They're actually called "autonomous vehicles" and Google has built of fleet of them that have driven more than 140,000 miles, most of that in the Bay Area (they're plastered with the words, "self-driving car." The question is whether the test drives are leading up to real-life applications. Tom Vanderbilt, the author of "Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)," examines the topic in the February issue of Wired magazine.

Google isn't the only company with driverless cars on the road. Indeed, just about every traditional automaker is developing its own self-driving model, peppering Silicon Valley with new R&D labs to work on the challenge. Last year, a BMW drove itself down the Autobahn, from Munich to Ingolstadt ("the home of Audi," as BMW's Dirk Rossberg told me at the company's outpost in Mountain View, California). Audi sent an autonomous vehicle up Pikes Peak, while VW, in conjunction with Stanford, is building a successor to Junior. At the Tokyo Auto Show in November, Toyota unveiled its Prius AVOS (Automatic Vehicle Operation System), which can be summoned remotely. GM's Alan Taub predicts that self-driving cars will be on the road by the decade's end.

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It is absolutely fascinating, almost illicitly thrilling, to watch as the car not only plots and calculates the myriad movements of neighboring vehicles in the moment but also predicts where they will be in the future, like high-speed, mobile chess. Onscreen, the car is constantly "acquiring" targets, surrounding them in red boxes, tracing raster lines to and fro, a freeway version of John Madden's Telestrator. "We're analyzing and predicting the world 20 times a second," says [Anthony Levandowski, business lead on Google's self-driving-car project]. A car comes speeding along the adjacent on-ramp. Do we accelerate or slow? It's a moment that puzzles many human drivers. Our vehicle chooses to decelerate, but it can rethink that decision as more data comes in--if, for instance, the merging car brakes suddenly. The computer flags a car one lane over, maybe 30 feet in front of us, and slows imperceptibly. "We're being held back by this guy because we don't want to be in his blind spot," Levandowski says.

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I find myself imagining how much more smoothly the system would function if every car were like this one. Even at its most packed, only about 5 percent of a highway's surface is covered by automobiles; if cars were hyperalert and algorithmically optimized, you could presumably squeeze many more of them onto the pavement. And then there's the safety benefit. Traffic is the most dangerous thing that most of us ever encounter. From 2001 to 2009, American roads claimed 369,629 lives. And the culprit was not poorly lighted thoroughfares or faulty gas pedals but us--one landmark study cited "human errors" as the "definite or probable causes" of 93 percent of crashes.

This is not some Buck Rogers fantasy. The driverless technology merely follows the computer-driven advances of late-model cars, in effect redefining what it means to be a driver. That includes using a computer for everything from shifting gears to parallel parking. "The automated car," Vanderbilt writes, "isn't just around the corner--it's here. The more interesting question isn't when we will let go of the wheel completely but what form and purpose the car will have when we finally do." This is precisely the sort of technology that L.A. and other traffic-clogged cities should be focused on - not outdated modes of transport, like a subway system, that could prove to be impossibly expensive and not especially effective in reducing congestion. Why couldn't Southern California become a leader in this and other advanced methods of transport? It would be an exciting challenge on so many levels, generating a new kind of tech industry that could have significant economic potential.

Just in case you have any plans to visit. From USA Today:

According to Shargh, an independent newspaper, Mohammad Hossein Farjoo, secretary of policymaking at Iran's Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, did not offer a specific reason for banning Bart and Homer, saying only that his agency did not want to promote the cartoon by importing Simpsons toys. He did point out that any doll that has distinguishable adult genitals, or any dolls of adults at all, are banned "because these dolls are promoters of Western culture," the AP reported.

No joke. The former Sports Illustrated cover girl leads a retail branding operation that includes more than 15,000 products. And no, there aren't any swimsuits - Ireland doesn't even sell many clothes anymore. Instead, she's focused on decidedly un-sexy home furnishings, from end tables to ceiling fans to replacement windows. From Forbes L.A. bureau chief Dorothy Pomerantz:

If there's any consistency to this grab bag that is Kathy Ireland Worldwide, it's the target audience: Middle America's moms. There's a certain magic in placing a glamorous supermodel's name on mundane products aimed at an everyday audience. "I can see your compassion for moms," tweeted one fan. "Can't wait to read your book!" (Ireland has published six.) With three children and four dogs, ­Ireland fronts the brand credibly. When I request a coaster before putting down a glass on a rustic wooden table at her house, Ireland waves her hand dismissively. Stewart might create a Thanksgiving dinner spread worthy of a magazine; at Ireland's place dogs lounge on the furniture.

The ex-model's elastic brand-- based on what I saw, she would consider Kathy Ireland toilet plungers or Kathy Ireland roach motels if she could argue they help busy moms--proves a valuable trait in licensing, a strict volume business. That $2 billion at retail (for comparison, Martha Stewart sells about $900 million at retail, based on industry estimates) translated into about $850 million in wholesale sales last year, of which Ireland got a royalty payment of roughly 6%. That's around $50 million in revenue for Ireland's company, and with a meager staff of 42--the beauty of licensing, of course, is that everyone else has to actually make and sell the stuff--the vast majority of that is pure profit, flowing straight into pockets of Kathy Ireland Worldwide's photogenic 100% owner.

Even as a child, Ireland had an entrepreneurial streak (she peddled painted stones door to door). Forbes estimates that the privately held Kathy Ireland Worldwide is worth $300 million. In case you're wondering, Ireland is 48 and lives in Santa Barbara.

The motion picture academy isn't expected to move the Oscar show to the Nokia Theater or any other venue, but an opt-clause with CIM Group, owners of the Kodak, is stirring all sorts of speculation. The real story at the Kodak Theatre is that it won't be called the Kodak Theatre much longer. Eastman Kodak just filed for bankruptcy protection, and it wants out of its naming rights contract. Available at kpcc.org and podcast (Business Update with Mark Lacter). Transcript is after jump

Nice comeback to a so-called pro-family group that opposes the talk show host's new role as JC Penney spokeswoman. "Normally I try not to pay attention to my haters, but this time I'd like to talk about it 'cause my haters are motivators" DeGeneres says on today's show. The group, One Million Moms, claims that "JC Penney is attempting to gain a new target market and in the process will lose customers with traditional values that have been faithful to them over all these years." Not likely - if anything, the retailer will probably pick up a few new shoppers as a result of the group's hateful message. Even Bill O'Reilly called the boycott "a witch hunt."

Stocks edge lower: Waiting to see if the Greeks can finally agree on a debt deal. Dow is bouncing around - at last check it's down 50 points.

Greece update: They're poring over a draft deal that would require drastic custbacks in return for a bailout. From AP:

Leaders of three parties backing the coalition are under intense pressure to accept the new austerity demands and shield the country from a looming bankruptcy. The meeting finally went ahead after three days of delays. Their decisions will be announced at a meeting with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, after the parties were handed a 50-page English-language draft agreement, drawn up with the country's debt inspectors.

Pension fund challenges Facebook board: Not enough diversity, charges the California State Teachers' Retirement System. CalSTRS, which has invested in Facebook through its private equity allocation, says the board needs more women and men of color. (WSJ)

Another big shakeup at Yahoo: Nearly half the board members are being replaced, including Chairman Roy Bostock. Their departure follows the resignation of the Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang. From DealBook:

The changes represent a new start as Yahoo seeks to regain its stature as a pre-eminent online property. Despite remaining a powerful hub on the Web, Yahoo has failed to make serious inroads in the new frontiers of social networking and mobile.Many analysts remain skeptical that any strategic shift will be sufficient to revive the troubled brand, which is faced with dwindling options. But the infusion of new blood may buy some time.

Ontario trying to buy airport: The city is offering a $250-million package to L.A. World Airports to transfer title and operations of the facility. Ontario would assume all financial obligations, outstanding debt and liabilities, reports the Daily Bulletin.

If Ontario succeeded in dissolving its joint powers agreement with Los Angeles, city officials say they would be ready to make the payment. Just where that money would be coming from, city officials are not ready to specify, said Ontario Councilman Alan Wapner. "We have the money," he said. "It won't take away from the level of service or take away from the general fund."

Big bill to replace City Hall grass: Restoring the park area that was taken over by the Occupy protesters will only cost $76,000, but the City Council voted to spruce up the place with native and drought-tolerant plants - at a cost of $390,000. (LAT)

Magazines post declines: All but four of the nation's top 25 glossies posted drops in newsstand sales. Overall, sales tumbled nearly 10 percent in the second half of 2011. The biggest loser was O, the Oprah Magazine, which fell 32 percent. (NY Post)

MRI results show that the Clippers guard has a torn left Achilles' tendon, the LAT reports, citing Coach Vinny Del Negro. That's a killer injury, requiring months of convalescence. Billups, working in concert with Chris Paul, is one of the reasons the Clippers are off to such a strong start.

Sounds very gee whiz, but Stanford University researchers have designed a system that could eliminate the need to plug in your electric vehicle. Longer term, the technology might even be used in the navigation of driver-less cars. The wireless power transfer is handled by magnetic resonance coupling. From California Watch:

This is how it works: Two metal coils, set some distance apart, are tuned to resonate - or vibrate - at the same frequency. One of the coils is connected to an electrical source, which generates a magnetic field that makes the other coil start to resonate. This process results in the invisible transfer of electricity through the air from the first coil to the second. Members of the Stanford team wondered if they could apply this energy to moving cars - the trick was to figure out how the coils would need to be placed in a highway and how they should be designed to provide the most effective and directed form of energy. Two Stanford postdoctoral students figured out that part: A coil bent at 90 degrees and attached to a metal plate can transfer 10 kilowatts of electrical energy to an identical coil 6.5 feet away.

The research still involves computer simulations - at some point they need to see if this works in real road conditions. One concern: making sure the system won't affect the computers that control steering, navigation, air conditioning and other vehicle operations. From Stanford University News:

[Sven Beiker, executive director of the Center for Automotive Research] said that wireless technology might one day assist GPS navigation of driverless cars. "GPS has a basic accuracy of 30-40 feet," he said. "It tells you where you are on the planet, but for safety, you want to make sure that your car is in the center of the lane." In the proposed system, the magnetic fields could also be used to control steering, he explained. Since the coils would be in the center of the lane, they could provide very precise positioning at no extra cost.