We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t cover our share of grills. It’s summer and there’s nothing quite like a beautiful day in the skies above and the smell of burning meat wafting up from below. And there’s no better place to do your grilling then from the back of a vintage replica fire truck. If you’re starting a fire, you might as well grill in a truck that can put it out right?

It only costs $3,300. Why the hell not. If you modified this thing to actually run, which I don’t believe it does at that price, you could have a kind of traveling BBQ show and go from town to town, grilling your way into the hearts and minds of your fellow barbecue enthusiasts.

I for one thought that we had all the distractions we could handle behind the wheel. Apparently, there was one thing missing. That must be why Maplin introduced a portable microwave oven that runs on 12 Volts DC. Put this baby in the passenger seat and heat up your coffee and breakfast as you’re stuck in traffic.

It’s kind of like carpooling with a cook. It’s probably really made for tailgating parties, but don’t let that stop you from ramming the car in front of you while you heat up the hot pocket of death. The Maplin Car Microwave is available now for about $180, which is a little steep. Might as well cook with gas at that price.

Does this qualify as a Lowrider? I have no idea. It’s claimed that the Vancake is the lowest Volkswagen Bus in the world. Tiny hippies use it to go back and forth between Burning Man and Middle Earth. It measures only 3 feet tall and was originally a VW Camper.

Apparently it manages to be street legal. Designers Just Kampers and Andy Saunders created the Vancake in just three days. They did all the work during the Bug Jam festival at the UK’s Santa Pod Raceway from June 18 to June 20, which consisted of removing the Volkswagen’s roof, putting in an electric sunroof, and completely redoing the paint job. It may be street legal, but it’s just plain wrong.

Have a look at this thing. Can you believe it was built entirely by one man who is not Bruce Wayne? This is Bob Dullam’s replica of Batman’s Tumbler. It’s clearly the work of a mad genius. It looks awesome yes, but he didn’t skimp on the specs. It’s got the afterburner, the huge double-barrel wheels, and the body has all of the stealth angles.

As reference, he used only any and all images that would be available to you or me and the movies. And he did it in his garage. The neighbors must have thought he had gone a bit batty. And yes, he owns his own Bat suit as well.

The Nissan Eco Pedal helps you to save gas by pressing the gas pedal upward when the vehicle is moving too quickly for it’s own good. Nissan claims that the system can improve fuel efficiency by as much as 10%.

The Eco Pedal is programmed to calculate the most efficient rate of acceleration in a given vehicle, so it’s not for those with a lead foot. That’s why Nissan included the option to disable it when necessary. I imagine it would give your leg a good workout as well. You push, it pushes back. Hopefully your wallet will get thicker so you can buy more gadgets.

Here’s a way to totally notch up your next tailgate party. You probably don’t even have to leave the tailgate to go to the actual game if want. It’s called the Tailgating Innovations Multimedia Trailer. No pricing information is available.

The Tailgating Innovations Multimedia Trailer sports a number of high tech features to keep you entertained. These include a Sony Bravia home theater system with 5.1 surround sound and a 47-inch Visio LCD flat panel television. You’ll also find four electrical outlets and a pre-wired satellite coax connection.

Designer Nicholas Lee Dunderdale incorporated an adjustable roof into his 3-wheeled Kassou concept car in case you need more headroom. It looks like part vacuum cleaner,part bat, and all funky alien tech. You wouldn’t be surprised if one of “The greys” stepped out of this thing and rammed a probe up your Kassou.

The “neck” can be raised or lowered depending on your need for headroom or better aerodynamics. Who knows what those batwings are for. It’s ultra bizarre, but Kassou earned second place in the Car Design News Contest for 2008. Personally, I think this is the Dark Knight’s ride from an alternate reality, where Bruce Wayne isn’t quite as rich.

Here’s a car to die for…I bet the engine croaked…These things are normally kept underground to prevent 3 coffin pile-ups on the highway. Bad jokes aside, where do you get the gonads to make a car out of a coffin? Isn’t that like thumbing your nose at death? It can only end with a high speed chase,with a very unhappy grim reaper on your tail. Of course it’s a fairly easy mod. You get a new coffin.(Yeah. Don’t go digging up relatives.) Add an engine,wheels steering etc and you’re off.

My first question is how do you get in this thing without a step ladder? My second question is why. As to why, well, this is what happens when an aircraft engineer has a 1968 VW Beetle a lot of time.

Sure, you’ve got your Bigfoots and your Hummers, but there’s just something about seeing a VW Beetle this high off the ground that pleases us. It’s got a new 2.8 Liter engine, which should give it a nice power to weight ratio. It will turn heads so fast you’ll hear the collective cracking of neck bones.

The Proxima Bike/Car Hybrid Concept looks like a pretty slick and futuristic roadster. The idea is that the Proxima is meant to be a convergence of car and a motorbike. It’s a concept by Alvino Design and it sports 2 tandem seats, but as you look from the front to the rear it changes from a car to a bike. Kind of like an automotive mullet I guess, car in front, bike in back. Looks like a very fast bug.

If you’re looking for gear that’s going to make you look like Batman, here’s another to add to the list. This one comes from a French design company called Enzyme.

It’s a kick-ass motorcycle concept that would look just right parked in the batcave. The Batpod is cool and all, but the Icare uses a huge 1.8 litre Honda flat 6 engine that should provide plenty of power. It’s a concept for the moment, but Enzyme has gotten some really out there concepts into production in the past. Great way to commute to work at Wayne Industries.

The new Batman movie came out yesterday. I know many of you will be rushing to the theaters today. While I haven’t been able to see it yet and have a two hour nerdgasm, at least I can play with a paper version of the Dark Knight’s car. I’m talking papercraft! The design was created by paper model expert Claudio. With hundreds of individual pieces, this thing will keep you busy longer then the movie will.

The picture above reminds me of my youth. Not since my high-school days has a woman ever had such power between her legs. (Insert rim-shot. Deafening silence.) Anyway, this behemoth is powered by a “410-cubic-inch, air-cooled, pushrod V-Twin” and “is actually ready to ride on normal roads and will soon go into series production.”

Yes, you will be able to buy one. As for the rest of us, this thing is going to scare you when you see it coming. And no, that’s not a really small woman. It will be interesting to see what crazy stunts people will do with these. We want.

Finding new ways to cut down on your gas bill isn’t easy. Sure, you can keep the tires inflated and not have extra weight in your trunk, but there’s got to be more that you can do, right? Just get the PLX Kiwi. It keeps an eye on your driving habits and lets you know what you need to alter to increase your gas mileage. That’s right, it becomes a nagging backseat driver telling you everything that you are doing wrong. In that way, it’s kinda like picking up your mother-in-law from the airport.

The Kiwi will examine smoothness, drag, acceleration and deceleration. Then it gives you a full report. According to the company it will give you an average fuel savings of 20% which could save you anywhere from $500-$1000 per year. You can get it later this month for $299. But what if it tells you there’s not a damn thing you can do to get better mileage? Some of these vehicles are doing about all they can do.

Apparently the creator of this monstrosity took a page out of the electric bike train book. It’s for those with a large family or lots of friends who have no bike of their own. If you’re a biker in Utah and you’ve got like ten wives, why not take them all for a spin.

This thing has about 15 seats and looks like a giant erector set project. I’m guessing the turns are taken really wide, with everyone’s feet involved. And how much power does it actually have lugging all that extra weight around? I have no idea. But it sure is long. Yep. Long and yellow.