Category Archives: Cars
If IKEA Made Geeky Furniture Part 19: Gearhead Bedroom
Not exactly geeky (but could be given the Speed Racer or Megas XLR treatment), these designs are more for the gearheads. The bed frame is based on a car lift; the dresser is based on a tool drawer; and finally a light that is based on the one mechanics use to look underneath cars with (well, it could be the exact same light to be honest).
In my estimation this is probably ideal for bachelors only.
Docks For Car Stereo Faceplates
This is an idea that crossed my mind a long time ago when I was lugging around a faceplate for my car stereo: I often wanted a stereo in my home that I can attach my faceplate to for everyday use. The main reason was that I really liked a lot of functionality my car deck had*. Also I felt the faceplate could be put to better use when not in the car.
Besides making the faceplate more versatile, I felt such a device had a strong ‘cool’ factor. Car stereo decks are very ‘showy’ in appearance, with their colorful displays (that often employed a music visualizer), and illuminated knobs/buttons. So the thought of enlisting the faceplate for a stereo on my desk or bookshelf was very appealing.
The design above is pretty modest (the faceplate is from a Spy Hunter design from way back), and takes a few familiar cues from cars, like a push-button ignition acting as a power button. Note: this design forgoes a CD player.
There is a lot of potential for devices in the home that can be home to a car faceplate. How about an attachment to the front of a PC tower (like a DVD drive)? Or an alarm clock? Obviously this is nothing new for those who use iOS device docks, or for SiriusXM customers who regularly move their satellite radio module from the car to a stereo in the house and back. As far as car stereo faceplates go, this is uncharted territory**.
Note: Currently this couldn’t be done in a universal fashion, because of all the different makes and models out there. One possibility are these docks being packaged with their respective faceplates in a bundle.
*I’m probably the only person on the planet who is annoyed by this, but why can’t home stereos have some of the neat functionality car stereos do? I’m talking about being able to auto-seek for radio stations with the push of a button, or adjusting audio distribution between all the speakers — stuff like that. Car stereos seem to do a lot more in a smaller, more intuitive package.
**Not counting the in-store displays for car stereos!
K.I.T.T. Car Stereo Deck
Every once in awhile I’ll post a design that strikes me as a no-brainer, like this or this. I’m very surprised there hasn’t been any K.I.T.T. car stereo decks made commercially or as fanmade/homebrew projects even.
This design would be encapsulating the K.I.T.T. dashboard into a stereo deck which would feature its namesake as a music visualizer – pretty straightforward. Originally I had a normal volume dial, but for fun I used the steering wheel instead, something that wouldn’t be too practical for an actual stereo deck.
Just like the last stereo deck I designed, this design discards the CD slot on the front, so if you want to load a disc the face will have to flip down (if CD capability were included to begin with).
One touch I’d like to include are voice greetings from K.I.T.T. when powering on and off the stereo (“Hello, Michael.”), and the Knight Rider theme on command.
Racing Game Proposal: Head-On Combat Zones
The last post which featured Mario Karters running amok all over the track got me thinking: wouldn’t it be cool if you could combat other racers head-on for brief stretches?
How it works: The racers are split into 2 groups. They race on two tracks (that are mirror opposites) which are conjoined in small stretches (“Chaos Zones”, see above image), allowing racers to combat each other head-on. The start/finish line is placed on a conjoined section. Read the rest of this entry
Spy Hunter Car Stereo Deck
I thought I’d address the complete lack of geeky car stereo decks with this Spy Hunter design. For the most part it would be your standard stereo, save for a neat cosmetic touch: the back-lit weapons dash that adorned the original arcade cabinet.
These five icons would randomly illuminate (at a slow non-distracting rate) for a bit of a light show. Other touches include 3 buttons found on the steering wheel of the arcade cabinet: the ‘Source’ button disguised as the Weapons Van button, and the play/stop buttons use the same red push-buttons used to fire weapons.
Not only would this deck help recreate the feel of playing the arcade game while behind the wheel of your car, but also grant you delusions of being a badass spy (even if you’re driving a station wagon).
Notes:
You can check out the arcade cabinet in-depth here. This design was based on this Alpine model. The icons would not allow for a CD slot on the face, so if you want CD functionality you would need to pop the face down to load discs. I suppose you could program this sucker to play the Peter Gun Theme upon start-up. Sound effects from the game could be enlisted for button presses.
Drive Meets Hot Wheels Mashup T-Shirt
I do offer shirts here at davesgeekyideas. It’s not something I like to broadcast for two reasons: I like the “hidden gem” approach with these shirts, and also they are incredibly expensive. $27 for a custom T-Shirt?! Sorry for that. I wish they used Gildan instead of American Apparel. Ah well.
Available in Men’s and Women’s tees (2 choices of blue), and you can click the image above or here to go to the listing.
If you can’t see the appeal of this shirt, you were born after 1994. Damn kids — get off my lawn!
