Creativity Unbound: Part 1 of 2.(News)

Byline: Roger Hart, Natalie Neff, Dutch Mandel, Larry Edsall

No, Thanks, I'll Take the Jet... Car

When you have the top-rated nighttime talk show, sell out theaters around the country, make a gazillion dollars a year and you're a car guy, you can see your dreams come true. That's how Jay Leno's cocktail-napkin drawings of his dream car turned into reality via designers and engineers from General Motors. EcoJet is the creation Leno drew up and GM designed and built. Powered by a midship-mounted 650-hp, 400- lb-ft Honeywell LT-101 jet turbine that runs on biodiesel fuel, the car is Leno's answer to the Prius-sort of. Nothing wrong with the Prius, Leno said, "except it's just so boring.'' The two-seat car is just seven months old, and has yet to be fitted with an interior. The car rides on a modified Corvette Z06 aluminum frame with aluminum and magnesium chassis components. But, "It's not a race car,'' Leno said.

Brutal Jeep

Geeks have waited a long time for this day (okay, four years, but in the car world that's an eternity). American Expedition Vehicles has finally finished the production tooling for its Brute conversion package, meaning that by early next year owners of TJ Jeep Wrangler models will be able to easily turn their vehicles into pickup trucks. The Brute package, which includes a stamped-steel bed and hardtop assembly, comes 90 percent assembled; AEV says build time should take no more than 60 hours.

Fish Tails

Love truckin'? Listenin' to the radio? Impromptu fishin'? Why not combine all three! Frogworks, the maker of Hitch Critters and TennaToys, rolls out its newest truck accessory, called Fish On! The 31-inch antenna/fishing pole allows you to free up all the space that a separate rod would otherwise eat up. More room for beer! Available in fiberglass or stainless-steel, for regular, bait-casting or ice-fishing applications.