Stormtrooper Talking Dashboard Driver – $9.95

Don’t let bad drivers get you down. Get the Stormtrooper Talking Dashboard Driver from the NeatoShop.  He will tell all those people to, “Move along.”

The Stormtrooper Talking Dashboard Driver also makes a perfect desk accessory.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more Star Wars fun!

Darth Vader Talking Dashboard Driver – $9.95

Do you have trouble coming up with things to say when someone cuts you off? Do you wish you could be cool like Darth Vader? The Darth Vader Talking Dashboard Driver from the NeatoShop is for you!  Sit back and let Darth do all the talking (or heavy breathing).  Umm….but you will have to still drive the car.  Sorry, he can’t do everything for you. Some things you still have to do for yourself.

This item is also the perfect desk accessory.

Be sure you check out the NeatoShop for more Star Wars fun!

Don’t let my button-happy son see this! Dark Roasted Blend has a very neat photo gallery of Mega Dashboards and Instrument Panels. This one above is from the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Believe it or not, the dashboard above was "simplified" in an March 2000 update to the space shuttle.

Link

Behold a new prototype dashboard by Ford in collaboration with Smart Design (the designer for the super-easy-to-use Flip camcorder) for their new breed of "green" cars.

The dashboard gives drivers a "wealth of info" without confusing or distracting them. And when Ford researchers tested the new design, they found that drivers get obsessed with achieving a "high score" of getting the highest fuel efficiency:

In order to play into the research finding that drivers are looking for a high score when it comes to fuel efficiency, one high-resolution LCD screen on the dash features an eye-catching rendering of curling vines blooming with green leaves. It’s more than a decorative element; it’s a data-visualization tool intended to change the way people drive. If a driver wastes gas by aggressively accelerating or slamming on the brakes, for example, the vine withers and leaves disappear. More leaves appear if individuals drive more economically.

Matt Vella and Reena Jana of BusinessWeek have more on the story: Link – via Information aesthetics

I applaud Ford for trying to innovate, but as I write this post I distinctly remember driving in Los Angeles and finding a brand new Ford Mustang living up to the acronym Found On Road Dead, still with dealership plates and price tags (seemed that it was being taken for a test drive), broken down on the side of the road. I don’t think the customer bought the car …