iPod Touch + Pontiac GTO = The Dawn of the iCar

It was only a week ago that I predicted rise of the iCar - a car completely controlled by it's owner's mobile phone. Now, wouldn't you know it, the New York Times just featured such a vehicle in yesterday's "Wheels" column. It's a cherry 1969 Pontiac GTO of all things, and it's amazing.

An iPod Touch -- acting as a remote control -- can start the motor, rev the engine, raise and lower the windows, open the doors, pop the trunk, and control the car's sound system. Nine-to-five, Dave Phipps installs alarm systems, and on the weekends he works on GTOs -- over the last 25 years he estimates that he's restored 14 of them--so he knows his volts from his bolts.

His newest creation, which I am going to dub his iGTO, is a ground-up rebuild. Although it would appear to be completely stock, there is not a scrap of wiring in the car that is original. Phipps created a custom wiring harness whereby every wire in the car passes through a central switch panel, creating a sort of command center to hack into.

The rest, however, was achieved by re-purposing standard consumer electronics grade gear, albeit in an extremely clever way. The heart of the system is a gizmo that's actually designed to allow infrared remote controls -- like those for a TV, Tivo, DVD, and stereo -- to be replaced by a iPhone. It's called the RedEye, and it's only $188. Phipps programmed the RedEye to give commands to a computer connected to the car's central switch. The result is straight out of Stephen King's Christine. "It's very fun at car shows," says Phipps.

The real import of the iGTO, however, is that everything Phipps did, he did with off-the-shelf components. It's all within the grasp of the garage tinkerer and the corner customizing shop. And where the car guys go, Detroit is sure to follow.

photo: Amazon