PC Magazine's editors wanted me to do a DIY article on a few high-tech automotive add-ons, and they arranged for me to borrow a new IS250 from the Lexus press pool. But when it came to the LaneFX, there was a little problem: Installing it would mean removing door panels; drilling holes in the dash, console, or door control panel; and cutting into the car's electrical system. Plus, I didn't think the Lexus folks would be happy with the extra buttons and lights (not to mention the functions not covered in the owner's manual).

There's also another issue to consider: Good drivers don't need it, and bad drivers won't use it. Think about it: The last time that someone changed into your lane and cut you off, did he signal? Did he glance into the mirror? Did he even bother to put down his cell phone? Not even LaneFX can help drivers like this.

The other side of the coin is LaneFX's slogan: "Turn your mirror, not your head." No, do turn your head. Keep it moving. Glance left. Glance right. Build an air traffic controller's 360-degree image of where all the cars are around you and how they are moving relative to you. That's good driving. And for heaven's sake, don't adjust your mirrors so that you're just looking back along the side of your car. Keep the lane next to you in view as well.

There's a middle ground of drivers, between the hypervigilant ones and the blissfully unaware who'd run you into the guard rail without noticing, and LaneFX could be a real help to them. But installation is way over the head of the typical enthusiast. Cars have gotten phenomenally complex, and the LaneFX manual warns you that some cars have multiplex wiring systems, in which a single wire runs to the taillight assembly and encoded instructions tell the controller which bulb to turn on. In those cases, you'd have to run wires the whole length of the car to the bulb sockets. So installing LaneFX is either a weekend-long project for a dedicated auto hobbyist or a job best left in the hands of a professional.

One product that I was able to test, using my own vehicle, is the Beltronics Vector FX2 performance analyzer and G-meter, which simply attaches to your windshield with suction cups and plugs into your 12-volt outlet.

It works, but the real challenge was photographing the dot-matrix display for review purposes. Most shutter speeds were faster than the display refresh rate, so half the characters were often missing in the photos. Our solution was to pick a slow shutter speed and rig a half-aluminum, half-human camera mount in the car, which my son then attempted to operate while I flung the car around wicked turns, accelerated hard, or mashed the brake pedal.

He got the pictures, but I wonder if PC Magazine reimburses for tire wear.

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