• by Montgomery Miller
•  November 14th, 2018

The shopping rush is on

The shopping rush is on. It’s as if a dinner bell rang at the local mall and everyone heard it at the same time. Of course, you can avoid the crowds by shopping online, especially if you start early enough. Automotive gifts offer a refreshing alternative for that special someone who has enough ties, shirts, purses and desktop baubles.

Of course we’ve seen the commercials depicting a handsome husband leading his blindfolded wife to the driveway where we see brand a new Lexus with a red bow around it surrounded by pretty snow drifts and such. However, if giving your loved one, you know the one with a passion for driving, a new Lexus, Acura, Tesla, BMW or Mercedes-Benz, is a bit more gift than you had in mind, fear not. There is a whole world of automotive gifts out there in every price range and to fit every driving passion.

Let’s face it, even with the most advanced navigation and Bluetooth technology, many of us still prefer to have our phone mounted somewhere up on the dash for easy viewing and safety. The Kenu Airbase Pro is a popular hi-tech mount that adjusts to fit the largest smartphone and stays firmly planted on your dash for secure viewing. It even rotates so you can view your device in landscape format.

Here in Texas, we know about rain and pretty much everyone keeps an umbrella handy in the car. The trouble, however, with traditional umbrellas, is they tend to drip all over your cozy leather interior. Fortunately, someone who likes to keep their leather dry, as I do, invented an umbrella that inverts, trapping the water inside while keeping your interior dry. The Spar. SAA Double Layer, Inverted Umbrella has 4.3 out of 5 stars on Amazon.

Valleycomfy offers a line of beautiful and durable genuine leather steering wheel covers to fit a car, truck or SUV with a snug, universal 15.5-inch wrap. Lined with a special odor-free rubber that offers a slip-free fit, this item is well suited for the driving enthusiast in your life.

Of course, not all great automotive adventures happen on the road. True aficionados will appreciate a beautiful coffee table book dedicated to their favorite ride like the Art of the Classic Car by photographer Peter Harholdt, or perhaps Tesla Model S - Best Car Ever! by Frank van Gilluwe and Kim Rogers. Or, for the Porsche lover in your life, Porsche 911: 50 Years, by best-selling author Randy Leffingwell. Whatever his or her passion, a book filled with beautiful automotive images always makes a fine gift.

Needless-to-say, we’ve all had occasion to need a good quality, reliable flashlight while on the road. But not any ordinary flashlight will do. A lover of all things automotive will want something special for the glove box. Consider the Streamlight 51046 Night Com UV LED Flashlight in alluring black. This bad boy puts out 115 Lumens, is weather resistant, shock resistant, has four modes and the 4 LED bulbs claim to have a 50,000-hour lifespan.

For the pedal-to-the-metal speed demon in your life, there’s the Max 360 by Escort radar detector featuring Bluetooth, GPS and comes preloaded with a database for speed and red-light cameras. Who knew?

Ah, what to do with those nasty snack wrappers and other trash that seem to have no logical place to go inside your car. The Drive Bin is an attractive, waterproof bin that comes complete with disposable plastic bags and attaches easily to a headrest for storage with a quick-clip strap.

Scale model cars make a wonderful, affordable gift that is super cool and doesn’t take up much garage space. At Legacydiecast.com you’ll find a wide range of exquisitely detailed scale models for every taste. They offer classic cars, vintage cars, sports cars, luxury models and more. Perhaps a 1966 Bugatti will look sweet parked under the Christmas tree?

In the hi-tech realm, Bestek offers the potable self-powered Bestek Jump Starter for those times when traditional jumper cables simply can’t get the job done.

And finally, for our forgetful autophile, there is the Bluetooth-equipped Tile Mate which slides easily onto your keychain and allows you to track your keys with the assistance of a simple-to-use mobile app.

So this Christmas, consider enhancing someone’s driving experience with a cool automotive gift they’ll appreciate.