Yet another point: the speedometer was an LED display which is almost completely useless in direct sunlight as it's not bright enough to see. IIRC, the opening credits displayed the shortcomings effectively: the car's accelerating, but the display looks like it's just flickering. Check this season 2 opener to see what I mean... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8keQaAIGTt0&feature=related#t=00m17s
I think (but have no proof) that LED was used because it looked cooler, when they should've gone for an LCD display.