"This car, like many custom cars built during that era, resembles a space ship, with its winged back, rocket exhaust and curvaceous body," said Robert Brown, president and owner of Red Baron's. "Obviously, it was influenced by space travel, a theme that had gripped the public's imagination. This spilled over into automotive design."

Brown purchased the car about a year ago from a Hollywood director and car aficionado for $60,000 -- a bargain, except for its condition, which was dreadful. The vehicle had been left to rot in a Utah field for more than 20 years before being acquired by the director, for $50,000. He sold it to Brown after abandoning plans to restore it.

That job was left to Brown, who enlisted the services of Moses Lunden, a Chrysler-Plymouth guru who has written more than 20 books on the company and its products line. Lunden, based in Reno, Nev., lovingly tended to every bolt and screw until the car was brought back to its original luster and glory. Total cost: about $150,000.

"I'll either sell it for $100,000 and lose my shirt or get a million dollars for it and walk away happy," Brown said with a chuckle. "You never know with vintage cars, especially concept vehicles like this one." He acknowledged the car has already drawn interest from at least one high-profile celebrity collector, plus several auto museums.

The system, expected to debut in as-yet-undisclosed cars in 2008, includes an onboard camera that reads speed limit signs. After it spots a sign, the system uses the car's navigation system to check whether the number it detected is plausible: Should the speed limit really be 55 in this urban zone?

Once the limit is established, the system can alert drivers in a display beamed onto the windshield that they're going too fast. Motorists also can let the system tap into the car's cruise control and automatically reduce the speed to the posted limit.

The system won't, however, automatically raise a car's speed to match a suddenly higher limit.

Our His & Hers Twike commuter vehicle is completely gasoline-, emission-, and guilt-free. This cozy two-seater has a brilliantly engineered zero-emission electric power system that can be supplemented with human pedal power, as desired. Like your significant other, it's a first: the first electric-human power hybrid. Swiss and German engineers have designed it with lightweight aluminum alloys and reinforced floors, and it weighs less than 600 lbs. You will have to find another excuse for running out of gas, however; its state-of-the-art, six-kilowatt hour nickel-alloy batteries can be fully charged from a regular household outlet. Powered by a three-kilowatt electric motor, it can achieve speeds of up to 55 mph with a range of up to 90 miles per charge. When you feel like pedaling, and thereby extending its range for those romantic drives with the convertible top down, the choice is yours. The clever regenerative antilock brake system captures energy from deceleration and channels it back into the storage system to extend the range as well. The Twike has far fewer parts than any messy internal combustion engine; if only all relationships could be this low maintenance.

As if the car itself wasn't enough, BMW is offering these fortunate fifty Neiman Marcus customers the pinnacle of the "ultimate driving experience." Each gift opportunity features an exclusive European adventure in which the purchaser takes delivery of their new M6 Convertible directly from the factory and drives on to tour the Bavarian countryside. And for the serious BMW- enthusiast, each customer will have the opportunity to meet with the automaker's famous car designers, and be given a private tour of the BMW factory in Munich. Also included in the package are two round-trip business class tickets on Lufthansa(R) to Munich, Germany, gourmet meals, and luxurious accommodations for four nights. Upon completion of the trip, their new vehicle will be shipped back to the States for immediate delivery. The trip is scheduled for Spring 2007.

Bold and uncompromising, the BMW Individual M6 Convertible stands alone. The unmistakable roar of its 5.0-liter, V-10 engine delivering 500 horsepower at your command and the precision handling, M Variable Differential Lock, and Electronic Damping Control make every trip extraordinary. Its on-board computer, GPS navigation, and Voice Command System merge driver and auto into one intelligent entity. At the heart of this incredible machine is a Formula 1 inspired, V-10 engine with 10 individual throttle butterflies capable of revving up to 8,250 rpm thanks to its sophisticated design and knock control systems. Coupled to a seven-speed Sequential Manual Transmission with Drivelogic(R), it can launch you from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.5 exhilarating seconds.

Argue all you want; however you'd be hard-pressed to find documented proof that men are superior to women as drivers. But make no mistake - gender certainly does impact driving habits and insurance industry observers believe that issue manifests in other ways, too. That's a point driven home by insurance executives such as David Snyder, who acknowledges that most car insurance companies take into account a driver's gender in determining policy pricing.

"The weight in pricing varies from company to company and by claims experience over time, but, for example, with all other factors being equal, a female between the ages of 18 and 25 would pay less than her male counterpart because as a rule younger women drivers have fewer accidents and moving violations than males in the same age group," says Snyder, vice president and assistant general counsel of the American Insurance Association, in Washington, D.C.

The only time gender has a bearing on car insurance rates involves young drivers, says Carolyn Gorman, vice president of the Washington, D.C. office of the Insurance Information Institute (III). Young males, between the ages of 16 to 25, typically pay more than females in their age group, because "many young men are more likely to show daredevil tendencies in their driving because of factors such as emotional immaturity and misplaced feelings of immortality," Gorman pointed out.

Toyota Motor Corp. trounced the domestic automakers in the U.S. marketplace last month, posting a 25 per cent year-over-year sales increase. General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG each saw their sales slip by a few percentage points, while Ford Motor Co.'s sales gained 4.7 per cent.

GM's sales fell 3.1 per cent last month, but the largest North American automaker put a positive spin on the decline, attributing it to a reduction in low-margin sales to rental companies. The company's car sales fell 6.4 per cent, while trucks, including pickups and sport utility vehicles, were down 0.7 per cent. The numbers include the European Saab brand.

DaimlerChrysler said its overall decrease of 2.3 per cent stemmed mostly from its U.S. subsidiary, Chrysler Group, where sales fell 3.8 per cent. Sales of Mercedes-Benz vehicles rose 13.2 per cent. The automaker was to release more detailed numbers later in the afternoon.

Ford's increase over the same month last year was fuelled largely by car sales, which rose 26.2 per cent, while its truck sales fell 5.5 per cent. The figures are for all Ford brands, including Jaguar, Volvo and Land Rover.

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."