Luxury

You have a basic accounting decision to make. You can spend $380,000 and buy a Lamborghini Aventador or you can spend $4.8 million and buy a 1:8 scale model of the same car.

As you may have guessed, the model didn't come out of a box from Hobby Lobby. It's the creation of Robert Gülpen, a German engineer who specializes in making car models from precious materials. I didn't even know that was a career option.

The body, doors, and hood are made from carbon fiber with threads of solid gold. The … Read more

The arms race among shaving razor manufacturers has been a lengthy and dramatic affair. Two blades. Aloe strips. Three blades. Batteries. Four blades. Thinner edges. Five blades!

Will the madness ever end? Nope. Upstart manufacturer Zafirro's Titanium razor is making all of those other razors cower with inadequacy.

Yes, it is made with actual titanium alloy. This is not just any titanium. It's the Grade 38 good stuff, used in demanding military applications. You can rest easy knowing your razor could hold up to the harsh conditions of combat.… Read more

We solid-state drive lovers (it's quite easy to fall in love, by the way, if you have a computer that's equipped with one) should throw a party and hire Jimmy McMillan to represent us. Because, you guessed it, the price of this type of storage device for computers is still just too damn high! So how high is high?

Though priced significantly lower than it was a few years ago, the SSD is still possibly the most expensive component inside the handful of high-end laptops on the market. Unless there's a rare deal or big promotion, a 120GB SSD generally goes for around $200 to $250 these days, depending on the connection type (SATA 2 or SATA 3) and speed.

(It's worth noting that, for most computers, you'd need one that's 120GB or larger. This is because a 64GB SSD, though will get the job done, can hold just the OS, essential software applications, and not much else.)

The price gets progressively higher as capacities get larger. A 240GB--which is the "sweet spot" that enjoys the balance of relatively large storage space while remaining attainable for consumers--now goes for between $420 and $550. Starting at 512GB, SSDs can cost thousands of dollars, too expensive for most of us to afford or justify.… Read more

There's run-of-the-mill ridiculous and then there's redonkulous. The AeroDream One from Jarre Technologies is pure redonkulous. It's an iPod, iPhone, and iPad dock. Big deal, right?

It's an 11-foot-tall, chrome-slathered, 10,000-watt iPod dock that requires a ladder just to get your device up to the top. It weighs more than 870 pounds. It also costs a wallet-shattering $560,000. Redonkulous.

Each AeroDream One is custom made and takes six months for delivery. This behemoth comes from a company created by Jean Michel Jarre, a man best known for electronic music, over-the-top shows with laser displays, and luxurious flowing hair.… Read more

If you've already hoarded all the gold bars and Krugerrands you can carry against the current economic downturn, you might want to look into sunglasses. And not just to protect your eyes from the glare of your shiny bullion, as Bentley Eyewear offers sunglass frames made from 18 karat gold.

The sunglasses are specifically designed to complement the Bentley Mulsanne, a $285,000 sedan, and feature hand-crafted knurling along the ear pieces and an enameled Bentley B. Even the cases for these sunglasses use the same quality cowhide as the car's seats.

And, of course, the lenses give … Read more

Bentley's 2012 model year update to its Continental GTC convertible will feature a Google Earth-based navigation system, technology developed by sibling company Audi, along with a number of other improvements. Bentley will unveil the 2012 Continental GTC at the 2011 Frankfurt auto show.

Similar to its hard-top stablemate, the Continental GTC is powered by a twin turbocharged 6-liter W-12 engine, which generates 567 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. That amount of power pushes the four seat convertible to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds. The engine can also be fed E85 bio-fuel. … Read more

Troops on both sides of the sleeved blanket battleground are quick to defend their sides. For example, a friend of mine proudly reps Team Slanket for its utilitarian foot pocket and softer pile fabric, whereas others prefer the larger back section of the Snuggie that makes it more...blankety. Most recently, a third contender has stepped into the lounge-off hoping to pull in the last demographic unswathed by the trend: it's called the Thuggie.

Its cutesy name is the only similarity between the Thuggie and its competitors; it's basically just an extra-long fleece hoodie that extends down to the wearer's knees for optimum coverage.

There's also a kangaroo pocket in the middle for your remote control and/or snacks, but if you think the idea derived from hip-hop's iconic XXL plain white T-shirt trend, you'd be wrong; the Thuggie's genesis story is actually set on the ski slopes of Canada.

Creator Bryan Pudney and three of his friends went skiing in Whistler, B.C., back in 2009 and handmade the first version of the Thuggie as a joke to mock the bulky fashion of other snow-goers. But like a lot of things you can find on the Internet, the irony faded and it became a hit soon after.

The Thuggie store offers an assortment of colors for $75, or you can "design" your own custom Thuggie for a little more. You can't find Thuggies in stores yet, but I predict it'll hit Duane Reade and Walgreens shelves in time for the winter holidays.

Alternatively, if you're not buying into the whole Thuggie thing, Why Not Apparel Inc. also offers Thugglets for babies and Chuggies for your favorite beverage.

More Thuggie pics after the jump.… Read more

The next time you go into a Starbucks for a drink or snack, you could end up walking out with a free iPhone app too.

Apple and Starbucks have long had a partnership that gives Starbucks customers a way to download free music tracks from Apple's iTunes Music Store, and the two companies are now coming together to do the same with paid applications.

Using the same "Pick of the Week" cards the two companies have been using since April 2008, Starbucks is now using that same system to dole out iPhone applications.

Just like for music, users can find free cards waiting for them at the cash register with codes on the back that can be entered into iTunes or the App Store to get the application.

The first application to be offered for free is Shazam Encore (iTunes), a music-identifying app that sells for $5.99 in the U.S. version of the App Store. That's a considerable deal compared to new music tracks, which typically top out at $1.29.

Starbucks declined to comment on the addition of apps, including whether this takes the place of or simply joins music tracks as part of the Pick of the Week program. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. … Read more

With its new engine, driver assistance features, and cabin tech, the 2012 CLS550 represents the cutting edge of what Mercedes-Benz has to offer. At the same time, it preserves and enhances the brand's luxury image. The standard air suspension gives the car a superlative ride.

Beyond its telematics service, Mercedes-Benz hasn't ventured into app integration, as some of its competitors are doing. But its cabin tech is still first rate, with a speedy navigation system featuring 3D rendered buildings and just about every modern audio source you can think of. The highlight is the Harman Kardon audio system, … Read more