In the survey aimed at finding out what the strangest, funniest and most exciting things people did in their cars, mooning at fellow road users was popular, and seven per cent even admitting going fully nude.

Some strange motorists even admitted having mystical experiences like seeing ghosts, while others said they have parties in their cars.

Other drivers said they dress up in their cars - sporting bloodied demons and nun outfits and some said they had thrown parties in their cars

Horntones is a Californian company which will begin selling its US$150 car horn customisation tool in April. Basically, it enables your car horn to play any sound file - music, voices, rude sounds, sirens ... anything. You'll also need to pony up the readies for an amplifier and the sounds are loaded to the unit via a USB flash drive. The Horntones unit can be installed in or sit atop the dash and holds eight sounds - more than enough to offend almost everybody, with the constabulary included no doubt. While we think that customising your car horn is kinda cool, we also think it's kinda scarey that such tools can be sold to people without them undergoing an IQ test first - this device has the potential to cause uncertainty on the roads, or worse.

Each day, it seems, marketers go further in their quest to deliver messages so engaging and personalized that one cannot help feeling special. The latest step will be seen today in four cities when Mini USA begins delivering custom messages to Mini Cooper owners on digital signs the company calls "talking" billboards.

The boards, which usually carry typical advertising, are programmed to identify approaching Mini drivers through a coded signal from a radio chip embedded in their key fob. The messages are personal, based on questionnaires that owners filled out: "Mary, moving at the speed of justice," if Mary is a lawyer, or "Mike, the special of the day is speed," if Mike is a chef.

What happens if several Minis arrive at the same time? (The sign picks up the nearest car, then switches after 10 seconds.)

Can the system be hacked so that unexpected messages appear? (No more so than a digital billboard with no RFID links.)

The experiment adds a new wrinkle to the wrangling among marketers and safety experts over whether drivers might be dangerously distracted by messages flashed on the growing number of digital billboards around the nation. Some communities have forced billboard owners to modify or turn off such signs, and the federal government has said it will soon publish a review of the research on the subject.

Police in Texas have lost a car intended to catch thieves.

Known as a "bait car," police install special equipment in a vehicle and leave it around for a thief to steal.

However, Dallas police say the GPS location unit failed, and now the car's gone without a trace.

Lt. Rick Watson of the Dallas Police Department tells the Associated Press, "The GPS system tells us where they are at and how fast they are going."

"We want the car stolen. Yes, we do. But, then we want it recovered with the individual that stole it."

Jack Neal's parents only discovered their son's successful bid when they received a message from eBay about the Barbie pink Nissan Figaro.

Rachael Neal, 36, said her son was quite good at using the computer.

Mrs Neal, of Sleaford, Lincolnshire, said she had left her eBay password in her computer and her son had used the "buy it now" button.

She said: "Jack's a whizz on the PC and just pressed all the right buttons.

About 64 percent of model year 2005 cars were equipped with EDRs, according to NHTSA. Some manufacturers already include information about the EDR in the owners manual, but not all, said Rae Tyson, a spokesman for NHTSA.

"If you have a new vehicle, chances are it's got one," he said.

Data from the recorders is used by law enforcement and attorneys to recreate events directly leading up to an accident. Data is also used by car companies to research how cars and drivers perform in actual crashes.

Some privacy advocates have expressed concern that the data, which can be used as evidence in court cases, is being collected without the knowledge of vehicle owners and drivers.

The devices are virtually impossible to disable because their functioning is so tightly integrated with vehicle safety systems such as airbags and anti-lock brakes.

Despite our regular jabs, social networking has legs. So it makes great sense for companies to look at social networking sites as both an advertising and content venue. One of the finest examples we have seen, is a new site called CarSpace. Launched by auto comparison site, Edmunds.com, CarSpace is a social network for auto enthusiasts who like to write about cars, chat about cars, blog about cars, post and search for pictures of cars, repair or customize or wash and wax their cars, and generally meet share personal profiles to meet like-minded souls. eStrategyOne thinks CarSpace is an outstanding idea, and we will race you anytime.

Flirting in Traffic is kind of like internet dating in reverse! Rather than looking at photos and reading profiles, you already met the person out on the street somewhere! You see their bold maroon sticker, remember their "Flirting ID" and then come here to meet up! It's that simple, and yes, it's that cool!! Your "Flirting ID" sticker, put together with a profile and registered e-mail address are all you need to make flirting in traffic a lot more fun! Your "Flirting ID" sticker will arrive at the address you enter, within 8 days!

A photographic survey taken from the ground reveals a parking lot across the highway from the beach, and little else.

There are no bus stops, lamp posts or any other permanent structures in the area.

There was no evidence of any recent change in the landscaping that might suggest a cover up.

Considering the car was estimated to be hurtling at 90 MPH on nothing but a ten-foot cushion of air, it's no wonder there was no trace of it left.

Originally created in January, 2000 by Sean Sosik-Hamor, the Trunkmonkey concept had been floating around the labs for quite a while before anyone actually decided to implement it. Consisting solely of a trained monkey and a steady source of ice cold high-quality import ale or lager, the Trunkmonkey lives in the trunk of any vehicle and helps to automate weight transfer at the rear wheels during spirited driving maneuvers.

Originally developed for the Subaru Impreza, WRX, Forester, and Legacy, the Trunkmonkey has been adapted to many other platforms

Research released this week said one in five male drivers said their eyes were diverted from the road by posters of scantily clad women -- such as model Eva Herzigova's famous adverts for Wonderbra which bore the tagline "Hello Boys."

However only one in 10 women were put off by the sight of a semi-dressed male model.

He said novel advertising could cause a significant risk of distracting drivers at crucial times, such as going round a difficult roundabout.

"In fact, this risk is probably underestimated and we need to do more research on the possibility of excluding non-essential information when the driver is already busy dealing with the road," he said.

The study, by Privilege Insurance, said a 5-second distraction at 60 mph equated to driving at least the length of a soccer pitch without fully concentrating.

Mr Ross said: "The lions will take an interest in peculiarities on cars and we always keep a close eye on the cars coming in.

"With Smart cars and sometimes Mini Coopers the lions definitely raise an eyebrow. It sparks their interest because of their size.

"We had an incident of two ladies in a car being chased by lionesses.

"It must have been quite frightening for them, but we always have staff in a vehicle by the lion enclosure to deal with any problems."

"It used to be that you had to do a geometry exercise to navigate a plane," said Lance Neibauer, the founder of Lancair Co. of Bend, one of a handful of airplane manufacturers helping to transform the way Americans use private planes.

Today's small planes, however, have a "glass cockpit," the system of computerized displays and controls that makes pilots' lives much easier.

• Americans and the Chinese talk to their vehicles the most (69 percent and 57 percent respectively). In contrast, Italians are the least likely to hold a conversation with their cars at 29 percent.
• Americans take this a step further, with 52 percent giving their cars names.
• Most countries, however, will attribute a gender to their cars. For example, most American cars (49 percent) are considered female by their owners while in contrast, some German and Chinese respondents believe their vehicles are male (22 percent male vs. 7 percent female Germany; 44 percent male vs. 16 percent female China).
• Americans (62 percent) love to flirt with other drivers while they are behind the wheel. Next to Americans, Germans are most inclined to flirt while driving at 41 percent. Italian respondents are the least flirtatious behind the wheel at 18 percent.
• Silver is the most popular color in three of the countries and makes it into the top four color choices across all countries surveyed. Blue was the next most popular color and was the top choice in Germany, while Americans picked black as their top choice. -- France (24 percent), Spain (22 percent) and Italy (26 percent) listed silver as the top color option. -- The UK (22 percent) and Germany (22 percent) picked blue for their first choice. Vehicle Social Status and
• The majority (52 percent) of Americans tend to judge someone's success based on the car they drive. -- Only 12 percent of Italian respondents and 15 percent of Germans base people's success on vehicle types. -- China (46 percent) and the UK (39 percent) were closer to American drivers in viewing a car as a measure of success. Similarly, cars are one of the top items by which Americans base a person's social status, with almost one third (32 percent) of Americans using cars to rate a person's status. -- The UK responses (18 percent) came the closest to the American perception of vehicles as status symbols compared to other regions. -- Only 4 percent of Italian respondents and 6 percent of French respondents relate status to vehicles.
• Out of all the countries surveyed, Chinese respondents (74 percent) tend to find the opposite sex more attractive if they drive a nice car. -- Americans come to a close second with 62 percent. -- Germany (21 percent) is the least inclined to base a person's attractiveness on vehicle choice.