Imagine sitting in your car after driving for a couple of hundred miles... and getting a nice massage. Unfortunately, our better halves aren't always willing to do that.



But there's an alternative (although it might not be as pleasant): the USB/In-Car Massager. It draws power from the cigarette socket and is fully controlled with the included remote. The massager offers 4 modes: kneading, tapping, shiatsu and rolling, and three rhythms and speeds: high, medium and low, so anyone should be able to find an appropriate combination to suit him/herself.

And, as a bonus, when you're done with driving you can just take it upstairs, plug it into your USB and enjoy a nice massage while clicking away at your computer.

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If you travel for a longer while, especially if you have kids, the car tends to become a small hurricane site, with things all over the place. The car never has enough storage space, so something like the Swing Away Driver Pouch should be considered by any good planner.



This seven-pocket tote can be hung behind the front seat headrest and can hold items from CDs and DVDs to chocolate bars, making sure neither get sat or stepped on. It's also a good spot for your mobile phone - you might not hear it because of the road noise, but if it's right in front of you and it lights up, it's difficult to miss. The strap can be used to attach it to the headrest, but also as a shoulder strap for easy transport to and from the car.

No matter how many shiny gadgets your car is equipped with, sometimes the most basic things spell trouble. Such as a bad spare tire. A GPS can't inflate tires or patch them, unfortunately. But if you use Check-A-Spare regularly you can make sure your spare tires are always properly inflated and ready to use in case of a problem.



The Check-A-Spare is a tool for the lazy: you attach it to your spare tire, extending the valve, and you check the pressure without removing the tire. You can attach any regular valve cap to the end of the hose, and if your spare is low you just connect the air hose to the Check-A-Spare valve.

All you need to worry about is actually remembering to do this...

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If you have to drive a longer distance at night, you are bound to run into people who don't give a damn about other cars and won't dim their lights. Although it's usually harmless, ocassionaly it can result in accidents, so if you're in the "better safe than sorry" crowd you could try out something like the Anti-Glare LED Visor.
(the link is a Google translate of the original German website).



The LED panel attaches to your sun visor and softly illuminates the inside of the car at night, thus causing your eyes to stay adapted to light. Your pupils will shrink slightly, so you'll have less of a problem with bright incoming lights. The brightness can be manually adjusted until you are comfortable enough or you can just use a set of ambient light sensors.

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If you want a remote controlled car, you just need to go to the first toy store and choose. But if you're looking for something more than just another RC vehicle, check out the Infrared Tracker RC Car.



Beside the futuristic design, the interesting thing here is the remote. You don't get buttons and knobs as usual, but an infrared beam. When you aim it at the floor, the car picks it up and follows it, so you are basically guiding the toy just by moving the remote. Magic? Almost.

It can be yours for $49.99.

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How do the drivers behind you tell when you're braking? You would think they'd notice the red lights... but unfortunately getting a driver's license doesn't include an IQ test, so you never know. And if you've got a hitch, it's an accident begging to happen.

Or at least that's what you must think in order to put a big fish on your car.



The Animated Hitch Covers come in three models: bass, deer and dog, each with its own animation. The fish wags its tail and flashes its eyes, the dog shakes its body and lights its collar, while the deer raises its front legs and a target on its chest lights up.

They are 11" tall and fit on standard 2" ball hitches, and you can get each for $24.95.

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Although we would like to think so, not all of us know exactly how a car works, so at times it can be very difficult to figure out what the problem is. Cue going to a repair shop, wasting time and money a.s.o.



The CarMD Handheld Engine Code Reader was designed to help with this. If the "check engine" light is on, the CarMD identifies the problem and tells you exactly what's wrong, so you can at least go to a mechanic and know how much you should pay. The Windows software included can track up to three vehicles and also allows you to print reports from your computer.

It costs $100, which is not much considering the amount of money it could help you save in repairs.

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Finally, a way to become the envy of all your friends (and a lot of passers-by): the Party-A-CarGo, a self-contained beer kegerator/entertainment system.



What does that mean exactly? A big box you can mount on your car that can offer the three ingredients for a perfect weekend party: beer, music and TV. And it goes for a long time without needing a battery recharge... about 160 beers and 12 hours of music.

The booze part is a complete CO2 kegerator/jockey-box set-up that contains:

• 5-gallon cooler jockey-box set up


• Commercial regulator with gauge


• 5 lb. CO2 tank


• Keg tap D-system


• Faucet wrench


• Drain tray

The entertainment part is also pretty impressive:

• 230 watt, 6 X 9 speakers


• 10" subwoofer


• 2 or 4-channel amplifier


• CD player


• Satellite radio


• LCD screen with TV tuner

So it's pretty straightforward now: you need to buy it (although the price is not listed, it looks like it goes for about $2800 - see here), fill it with your favorite brand of beer and go party!

See a video of the kegerator put to work after the jump.





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If you think your teen can't be trusted to drive a cat without speeding, just don't give it to him/her. Or, if you want to be a control freak, try the tiwi.

All right, it's not that bad. Seeing how many drivers make serious mistakes out of inexperience or attempts to be "cool", a nagging talking box can help prevent some of them. The tiwi alerts the driver if s/he exceeds the speed limit, breaks or accelerates too fast or takes a turn at a high speed.



But the rest of the features seem a bit too controlling (ok, a lot). Parents can get notifications when their teens leave school, home, or any other area they wish to define and get alerts whenever the driver breaks a rule, such as not wearing a seat belt or speeding.

There might be a point here if you have a real trublesome child, but for most of them I think it's an exaggeration. If you don't give them some freedom, how will they learn to get by on their own?

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As you might have noticed (the sweltering heat, the sun, the sweat...), it's summer. And you know that feeling of getting into a car that's 10 degrees hotter than the outside (which is already too hot). It would be awful nice to be able to get the car cooled down without turning on the AC and walking around for 5 minutes until you can actually touch the steering wheel.



Of course, there is a solution: a Remote Car Starter. It's packed with features you'll find handy in any season: turn on the air conditioning or defrost from a distance, leave your car running while taking the key with you or auto-start your engine - all of this from up to 1000 feet away. It's got security features to ensure it can't be driven without a key, and the LED mounted on the dashboard might prove useful as a thief deterrent (how would they know it's not an alarm?)

Just one thing you have to be careful about: it doesn't work in manual transmission cars. Also, be sure to check if your particular make and model can be equipped with one.