05 Honda St1300 St 1300 Front Fender 44s on 2040-parts.com

NYC approves Ford Transit Connect for taxi fleet

New York signed off on the Ford Transit Connect to be used for taxi service, paving the way for the nation's largest city to begin switching to the small van in place of the aging Crown Victoria. The move was announced Thursday after a public hearing; New York joins Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago on the list of major cities that have approved the vehicle for taxi service. The Transit Connect (and Taurus sedan) is approved for use now, but a Nissan van will become the exclusive vehicle in 2013.

The dog ate my Aston Martin

A 42-year-old Brit gave his dog away after the border collie-spaniel mix chewed the fiberglass fender of his Aston Martin DB9 Volante while he was away from home, the Daily Mail reports. Royston Grimstead, from Somerset, England, told the Mail he was already contemplating giving his dog, Luce, away because she didn't get along with his other dog. Then he came home to find $4,800 in damage to his Aston.

New dynamic 3D button touchscreen tech

A pioneering new technology allows touchscreens to ‘grow’ dynamic buttons from flat surfaces. The new technology, developed by US company Tactus Technology, uses minute channels within the screen to siphon liquid into button shaped cavities that then rise when pressed, alleviating some of the muscle-memory and distraction issues often leveled at touchscreens. Craig Ciesla, CEO of Tactus Technology, says that it was his desire to merge the elegance of the iPhone's user interface with the tactility of Blackberry buttons that led to the technology's development.