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.

When I can't sleep, I fire up my iPhone, check on my latest posts, and cruise over to YouTube for some pirated Family Guy clips and maybe a little from the Featured list.

Imagine my horror when I found this video, the product of "Gas Unit and MC Esher," a three-minute white-rap ode to $4-a-gallon gas. I did not want to get "humped at the pump" at 1 a.m., but there I was, transfixed by Burger King crowns (who's the king, baby?) and the ability of two former frat guys to link Halle Berry to Halliburton.

It has subtitles in case you don't want to let anyone hear you watching this hot Eminem-mess. Definitely work-safe, but maybe toxic to your iTunes library:

Lots of local papers have one; the little cultural barometers like The Vent in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In these columns, readers call in or email their pet peeves or pithy asides, and the paper duly reports them as news--Will Rogers-esque news of the ubiquitous and humorous.

The Vent's usually a place where Atlantans get out frustrations about traffic, city government, and the weather. Lately, though, it's been preoccupied with gas prices. Some drivers have a sense of humor about it. Others seem more directly peeved: while gas here is "only" averaging $4 a gallon for unleaded, the locals are up in arms about where prices are and where they're headed.

This week's best Vents on gas prices follow. By the way, the column used to be just a straight list of complaints, but it's gone all Web 2.0, and you can vote up Vents as you like:

According to the American Petroleum Institute's pie chart, it costs $4 to produce a $4 gallon of gas. No transportation expense, no retailing expense, no profit. Big Oil has been selling us gas at a loss!

For sale: SUV. Original gas still in the tank. Make offer. (For the SUV only).

Can't sell your SUV. Can't sell your mini-mansion. Can't get rid of your kids. How, exactly, does one downsize?

If I had all the money I spent on bottled water, I could buy gasoline.

I'm so old I remember driving an SUV.

Tell me, folks, exactly when will gas be too high for you. I haven't seen any changes yet.

Saw a "Rockford" TV show rerun the other day (circa 1978) and the price of gas was 69 cents a gallon.

To the guy who remembers 25 cent a gallon gas, you are not that old. My family's 1929 Hupmobile bought gas at the Colonial station at 7 gallons/$1, and for every dollar we were given a free drinking glass.