A K.I.T.T. of one's own: Knight Rider GPS arrives

As a teenager in the '80s, a 1982 Pontiac Trans Am modified by Knight Industries, better known as K.I.T.T., was the epitome of cool.

"Knight Rider" was a phenomenal hit back in the day (launching the career of one David Hasselhoff) and its popularity has strangely endured. A TV movie version was released earlier this year with a revamped series to follow this fall. Val Kilmer now provides the voice of the car.

But enough about history. What if you—yes you—could upgrade your car to compete with K.I.T.T.? Thanks to GPS maker Mio, now you can, at least the tiniest, little bit.

The Mio Knight Rider GPS is a standard full-color GPS unit that mounts on your dash, tricked-out like the '80s classic. I got a little hands-on time with the device last week, and it's even cooler than a Hasselhoff solo album.

First, it's not just some cheap tie-in sporting a glossy black frame and the "Knight Rider" logo. Check the lights on the sides: They don't sweep back and forth like the original's (Mio said the effect was too distracting to drivers) but they light up periodically and during startup, giving you some K.I.T.T. flavor.

Oh, and K.I.T.T. wouldn't be K.I.T.T. without a human voice: Here's where the Mio's geek cred gets five stars: The voice of the Knight Rider GPS is the original voice of K.I.T.T.: William Daniels, who voiced the car during the original series.

The unit is personalized, too: K.I.T.T. greets you by name every time you turn it on, with a variety of different recorded intros. I gotta say, it's a thrill (if a totally nerdy one) to hear Daniels say "Hello Christopher..." at bootup, which Mio had set up for me during a hands-on demo. (Check out my photos above.)

Pricing: About $270, set for release later this year.