I got a cheapo Sony that was on discount at the local shop. I wasn't really looking at features but more of a price range and the HD ability.
I'm a mac user and was disappointed at the shop that I would be almost 100% SOL with the software but lo^and~behold I could drag and drop the movies straight to my hard drive without any external software.
As for editing not sure yet, but I imagine that iMovie or at the worst Final Cut should be able to handle the problem when it arises!
Good luck, and yes, I would love to have a video camera setup for the front of my car
Get to record all those idiots that cut me off !!!