Best Car Accessories For Car Gifts
Posted: Wednesday, January 16, 2008
by Alan Detwiler
Slickditty
Add-on car accessories make great gifts - they add enjoyment to a car ride. A heated mug will keep coffee hot as long as the car is running. An MP3 player can be loaded with favorite songs. Five car accessories are discribed below. Basic features are given for several models of each type of accessory, so one can be chosen as a gift or used for your own enjoyment. Most can be found at a major retailer such as Walmart, Amazon, J.C. Whitney, or Radio Shack. All are available online.
Example models:
- Wagan Tech Heated Travel Mug, removeable cord plugs into cigarette lighter socket, 16-ounce capacity, double wall vacuum insulation to keep drinks hot up to an hour after you unplug, mug fits cup holders.
- New VR3 Stainless Steel Heated Insulated Travel Mug Cup, plugs into cigarette lighter socket, 14-ounce capacity, base sized to fit cup holder.
- Bell & Howell Hot N' Go Heated Car Mug, heats to 145 degrees F in 30 minutes, 16-ounce capacity.
- JRL Gear Smart Mug, set the temperature you want, has ready light, 16 ounces, plugs into lighter socket.
Cooler/warmer - These give the choice of keeping food hot or cold. Can warm food and can cool. Some are sized to hold a can of soda or a mug of coffee, larger units might hold a six pack or more.
Example models:
- Coleman 12-Volt 9-Can Console Cooler/Warmer, cools to 40° F and warms to 120° F, 9-can capacity.
- Vector® Thermoelectric Portable Food Cooler/Warmer Chests, cool to 40° below outside temperature, warm to approximately 130° F, 9-foot cord plugs into lighter plug. Two available, 6- and 12-can capacity.
- Koolatron 18-quart Food Cooler/Warmer, cools to 40° F below ambient temperature or warms to 125° F, detachable 10-ft. cord, 3-amp draw, holds 23 12-ounce cans.
- ROADPRO 12-Volt Mini Cooler / Warmer, holds 9 12-ounce cans.
- 12-Volt 7-Liter Cooler/Warmer 12-Volt 7-Liter Cooler/Warmer, holds 9 12-ounce cans.
- Pyle - Automotive Travel Cooler/Warmer - PLCOOL6, holds two 12-ounce bottles, 9-foot detachable cord, 12 volt/120 volt/220-volt.
- Rubbermaid® Cooler/Warmer 289377 1.1-gallon capacity, holds 6 12-ounce cans, plugs into cigarette lighter socket, in warming mode, warms to 120-degrees F., tie-down strap and buckle strap for fastening to seat back. 7' long 12v cord.
Cell phone charger - Plugs into the cigarette lighter socket to power or charge your cell phone.
Example models:
- Virgin Mobile Silver Dolphin Car Charger, for Kyocera phones, plugs into car's power outlet and charges phone in 2.5- to 3.5-hours, www.radioshack.com can locate the stores nearest you where you can get this charger.
- Phoenix Wireless Vehicle Power Adapter for Samsung M300/M510, has coiled cord that plugs into cigarette lighter socket.
- Quick Cell 3900 Car Charger Nokia, advanceautoparts.com website lists stores nearest you that stock this charger.
- Phoenix Vehicle Power Adapter for Samsung Phones, has coiled cord that plugs into cigarette lighter socket, 3.5-mm plug, for many Samsung phones.
- Generic Car Charger for Nokia N91, N90, N80, 770, 7370, 6282, 6265i, 6165i, 6155i, 6126, 6103, 6102i, 6102, 6101, 3155i.
Power inverter - Plugs into the cigarette lighter socket, clips to battery, or wire it in. The vehicle's 12-volts dc is changed to 120-volts ac to power things like laptop computers, coffee makers, cell phones, camcorder battery chargers and other small appliances. Don't go bigger than 400 watts unless you want to go directly to the battery with heavy wire. Even then, high power devices will drain your battery quickly and could fry the alternator if the engine is running.
example models:
- Xantrex X Power Mobile Plug 75, only 75 watts, very light duty.
- Whistler 400-watt Power Inverter with Circuit Pro, will run TV/DVD combos, laptops, cooling fans.
- Xantrex Technologies XPower Plus 400-Watt Inverter #851-0400, 400 watts for 5-minutes, 600-watts surge for startups, and 300-watts continuous power, plugs into car cigarette lighter, automatic shutdown mechanism protects against overload, over-temperature and low battery conditions, two 3-prong grounded AC outlets, and a DC outlet.
mp3 player - Down load music or other audio content onto either the player's memory or a separate flash drive. Hours of audio can be stored in a single memory device. Some content can be downloaded for free. Listen to the program any time you choose.
example models:
- VR3 MP3/WMA FM Modulator w/USB Port and Audio, VRFM8BLN, plug a flash drive into its USB port and use Play, Pause, Volume, Shuffle, and Track Selection controls to play MP3 and WMA files through a car radio or any other fm radio, has a mini jack to use a mp3 player or other audio source, has cigarette lighter plug.
- DLO TransCast FM Transmiter for MP3 Players, 0092007, use to play audio from an MP3 player through a car's radio. Gets power from cigarette lighter jack or batteries, 3-foot cord for connecting an audio source, compatible with MP3 players, PSP, and iPod. Radio shack will ship this free to the store nearest you.
- USB Car MP3/WMA FM Modulator Player W/Audio Input, will accept a standard USB drive to play MP3 files with car's FM radio, plugs in cigarette lighter jack, input jack for audio from CD, DVD or MP3 player.
- Belkin TuneCast II Mobile FM Transmitter, will acccept audio from a MP3 player's headphone jack and transmit it to a car's radio to be played through the car's existing speaker system, powered by batteries or through car's cigarette lighter jack.
Other accessories that can be used to enhance your car or to give as a car gift include seat covers, floor mats, steering wheel covers, a compass, flashlight, litter bags, can and cup holders, inside/outside thermometer, gps/map device, extra loud or novelty sound horns.
Repair, emergency, safety and miscellaneous - Jack, lug wrench, trouble light, flares, jumper cables, maps, cell phone and phone numbers, coolant for radiator, drinking water, long storage food, empty container for gasoline, various hand tools, gloves, coat, hat, blanket, rain poncho, weather radio, and a first aid kit.
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