memorabilia museum somewhere. Click the link for a ton of pics.

When I came across this one, at first I thought it was an RC lawnmower. Nope. It’s just the lowest car ever. The Fiat 126 Flat Out is touted as the world’s lowest vehicle, at just under 22-inches tall. Even more surprising, it was built by Andy Saunders and his two man team in just THREE days. Those were 18-hour days. He built the car as part of the celebrations for the 40th Annual Autojumble at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire. Awesome as it is, it would be pretty sweet to see this thing mowing a huge stretch of lawn at super speeds.

Smart devices are all the rage, we have smart phones, smart cards and the like, why can’t we have smart keys? At some point in the future, smart keys that allow users to do much more than start their car and operate the alarm may be the norm. Naturally, the technology will first be seen on a luxury car.

NXP Semiconductors and BMW are teaming up to bring smart key technology to car buyers. The key prototype contains a contactless payment system along with personalized access control and other advanced functionalities.

Is there nothing that LEGO can not do? This is one of the coolest LEGO things yet. To promote and celebrate Lego World, which apparently started yesterday,this highly detailed LEGO Ferrari F1 was seen cruising the streets of Amsterdam. Jetix presenter, Leon Krijgsman rode in the Ferrari, made using 80,000 Lego bricks. Lego World will run till the 21st of this month in Zwolle, and will offer tons of Lego craziness. This awesome Ferrari celebrates the anniversary of the legendary brick. One has to wonder just how heavy that F1 is comapred to the real deal.

I don’t know about you, but I try to be respectful of other drivers. Even nice. A wave of the hand now and then is just a nice gesture. Then there are those times when flipping some idiot the bird is totally appropriate too. It might be nice to have a hand that will do all the talking for you, so you can concentrate on the driving.

“The Hand” sign for the back of your vehicle can be used to tell someone that “they rock” or flip them off, even give them a peace sign, plus a few others. I would say just use it liberally for both good and evil. Have fun. Just make sure you actually look first as a police officer won’t take kindly to your new toy. The 9″x6″ remote controlled sign will cost about $40.