We’ve got some pretty awesome neighbors here at Honk HQ in San Francisco.  MySpace, Photobucket, and IGN have offices just down the hall and we’re within walking distance to the folks at Current, Wired Magazine, and Twitter.  As a shout-out to our tech-savvy neighbors, we decided to research the Top 33 cars for gadget lovers and technophiles.

We dug into the Honk database to search for car buyers who placed a lot of weight on technical innovations and high-quality infotainment systems when they chose their rides.

The list is full of hybrid-electric vehicles like the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape Hybrid, no doubt due to their advanced fuel-sipping powertrains.  Other vehicles that scored well, like the Lincoln MKS and Acura TL, are known for their exceptionally crisp audio systems.

Several family haulers made the list thanks to their kid-friendly DVD systems, auxiliary inputs for video game systems, and power doors.

High-end luxury vehicles on the list impressed with their state-of-the-art active safety features.  The BMW 7-Series, for example, offers an infrared night vision system that can detect and track pedestrians near the roadway.  And the Infiniti FX offers an Intelligent Brake Assist function that can automatically sound a warning and then apply the brakes if a collision becomes unavoidable.

Today’s cars are undoubtedly high-tech and they are getting better and better with each new model year.  Electronic stability control, a life-saving feature that prevents cars from sliding out of control, will become mandatory for all new cars in 2012.  Mobile phone integration continues to advance, too, with audio streams that can be played over the car’s speakers via Bluetooth.

If you’re a gadget-lover, check out these Top 33 Cars for Techies:

1. Acura TL

2. Toyota Camry Hybrid

3. Toyota Prius

4. Lincoln MKS

5. Acura TSX

6. Honda Insight

7. Honda Civic Hybrid

8. BMW X5

9. Volkswagen Jetta

10. Ford Fusion

11. Subaru Forester

12. Mercedes GLK

13. Acura MDX

14. Infiniti FX

15. Mercedes C-Class

16. Nissan Maxima

17. Infiniti EX

18. Volkswagen Eos

19. Toyota Highlander Hybrid

20. Chrysler Town & Country

21. Mazda 6

22. Ford F-150

23. Toyota Sienna

24. Nissan Altima Hybrid

25. Volkswagen Tiguan

26. Acura RDX

27. Ford Flex

28. Mercedes ML

29. Hyundai Genesis Sedan

30. BMW 7-Series

31. Ford Escape Hybrid

32. Audi A4

33. Honda CR-V

It’s no secret that most people hate haggling over the price of a new car.  Fighting with salespeople is awkward and no one wants to drive home and find out that their neighbor got the same car for $500 less.

Why can’t a dealership just tell you how much a car costs and then give you a fair price?  Do they really think that they can get you to pay more by being sneaky?

Results from a 2008 study by Synovate eNation found that most consumers don’t have a problem with dealers making a fair profit – but they do have a major fear of getting stuck with a bad deal.  So the more a dealer tries to hide the truth, the harder most consumers will fight back in negotiations.  This practice is bad for customer satisfaction and bad for profit margins.

At Honk, we figured that if we can show you how much a car really costs, you’ll know whether or not you’re getting a good deal.  So we started with a clean sheet of paper and built a pricing section that skips the gimmicks and shifts the balance of power to you, the consumer:

How do you know if you’re getting a great deal?

Want to know how much a car costs?  Want to know what other people actually paid?

So do we – and that’s exactly why we feature pricing data from TrueCar.  They analyze transactions from around the country and can tell you which deals are good, great, or laughable.

The number you probably want to know most is the TrueCost figure, which estimates how much the vehicle actually cost the dealership.  Once you know this figure you can estimate how much – or how little – a dealer is making on the sale.

The TrueCost is especially handy when you need to know whether or not a salesperson is lying after they shout, “But we’re not making any money on this deal!”

We think that TrueCar rocks because they give you the perspective you need to judge an offer and the details you need to win a great one.

Skip the haggling altogether

Even better, if haggling stinks so much, why not just skip it altogether?

Honk has an auto buying service that can help you skip the haggling on new cars in most major markets.  The prices are pre-negotiated and posted up front.  All you have to do is build the car you want to buy and we’ll show you up to three prices from dealers in your area.  You don’t even have to give up your name or email address until you’ve selected a dealer to work with.

Other car sites will promise you a price and then sell your contact information to multiple dealership as a sales lead.  That means that you won’t get a price until someone from Crazy Joe’s Car Emporium interrupts your dinner the next night with an obnoxious sales call.

Honk’s auto buying service is designed to keep you in charge.  We’ve even integrated TrueCar pricing data so that you can see for yourself how the Honk price stacks up against what you could negotiate on your own.

Long story short: we think we’ve built a better way to research and buy a new car.  Just remember to tell Crazy Joe that Honk sent you.

A car that can both help the environment and add a little ‘oomph’ to your wallet – can that really exist?  According to industry experts, we already possess the technology needed to make this possible.  Discovery News reports that researchers showed off a retrofitted Scion xB at a meeting for the American Association for the Advancement of Science that had been equipped with prototype ‘vehicle-to-grid’ (V2G) technology.

You’re probably asking:  What is V2G, and how is it supposed to help the environment or my pocketbook?  ’Vehicle to Grid’ technology enables electric vehicles to “talk” to the grid.  So instead of simply charging their batteries, V2G-enabled electric vehicles can actually send small amounts of electricity back to the grid when needed.

In theory, a large fleet of V2G-enabled electric vehicles could help to keep the power grid stable and it could also reduce the need for utility companies to run additional power plants during the middle of the day when the need for electricity is at its highest.

The benefit for EV owners is that the utility company would have to pay you for any electricity that your vehicle contributes.  You could charge your electric vehicle at night (when rates are low) and then sell that same electricity back to the utility company the following day (when rates are high).  In such a scenario, your electric vehicle becomes a source of income.  The utility companies claim to be happy with this arrangement because it’s cheaper for them to pay EV owners for borrowed storage capacity than it is to build and operate additional power plants.

If V2G-enabled cars were out on the market now, would you buy one and allow the utility company to siphon off small amounts of electricity during the day?

As the designated car guy in my circle of friends, it is my sworn duty to offer 24/7 support whenever someone needs help buying a new car.  I research cars, explain features, double-check market prices and personally accompany friends to the dealership whenever possible.

After supporting dozens of car purchases, I’ve come to an important realization: emotions always win.

Toss that specifications sheet and cancel your subscription to Consumer Reports because if you’re anything like my friends, you’re not going to listen to your head when it’s your turn to buy a new car.

My friend, Iris, is the poster-child for this phenomenon.  “I really like the Mini Cooper, but I need four-wheel drive for snowboarding in the winter and I also need to carry a surfboard or two inside,” she explained.  “I’m thinking about buying a Nissan Xterra or that Lexus SUV.”

We hit the ground running on Saturday and looked at twelve SUVs and crossovers, test-driving her favorite seven.  We kicked tires, calculated payments, and carefully examined cargo space.

Iris called me early the next morning.  “I know you’re going to hate me for this but I’ve decided to buy a Mini Cooper S.”

Between the anti-surfboard size and the summer tires, I knew that this was quite possibly the worst car for her needs.  But even though her change of heart was frustrating after a full day of dealership visits I could tell that she was grinning from ear to ear as she spoke.  “The Mini is a great car,” I sighed.  “You should definitely get it.”

Three years later, Iris still loves her Mini.  “I get 35 miles per gallon and my car is sooo much fun to drive!” she tells people.

And Iris isn’t the only one who took a last-minute left turn.

My neighbor, Pauline, complained of high fuel prices and was certain that she’d end up with a small car.  She ultimately bought a mid-sized Nissan Murano crossover because she loved the dark blue color and post-modern design.

An acquaintance, Lewis, was convinced that the super-efficient Toyota Prius was the best choice for his wife’s lengthy commute but purchased an Acura TSX because she fell in love with the interior.

A close friend and colleague, Trevor, had his pick of a super-discounted lease on a company vehicle but chose to spend thousands more on a Honda S2000 sports car because of the way it felt behind the wheel.

Are these people crazy?  Far from it.

I think that car-shopping is a lot like discovering a new friend.  It’s easy to find strangers with common interests but true friends are the ones who click on a much deeper level.  The same is true of cars.  They can all get you from A to B, but only a few can really move you on an emotional level.

So how will you know which car is the right car for you?  That’s easy: it’s the one that makes you smile.