"Your car could know a heck of a lot about you," says Clifford Nass, things like where you go, what speed you drive, what music you listen to. And, of course, companies will pay for that info, but Nass is also wondering if your car could speak back to you, would it result in you driving more safely, or even cheer you up if you were depressed?

Nass' research is interesting to insurers, of course, because if your car could detect that you consistently drove too fast or were often angrily swearing at the traffic while you wrenched at the wheel, they might be tempted to up your premiums. But Nass also sees our future cars being like dumber versions of KITT, behaving more like a co-pilot and actually speaking back to us. Perhaps pointing out that there's a pedestrian in the road ahead, or warning you that you're driving too aggressively.

Some of Nass' results are fascinating:
•Depressed drivers drive better when their car reacts as if it too is depressed
•Cars that speak in complex sentences tend to make you pay attention, rather than zoning out
•Older drivers prefer younger voices
•The car's voice is important: BMW had to recall Series 5 cars because male German drivers didn't listen to its female voice
•Drivers feel closer to the computer if they believe it's embedded in the car, rather than a remote device.

That last one seems like an extension of our personification of cars: I've named every one of my cars, and I bet you guys do too. And while a talking, monitoring, advice-giving car may be some people's idea of a nightmare, you can see that the idea has potential for improving safety: "You can imagine how much it costs for anti-lock brakes. But what if you could simply change the voice in the car?" points out Nass. What do you think, guys? Talking cars FTW? ... or KITT-like cars as nightmare? [Physorg]

But at $147, it's just outside of our impulse buy range. Don't let our bank account speak for you, though. [product via tfts]

You look at the iPhone and you go—thats the coolest phone out there. It's just a flat screen that you can touch and access anything. So the iPhone interface was actually a big inspiration for the way the interior of this car would look because its very simple, it's very streamlined, it's very clean.

Looks like Bartis is right: aluminum on leather, check. Touchscreen, check. Glossy surfaces, check. Simplicity, check. Almost no knobs, except the new driver, who makes the Hoff looks like Olivier, Marlon Brando, Pacino and DeNiro combined, check. Voice spectrometer that look like an iTunes's visualizer? Check. Apple Bluetooth keyboard? Not checked, but looks like it. What do you think? Is it really iPhone-inspired?

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[Net Car Show, Knight Rider Online, Shadow Flight and io9]

I don't know what is more scary. The case or listening to KITT presenting itself again.

Told you. [product via coolestgadgets]

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[Variety]

Koenigsegg CCX as KITT [Jalopnik]

If, as a young impressionable child, you always wanted to grow up to be just like Michael Knight, only to find years later that fate had dealt you a cruel hand and you were unable to croon in German or grow luxurious chest hair, perhaps you will find some solace in the fact that while you may never be half the man the Hoff was in the 80s, you can totally still have his car.

All you've got to do is purchase a car from Pontiac's third generation series of Firebirds, track down every single part in the Knight Replicas catalog and then follow their conversion guide. No sweat, right? Not for a cool cat like you. Hell, play your cards right and maybe you'll have your sweet, sweet ride ready in time for the 2006 Knight Nationals & Convention in Dayton this August. Don't forget to send us a postcard from Ohio!

Guide to KITT and KARR [Knight Replicas, thanks Scott!]

Alcatel's new OT-C850 Music Phone has a 1.3 megapixel camera, a 65K color 176 220 screen, plays MP3s (256 MB of memory onboard, plus a MicroSD slot) and EDGE, blah blah blah. Let's be honest now: the most interesting thing about this phone that it looks like it was designed by Knight Industries.

Would you use this phone? Should you buy it? Before you come to a decision, first ask yourself: WWDHD?

Alcatel mobile music phone, looks like a space invader [MobileMentalism.com]