Archive for September, 2008

WOULD SOMEBODY WITH $150,000 lying around invest it in a gear shift knob? Iced Out Emz, a custom car accessory company in Las Vegas, banked on the idea that, yes, someone would do just that when they created a knob for a Bentley Continental GT. “Every year we do a trade show convention for our industry, and we wanted to show the consumer what our company is all about,” says Tony Lee, director and chief designer of Iced Out Emz. “So we made something very extravagant to show our…

THE CAREFREE HOBO who jumps into a boxcar for a free ride is an iconic image in America. Hopping a freight carries a bit of a romantic tinge to it, thanks to a slew of movies and novels. And it once was possible to catch a ride on a freight train and not have to worry too much about getting caught. The standard enforcement practice was random “stop and search” to inspect trains for the presence of unauthorized riders or illegal cargo.Now, artificial intelligence is being utilized f…

INCLEMENT WEATHER and darkness often make it difficult for a driver to see where the road bends. But new solarpowered “smart” road studs offer some illumination. SolarLites, developed by a British company called Astucia, have a built-in solar panel and light emitting diode (LED) technology. A special technology is used to convert daylight on the solar panels into stored energy for lighting the way at night. The studs automatically illuminate from dusk to dawn and provide visibility …

DENIS CREPS DOESN’T DO ANYTHING HALFWAY. So when he traded in his 2001 Western Star for a 2007 model, he went all out. The owner and operator of Midnight Express Trucking, Inc., with his wife Nadine, got a Western Star 4900 EX with 82-inch High Roof Stratosphere sleeper that comes with all the bells and whistles: upholstered swivel bucket seats, a portable bathroom, full refrigerator, television, DVD player, microwave and more.“I’m as comfortable as I can be on the road,&rdquo…