If you're having trouble getting over the price tag long enough to daydream, just think of how much you're saving with the standard HD radio. Or think about a Tesla, which is dirt cheap in comparison. [Autocar via Dvice via Geekologie]

Auto Warranty Services and Explicit Media (Voice Solutions) had both used auto-dialers to call Verizon customers, as well as everyone else, to offer them auto warranty insurance. Verizon sued last year to stop the practice, and just received $50,000, which they will donate to charity. The main part is, of course, that Verizon customers won't be bothered by these two jackass companies anymore. [Verizon]

Between takes on the set of Law & Order SVU, Mariska Hargitay, actress, advocate and the president and founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation, accepted a $50,000 donation from Steve Zipperstein, vice president of legal & external affairs and Leigh Schachter, assistant general counsel at Verizon Wireless.

As previously mentioned, the car also has a solar panel used in the roof used to ventilate the car while parked, reducing AC usage once in motion, and LED taillights and daytime running lights.

The fore mentioned Ford dash, here:

Full details of the new Prius are over at Jalopnik.
[NetCarShow via Jalopnik]

Nikkei explains that following their first operating loss in 70 years, Toyota wants to make an aggressive move in the market with a solar car. But to make it work with current solar efficiency, some of the car's energy comes from solar panels on the vehicle, but some of the energy also comes from solar panels on one's house. (Does that imply it'll plug in to the wall as well, sans solar?)

According to the report, Toyota also hopes to release a real 100% solar car (not needing the house part) in the future. And we hope so, just to watch all those haughty Prius owners be usurped. [AP via Jalopnik]

Toray's carbon fiber produces a platform that's 50 percent lighter than steel but 1.5 times safer in a collision, and the shorter molding process will allow it to make enough parts for roughly 30,000 vehicles a year. Though the ten minutes is still longer than the five or six needed for regular sheet metal and carbon fiber is still ten times more expensive to buy, Toray says the new method will cut manufacturing costs drastically.

So when can you look forward to buying a carbon fiber car that doesn't cost as much as your house? About four to five years, the company estimated. Well, I guess that gives you some time to save up. [Japan Today]

For your money, you'll be getting one of the fastest all electric vehicles around. The 2009MY can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, has a top speed of 125 mph, and can go 227 miles on a 3.5 hour charge. If you're especially opulent, you can add sweet extras like a painted carbon fiber top for $3,200 or a premium leather interior for $1,800.

Want to think a little more before you let this sweet lil' ride burn a hole through your bank account? Here's a couple of reviews to help you make your decision. Or if you're in California, scuttle over to their dealership in LA. [Tesla Motors]

Snakes? Masks? Sure! But the most eye-catching feature is that the ground effects are suffering from a melting effect, and even the wheels appear to be sinking into the pavement (though they might just need a visit to the air pump). Bravo, faceless inventor. Now go park this next to a haughty Prius owner and see a yup piss their diligently pressed Banana Republic pants. [snegopad via jalopnik]

Designed for the streets of Taiwan, the car uses a airplane-grade Nomex honeycomb body that makes it just 550lbs with seats. The light weight brings efficiency, so much so, in fact, that the developers claim that the car just needs a few hours of sunlight to recharge its batteries for another 3 hours of driving. But we'll admit it—with a solar panel that tiny on top of the car, we can't help but be a little skeptical about that figure.

Then again, for its groundbreakingly low $24,600 price tag, we'll be willing to give it a chance over this more expensive, equally hideous alternative. [taipeitimes via treehugger]

The Spotlight, which gives you over an hour's worth of light on a three-hour charge, is expected to cost around $14.99. [Weiguo Solutions via Tips]

[AVING]

It also has Bluetooth for phone functionality, including address book sync and speakerphone. (I assume when a call comes in, it shows callerID and pauses your music, but don't quote me on that.) It has an SD card slot and a lousy 64MB of internal storage. My bet is at $500, it's not a big HDD. There's a $400 version (NVM-4050), which loses auto-rerouting, traffic, photo and video playback and the FM transmitter. [easystreetnav via PRNewswire]

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These guys over in Google's hometown of Mountain View use the search engine's free Wi-Fi to power their mobile next-gen gaming rig, which features a 23-inch Samsung LCD screen, Xbox 360, and most importantly, the Xbox Vision Cam for those tense deathmatch games of UNO.

What should they go for next? Get EV-DO in there for some serious cross-country action. –Alexander Yoon

Playing Xbox Live While Driving [via Kotaku]