- 14 January, 2006 -

Fasten your seatbelts. If the exhibit at last week's Los Angeles auto show is at all prophetic, Homer Simpson's car is one step closer to reality. Fans of the animated TV program will recall the 2003 episode in which Homer lost his driver's license when he drove into the ocean . . . after he had equipped his car with a cell phone, a DVD player, a snowcone maker and a fog machine, for starters. As the hapless Homer drove off a pier, he tried to send an SOS from his fax machine, to no avail. At the auto show, Al & Ed's Autosound displayed a tricked-out Chevrolet SSR with a barbecue grill, a refrigerator and a 32-inch satellite TV built in. Talk about tailgating. Analysts say drivers will spend about $200 million this year customizing their cars to resemble their rec rooms (or their backyards), and that market could surge to $750 million within six years. The gadgets may be cool. But it sure seemed calmer and safer when the trickiest recreation on a road trip was playing "I spy" with the kids.

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