So close, yet still so far away: Engadget reports that Radio Shack has finally begun taking pre-orders for the Mio Knight Rider GPS, claiming that customers will begin receiving them on September 24, 2008. This is the unit that functions basically the same as any other Mio GPS unit, except for the fact that Williams Daniels says "Hello Michael, where do you want to go today?" when you first power it up—which of course makes all the difference in the world.

The unit does feature a few other differences: namely, some red, animated LED lights on either side of the display, and a black Trans Am icon that represents your car. Most importantly, Daniels... er, K.I.T.T. recites all the directions; he pre-recorded hundreds of common names so that the unit can address the owner directly. The report also confirmed an MSRP of $269.99 as first reported.

(Knight Rider Online has video of the device in action.)