The name alligator is an anglicized form of the Spanish “el lagarto”, meaning “the lizard”, a name which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator. Currently, there are only two living alligator species: the American Alligator and the Chinese Alligator. Until now.

According to Car magazine, under a Project named Alligator, Aston Martin & Mercedes Benz are planing a wide-ranging tie-up to collaborate on engines, hybrids, transmissions and even entire platforms.

Here are the highlights of the so called Alligator project:

- Mercedes engines power future Aston Martins
- AMG’s 6.3 liter V8 would make its way into the Vantage models
- Diesels and Hybrids from Mercedes would be used in Astons
- Whole platforms to be shared by top-end models
- 8 speed automatic tranny for AM sports cars
- Maybach and Aston would be cooperating on future models

There is more info coming in CAR magazine’s September issue. For now however, we’ll just have patience and wait for more details on the Alligator Project.

Ok, so we’re not sure if this is best filed under good ideas for cars, or good ideas for practical jokers, but what you see before you is a jack strong enough to lift a 3 ton vehicle 18 inches off the ground for up to 45 minutes. Simply plug the hose straight into your exhaust pipe, stick the balloon under the frame of the car, and let the exhaust lift your car up so you can change the tire. Easy as that.

Personally, I have a hard time trusting regular jacks, and now I’m expected to slide underneath a three ton car held up by a balloon? Well, for the non-believers in all of us, there’s a video after the jump.

Titan is the company you have to thank for this invention, you can buy the thing here at NorthernTool. So far, its product rating is 5/5 stars for a whole and wopping 2 reviews.

Are you one of those who wants a super duper entertainment system in your car, but don’t want to go through ripping apart your center console to get it? Well now, there’s no reason to dismantle your vehicle or rip up your upholstery to install in-car entertainment systems thanks to this car visor, which houses a 7-inch 16:9 widescreen LCD.

Included in the sun visor is a DVD player and a video game console with built in USB ports, and a SD/MS/MMC card reader. The DVD player is capable of playing the whole lot of formats including DVD, SVCD, VCD, DVCD, CD, CDG, CD-R and CD-RW. Not only can it play videos, but it includes ports to plug in game controllers for some video game excitement.

While there’s no Gran Turismo or Grand Theft Auto IV power from the visor, it does have a good selection of 8-bit games capable of entertaining for at least 1 hour of that 20 hour road-trip with the family.

The best part about it is its ease-of-use. There’s no complicated installation or hacking-and-slashing required. Just replace your current sun visor and give it a little 12V DC juice and you’re ready to go. It even includes an FM transmitter so the whole family can enjoy your horrible taste in movies.

The only question is it’s price. This is available from an unheard of Asian manufacturer for $100, which seems kinda low for everything it promises. Oh, well, that and the question of maybe dying in a fiery crash while playing a Street Fighter knock-off on your sun visor.