Little gizmos for big toys on display at Detroit show

DETROIT -- If you've ever haplessly wrestled with a truck's spare tire or longed to liven up a drab dashboard display, the auto industry has the gadget for you.

A wide array of handy gizmos and whimsical extras are hidden among the horsepower on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Ford's 2005 Mustang, for instance, has an available instrument panel that allows you to color coordinate its lights with your outfit or mood, choosing among 125 different color backgrounds.

Illuminating CD changer

And Toyota's Scion brand offers a six-CD changer in its xA subcompact with a display illumination that can change 10 different colors.

The color options could soon be taken even further. American Specialty Cars, which helps create low-volume specialty vehicles for major automakers, is exploring giving consumers choice in tire color. That might even mean chameleon-like wheels that take on new hues according to the temperature, said Marques McCammon, director of product and business planning for the Southgate, Mich.-based company.

Consumers "want the car to be a reflection of who they are," McCammon said. "Maybe tires are the equivalent of cufflinks."

In other cars, the gadgets are all about comfort.

Standard on the Mercedes-Benz S55 AMG sports sedan and the S600 luxury sedan are seats that circulate air through the cushion, drawing off perspiration in hot weather. The seats also can be programmed to "breathe," inflating and deflating twice each minute to relax the spine and back muscles.

Volkswagen's Touareg sport utility vehicle offers an optional ski package, complete with heated steering wheel, heated front and rear seats and a ski bag.

Then there are the truly practical innovations.

Tecstar Innovations, which makes aftermarket parts and accessory components, is showing off its spare tire carrier for the Hummer H2. With the removal of two screws, the carrier flips down, so that the tire can be rolled off. That way, a driver isn't stuck trying to lift a 100-pound tire.

The problem solvers at auto parts supplier Johnson Controls are producing the Railport -- two metal rails on the car's ceiling that allows owners to add new compartments and electronic gadgets. So as new gizmos come along, they can be added to an older car.

Johnson Controls also has the latest in cell phone convenience -- a handsfree system that is built into cars and can go with any phone equipped with Bluetooth technology. With the product, available in the Acura TL and the Chrysler Pacifica, a driver can dial on a phone located anywhere in the car, even the trunk, just by saying a number.

Showing its view for the future, the company has a concept car in which seemingly every detail is thought out. There is a handy spot for briefcase storage, a place to hang dry cleaning full-length so hems don't get wrinkled, and a net that can easily be added in the trunk after grocery shopping to keep eggs and bread from being crushed by heavier items.

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Associated Press Writer Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this report.