An Ann Arbor, Mich.-based environmental group says your vehicle's "new-car smell" is less likely to cause you harm this year, but it still is essentially made up of toxic gases masked by the fragrant, earthy smell of capitalism.

The Ecology Center's annual report on new-car smell puts the Acura RDX at the top of its list for least-toxic new-car smell--which it says contains poisons linked to allergies and cancer. The RDX (see chart below) has a ranking of 0.6 on the group's concern scale, while a whopper like the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT (their spelling incorrect) tops the charts at 4.7. We're not sure what units they're measuring, but in proportion, the Mitsu's about eight times worse than the Acura.

Of all automakers, GM made the biggest improvements in cutting back on toxic materials, and Mazda and Nissan did a pretty good job, too.

The Ecology Center says new-car smell is composed of chlorine, lead, and flame retardants, all bad stuff that can cause a host of immune problems. It also says the same chemicals are present in child car seats.

To conclude, the group's rankings of the top ten and worst ten vehicles--here for you in handy chart form:

The favorite soap opera at Ford isn't the company's ongoing troubles with Mercury, or plummeting truck sales--no, these days it seems to be the travails of Cecilia Marquez.

Marquez is the heroine of the Spanish-language, online soap opera called Amores de Luna. It's the story of a woman who seems to have everything, except a career as a writer, something we have dreams of too, here at TheCarConnection.com.

Cleverly, the mini-soap's Webisode player is wrapped in all sorts of ads for the 2009 Ford Flex. So far, there are 15 episodes online, as well as bios for the characters and even a blog for Cecilia--none of which I can read without the help of Babelfish, since I took useless French in high school instead of the more prescient Spanish option. The site even offers some bloopers, in an interesting cradle-to-grave media play.

It won't replace Days of Our Lives on our TiVo, but it's easily more watchable than dreck like Work Out. If Cecilia gets a lesbian evil twin, though, we're done. Before you commit to the whole 30-minute experience, check out this brief clip like we did. Roll tape:

Every day, we drive through the intersection of car geekdom and purer forms of geekdom, so you can imagine the excitement of this morning's release of new Apple iPhone software (though not through Apple yet)--not to mention the go-live date of the new iTunes App Store.

The iPhone app store is open right now, and even though the upgrade software for older iPhones isn't yet available for download, you can still cruise the new App Store on iTunes and find some car-related goodies for your Magic Phone.

A quick surf through the 27 pages of applications reveals these possible gems:

CarStat: Promises "no more little white book! Keep track of money spent on your cars from fuel to service items"--record fuel economy and cost of ownership, and it's cheaper than a gallon of gas.

Calculators: Though it's 99 cents from "MyFreeApps.com," it sounds legit--calculate a car payment or a mortgage payment, including amortization schedules.

Equivalence: From ApogeeWeb, makes converting units easy--say, PS to U.S. SAE horsepower, or pound-feet to newton-meters. (Of course, Google does the same thing.) Units from Ben Spratling appears to do the same stuff.

MPG: From Joe Kueser, this one is pitched as an aid for hypermiling. It tracks mileage, fuel costs, fuel consumption trends, and reasons for changes.

QuickVoice Recorder: From nFinity, perfect for recording GM vice chairman Bob Lutz when he explains how "left-leaning social liberals" dislike big SUVs. There's also Retronyms' Recorder; both are $9.99.

Riddle Racer: From Gala Factory, this app lets you maneuver your car through a series of cones to the checkered flag. Think Honda Civic plus Sudoku. $4.99

TripLog: From Stevens Creek, this app promises to help keep track of deductible expenses, including mileage for three different cars; you can e-mail yourself the log to print for reimbursement.

WhereTo: In what looks like a beautifully simple rotary-dial interface, this GPS-based software alerts you to nearby destinations for food, facilities, and fun--and has a "Surprise Me" button for random choices (not for stills from Vern Troyer's sex tape, thank goodness.)

Remember, you can read us on the iPhone too, and keep up with the latest car news, car photos, and car reviews--plus find a car dealer nearby and read the latest stories on hybrids, too.

Techmeme via TechCrunch

Andreas sends us spy shots of cars and trucks, but this time he's uncovered a very special lawn tractor that probably doesn't have a place in the Porsche museum--though it wears the livery of Porsche's iconic 911.

The crazy lawn tractor here started life as a Partner machine, with 14.5 horsepower and a hydrostatic transmission. A buddy of our spy shooter took the tractor apart completely, and then got obsessed. Every nut and bolt was painted yellow; a new stainless-steel exhaust was fabricated; and a rev counter made from an old 911 oil filter was installed, along with a fire extinguisher.

After putting it all back together, the proud Porschephile shot it all with classic Grand-Prix Weiss (white) with Indischrot (red) details and wheels. Undoubtedly, it's more fun to work in the garden than on a track--but who knows? Maybe we'll see this one in the U.S. Lawnmower Championships one day.

Gas prices are hurting everyone, hookers included.

The Associated Press reports--(and how exactly did they gather the facts?)--that the nation's legal prostitutes are moaning about gas prices over in the state of Nevada, where 10 counties offer legal coupling services. (The seven that do not are in the populated areas of the state.)

The AP reports that truckers are, logically, a big source for the professional ladies, and the rapid rise in prices has had a deflating effect on their bottom lines. Brothels along the Interstate 80 corridor and US-95 usually get 75 percent of their business from truckers, and those drivers have less money--(indiscretionary income?)--and are "not high-rollers anymore," an officially employed hooker spokesman told the news service.

Intake is down 25 percent, says Geoffrey Arnold, president of the Nevada Brothel Owners' Association. So the legal houses are giving away gas cards and offering other incentives for visitors to partake. One whorehouse is giving a two-for-one special to customers who bring in their tax rebate checks under a "Double Your Stimulus" package.

Nevada has 28 legal brothels, and the AP says 16 are in rural areas that are costlier to reach these days. In contrast, the other brothels relatively closer to Reno and Vegas are doing bang-up business.

We would make another joke, but our double entendre's worn down to a single now.