Archive for July, 2008

Forget Steve McQueen. Bullitt made the Ford Mustang a star. While some folks like nothing better than trivia contests about actors and their roles, plenty of gearheads get the same pleasure recalling the wheels those actors used. The Internet Movie Car Database — www.imcdb.org — is for them. It offers photos and information about cars, motorcycles and trucks that have appeared onscreen. Though originally devoted to four-wheelers only, the website quickly added motorcycles a…

With the increasing number of smoking bans sweeping across the country, smokers are finding creative ways to get their nicotine fix. And companies are taking notice with some unique products of their own. Smoke-free tobacco has taken on a new form in Ariva and Stonewall, dissolvable compressed powder tobaccos. You don’t have to chew, spit or stick on a patch to get the nicotine and can even opt for  wintergreen- or java-flavored blends. Ariva contains 1.5 mg of nicotine, the am…

Japan now has a way to deliver music to drivers that doesn’t require batteries. A car driving over a series of grooves cut into the pavement will create a resonance as the tires move over them, resulting in a true road song. According to reports, the system was the brainchild of Shizuo Shinoda, who accidentally scraped some markings into a road with a bulldozer, before driving over them and realizing they produced a variety of tones. Engineers from the Hokkaido Industrial Research…