OK... we've seen lots of owners add gadgets and appliances to their cars such as built-in radar detectors, iPods, Garage door openers, USB ports, Cell Phone chargers etc.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a professional looking custom panel, with custom color and lettering? One you design yourself?
Well there is a place called
Front Panel Express, LLC which will make you a one-off CNC machined aluminum panel which you create yourself. You can select different anodized aluminum stock, in several thickness. You can use their lettering fonts, or submit your own.
They even give you FREE CAD software to design the panel. This software will also give you the price of each unit
as you design it. When you're done with your design, you just email the file to FPE along with a credit card for payment, and they produce it for you with a 7-day turnaround.
I think this is a great concept and allows you to really give the car a nice professional finished look rather than having all the additions look like they don't belong. I designed a panel for my BMW 2002 so I can use an iPod and also house the switches for my fog lights and electronic ignition which will blend easily with the dash in one of the center console storage shelves. It hasn't arrived yet, but I can post pics once it does.
It should really be of interest to those with vintage cars, and of course it is not just restricted to your car. Your Boat, Bike, PC and other things may benefit from this too.
Hope you find it useful.
Cheers!