Check-A-Spare so you don’t end up stranded in the middle of nowhere
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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Published by AutoMotoGadgets, on Jul 17 2008, in the categories: Accesories, Auto, Car
Anti-glare LED visor helps you deal with bright incoming lights
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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Published by AutoMotoGadgets, on Jul 16 2008, in the categories: Accesories, Auto, Car
RC car moves just by wiggling the remote
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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Published by AutoMotoGadgets, on Jul 15 2008, in the categories: Accesories, Auto, Toys
Animated hitch covers save your car’s ass
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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Published by AutoMotoGadgets, on Jul 14 2008, in the categories: Accesories, Auto, Car, Funny
It’s official: KITT will show you the way
Throw away your old GPS now. You won’t need it ever again because the ultimate GPS is here: the Knight Rider GPS by Mio. Yes, KITT in a box!
For those how forgot (or, God forbid, didn’t see the original series), the Knight Industries Two Thousand was a young David Hasselhoff’s partner in solving crime – basically, a talking supercomputer on wheels. The Mio version comes with several of the well-known characteristics of KITT: the design resembles that of the car, the dual LED visual amplitude indicator readouts mimic KITT’s LED anamorphic equalizer and, of course, the voice… Yes, KITT will be telling you exactly how to get to the bar or your friend’s house.
So keep your wallets ready in expectation of a price announcement. You know you want this.
Published by AutoMotoGadgets, on Jul 10 2008, in the categories: Auto, Car, GPS Devices
Breakfast for car lovers
When they’re not busy fiddling with their car, drooling over the latest Lamborghini or buying a new shiny gadget, automobile lovers have to eat just like all of us.
If you’re a car fanatic or have one in your life, you can make breakfast much more interesting with the Engine-er Place Setting. Now you’ll be able to eat your cereal from a tire (with an included hubcap, of course), sip your coffee from a piston and use wrenches for cutlery. Not real ones, of course, that would make it a bit too difficult; their kitchen versions are much more practical. The hubcap lid snap-locks on to keep food fresh, the insulated chrome-plated mug keeps the coffee hot and the wrenches have real cutlery on the other end.
You can get the set for $59.99, or buy the pieces separately.
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Published by AutoMotoGadgets, on Jul 09 2008, in the categories: Auto, Car, Others
iPhone app helps you find your parked car
If you’re one of the people who park, look at the number/symbol on their row, then carry on with their shopping… this isn’t for you. If, on the contrary, you always end up wondering where the hell you left your car 2 hours ago…
First, you need an iPhone. Then you install a clever little app called G-Park and enjoy. When you find a parking spot, you hit the “Park me” button; afterwards, when you want to find your car, you push “Where Did I Park?” and a Google Map with instructions will appear on screen.
You can’t run out and buy it just now, but it will be available starting from July 11 on the official iTunes App Store.
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Published by AutoMotoGadgets, on Jul 08 2008, in the categories: Auto, Car, Mobile Phones
The CarMD helps you translate engine codes and identify car problems
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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Published by AutoMotoGadgets, on Jul 07 2008, in the categories: Accesories, Auto, Car
Have a party anywhere with the Party-A-CarGo
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.
Published by AutoMotoGadgets, on Jul 02 2008, in the categories: Accesories, Auto, Car
tiwi system lets parents monitor children’s driving behavior
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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Published by AutoMotoGadgets, on Jul 01 2008, in the categories: Accesories, Auto, Car