Costco customers may have to look elsewhere for Coca-Cola products now that the retailer has stopped carrying them because the pair are fighting over prices. The public squabble between one of the nation’s largest wholesale club operators and the world’s largest soft-drink maker is likely to fizzle quickly. But it reveals real tensions as retailers and product makers square off on prices.

A Charlottesville company and researchers at the University of Virginia are developing a new turbine to harness wind power for electricity. The prototype wind turbine—dubbed the Blade Runner 5000—is designed to be smaller, cheaper and more efficient than traditional wind turbines. The most noticeable difference is that the turbine’s blades rotate on a vertical axis, rather than the typical horizontal axis.

60-year-old Abingdon drive-in seeks face-lift ABINGDON Without much fanfare, the Moonlite Theatre celebrated its 60th birthday this year, and owner William Booker said it’s time for a new coat of paint. The theater marquee, in front of the historic drive-in on U.S. 11 near Interstate 81’s Exit 13, has caused a slight stir with its current message: “Help Save the Moonlite.“

MILWAUKEE How low can beer makers go? Having conquered the beer-belly set, some of the nation’s biggest brewers are trying to win over the six-pack-ab crowd with ultra-low-calorie suds. The question is: Are drinkers willing to sacrifice flavor and a bit of the buzz? And how long before beer gets turned back into water? Most regular American beers, such as Budweiser, have about 150 calories and 5 percent alcohol, while most light beers contain about 100 calories and 4 percent alcohol.

PepsiCo Inc. is facing criticism for an iPhone application that promises to help men “score” with two dozen stereotypes of women by giving users pickup lines and a scoreboard to keep track of their conquests. The company has apologized for the app “Amp up before you score,“ used to market its Amp energy drink, but is sticking by the app nevertheless.

Aye Carumba! Marge Simpson has done something that Homer might not like but will make Bart the proudest kid in his school: She has posed for Playboy magazine. After more than a half-century featuring women such as Marilyn Monroe, Cindy Crawford and the Girls of Hooters on its cover, Playboy has for the first time given the spot to a cartoon character.

FREDERICKSBURG They’re simply made, sturdy and colorful. But the “eco-clutch” handbags for sale at the University of Mary Washington bookstore are much more than fashion accessories. They are one small step out of poverty for women in Siete de Abril, a wretchedly poor village in Honduras. Thanks to the bookstore and an enterprising group of Mary Washington students, their professor and volunteers, the women are joining the ranks of Third World entrepreneurs.

With even super-affluent shoppers tightening their Gucci belts, luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group Inc. unveiled its Christmas Book with a nod to the new frugality. Almost 50 percent of the gifts in the catalog’s 83rd edition cost less than $250, including plenty of practical items, though at prices still out of reach for the average American.

BRADENTON, Fla. Afamily tragedy inspired a Bradenton resident to invent a product he hopes will save lives. Jack Roe pursued a patent for transitional glass tinting for vehicle windshields after his 34-year-old daughter died in a car crash in February 2006. The 72-year-old said Dawn Roe died in a car accident in Plymouth, Ind., when her vehicle crashed into the back of a truck. Because of the morning sun’s glare, Roe said she did not see the truck stopped in her lane to make a turn, and the mother of four died at the scene.

BERKELEY, Calif. If you’re still using plain old vanilla marshmallows at your campfire or in your cocoa, you’re out of touch. The next generation of marshmallow lovers is amping the flavor of their puffy confections, taking their s’mores to new heights with tricks like slicing and stuffing them. And the marshmallow industry is taking notice.

NEW YORK When you think about car safety, you think brakes, air bags and seat belts. Now, you should check floor mats, too. The carpet in your driver’s footwell is at the center of what will be Toyota’s largest-ever U.S. vehicle recall, prompted by a fatal crash. The problem: Gas pedals in some Toyotas could become caught under the edge of floor mats. That may have led to a car cash that killed four people in August outside San Diego.

ATLANTA Thirty years ago, Erno Rubik took a puzzle he had been tinkering with and turned it into the must-have brain-twister toy, the Rubik’s Cube. The original was hard enough with its confounding “cubies,“ as competitive Rubik’s solvers call them. Now, a company called Techno Source gives you Rubik’s TouchCube. This version of the cube doesn’t require twisting and turning the colored layers at all—merely the soft swipe of a single finger across its surface will do it. It’s a Rubik’s Cube for the iPhone age.

KIMBERLY, Idaho From the fields of Idaho to tasting rooms in suburban Chicago, potato farmers, researchers and industry representatives are in the midst of an elusive hunt: finding a new spud for McDonald’s french fries. A decade has passed since the fast-food giant last added a new U.S. potato variety to three others approved for its golden fries, something that both irks and motivates potato researchers who hope their progeny will be next.

NEW YORK The world of high fashion is coming down to earth a bit. Trenchcoats, jumpsuits, sumptuous sweater sets and billowy dresses intended to flatter a wider range of body shapes and sizes ruled the runway at New York Fashion Week, which showcased spring 2010 designs for buyers and fashion editors. It’s a big departure from the elaborately beaded evening gowns and unwearable flights of fancy (think: see-through pants) that have dominated runways in recent years.

Motorists can fill’er up for free—with electricity—at a highway rest area in New Kent County. That is, if the motorists are driving plug-in electric cars, of which there are few on the road. Virginia is working with Dominion Virginia Power on the New Kent pilot project. Officials will decide this fall whether to put plug-in spots at other rest areas.