Hasta La Gadget!

When he’s not supping a “subway-beer” on his way home from work, Wired’s New York Bureau Chief John C Abell cruises to and from the Home Depot in a stylish 2002 Saab 95 Aero Wagon. The vintage of his ride is apparent in the vestigial cassette deck, a useless hole that gapes from the center-console like the Joker’s snickering grimace, taunting J Abell and reminding him, time and again, that the car has only one cup holder, and nowhere to stick an iPod other than the crappy sticky pads on the dash which “don’t work for shit.”

Until this weekend, when John got his sweet revenge on the Swedish därför and its mocking abyss. Triumphant twittering ensued:

johncabell @mistercharlie Just discovered that the cassette player in the car is a perfect iPhone holder.

mistercharlie @johncabell Send photos and I shall make us both famous.

johncabell @mistercharlie You shall have them, sir!

And here they are (with more below). It turns out that the cassette deck is the perfect home for an iPhone. There are other places around the cockpit where one could be more snugly stashed, but there is either no room for a cable, or the cables end up strewn across the dash. And once it’s in there, it’s in there: John has a GPS unit with Bluetooth for hands-free calling.

We have one question. What took you so long? When I see a hole, I stick something in (when I was a toddler I “fixed” an old TV with a teaspoon, according to my parents). Maybe Mr. Abell should lay off the martinis before climbing onto the car?