There sure is a lot of car-related news today. Anyways, despite the automotive glut this story was too cool to pass up. Nissan’s futuristic Pivo 2, a “robot assisted” car that lets you drive backwards and even sideways will hit the road in Portugal in 2011. Sideways driving ability and robotic car controls aren’t the only futuristic feature on the Pivo 2, the cars are also equipped with “green” electric engines. Portugese Prime Minister Jose Socrates announced on Wednesday that his country will begin building a national network of electric car charging centers so that Nissan and Renault can start selling the Pivo 2 there in two and-a-half years. It becomes available worldwide in 2012.

The Pivo 2 has four engines, pivoting wheels, and a rotating cabin so you can face front while driving in multiple directions. This unique design helps people to avoid tight parallel parking jobs forever.

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Not everyone wants to solve their parking problems by sacrificing their dignity and squeezing into one of those tiny urban cruiser cars. Luckily for San Francisco residents, the city is stepping in to try and help them avoid the parking crunch. As part of a $95.5 million program called SFPark, 6,000 of San Francisco’s 24,000 metered parking spaces are being outfitted with sensors that will allow drivers to spot open parking spaces by checking maps on their cell phones or by looking at displays on street signs.

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There are 2 situations you never want to be in with a parking meter: first, when you get to one only to realize you have no quarters, and second, when you come back to your car, arms loaded with bags, only to find you got a parking ticket for being 5 minutes late. What’s great about the Parking Meter Alarm is that it solves both of those problems, or rather offers solutions for those who aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Restoration Hardware saved city slickers potentially hundreds of dollars with this neat little device. All you have to do with the alarm is set how long your meter lasts, and the alarm will go off a few minutes before the meter expires, a life-saver for those who go shopping crazy and don’t even have time to look at their watches. If you leave if it on your key ring then you solve the other problem (no quarters) because there is a spring-loaded coin holder inside the alarm with enough room for 10 quarters, which equates to plenty of time for lounging in massage chairs in the Sharper Image. If you live in the city, this $12 wonder is almost a must considering 12 bucks is way better than just 1 parking ticket. — Nick Rice

Parking Meter Alarm [via Shiny Shiny]