Designer speed traps.

Highway police in Italy have a new tool for foiling those famously fast Italian drivers: a Lamborghini Gallardo with a maximum speed of 190 mites per hour. In a nation crazed with car racing, the pricey patrol car--with its aerodynamic design and sleek blue paint job--commands respect. "Italian people are not always friendly toward authorities," says Paolo Mazzini, a police commander. "They are curious, so they accept the ticket more readily." The $165,000 car was donated by Lamborghini to mark the 152nd anniversary of the police force and to net some publicity for the car company. But the Gallardo has done a fair share of actual, highway work--a real service, the police say, in a nation where the road fatality rate is higher than the European average. Drivers compliment the car even as the officer writes out the ticket. According to Chief Inspector Laura Ciano, "They say, "Well, they are taking away my license--but at least it's by a Lamborghini."