The Good Oil: Reinventing the wheel

The Koenigsegg CCX supercar. Photo / Greg Bowker

German researchers are working to develop a new touchscreen steering wheel. The wheel itself is a sheet of acrylic rimmed with infrared LEDs. A single infrared camera picks up reflections on the acrylic when touched, allowing a range of gestures to operate everything from the stereo to climate control. The idea is to allow drivers to keep their eyes on the road and off the various distractions in the cabin. But critics say that forcing drivers to learn a set of gestures for something as simple as turning up the stereo's volume is bound to only add confusion to the mix. The good news, they say, is that the costs to develop and maintain the touchscreen steering wheel are prohibitive enough to keep carmakers from actually putting it into production.

This key leads to your heart, and your wallet

Ever thought about getting your car keys cleaned? Neither have we. But you would if you owned a Koenigsegg CCX supercar, like the one that turned up for Big Boys' Toys in Auckland in 2008. The fellows at eGarage.com took the key to their CCX in for a bit of a polish. The key is made of sterling silver, see, and over time can become tarnished. Visit the site to see the polishing wheel in action.

Brown gives Volvo a cause for frowns

Volvo is in a tizzy after being named in a botched plot to unseat former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The story goes that Labour Government powerbrokers early last decade schemed to oust Blair mid-term and put Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown into No10 Downing St. The plan was called "Project Volvo", so named because one of the plotters compared the dour Brown with the Swedish carmaker. Volvo objected to the association, insisting that its cars are far more charismatic and exciting than Brown. Brown of course became British PM after Blair resigned four years ago this month. But Brown's reign was brief - he too resigned, in May last year.

Robbery not quite in the bag

Robber Joseph Price, 61, left a bank in Florida empty-handed, despite having passed the teller a note demanding a "sack full of cash". Price forgot to bring a sack with him and the teller said she didn't have one either. He was arrested minutes after leaving the bank, standing on the footpath waiting for an accomplice to pick him up.

Classic Mustang must-have

Italian coachbuilder Intermeccanica has built a handful of one-off vehicles over the years, including a Ford Mustang station wagon for advertising agency J. Walter Thompson. The agency failed to convince Ford top brass to put the carry-all into production, but others picked up on the idea. This one is for sale on eBay and was built by an American named Joe Ramp. He began with a 1965 Mustang hardtop coupe, stretched out the roof and added rear side glass windows. Under the bonnet is a 5-litre Ford V8 mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, a powertrain upgrade to help the Mustang wagon haul around the extra weight. Ramp wants $73,500 for the car.

How a season of good cheer became a time of overspending

Retired General Motors bigwig Bob Lutz (right, with Cadillac) is still socking it to his former employer over its chequered history. His latest dig at the way GM went from one costly blunder to another centres on a company Christmas card. Lutz tells of former Cadillac boss Jim Roche trying to get the card just right. After countless versions, a simple painting of a boy with a sled turned into a Cadillac driving to a mansion. Lutz says it shows the level of corporate waste and inefficiency that characterised GM through much of the post-war period.

Big bids expected for see-through Pontiac

A 1939 Pontiac with a Plexiglas body is expected to sell for upwards of $500,000 when it is auctioned in the US next month. The Pontiac was built for the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair as part of General Motors' "Futurama" exhibit. See-through cars were not in GM's future, but a tough new transparent material that could be molded into such a complex shape was certainly something worth showing off. The Pontiac's body was created by Plexiglass inventor Rohm & Haas. Only a handful were made and this is one of two survivors.