CarMD
CarMD.com
www.carmd.com
Want to avoid costly and sometimes dangerous breakdowns on the side of the road? Check out the CarMD handheld unit that notifies you when your car needs attention. Suitable for any car made after 1996, it links to your car’s onboard computer and displays 3 diagnoses: Green means good, Yellow means drive with caution, and Red means call your mechanic, stat. Equipped with a USB cable to link the unit to your PC, you’ll also have access to the CarMD.com online database where you can run reports for up to 3 cars in your household.
$89.99
TransDock Micro for iPod
Digital Lifestyle Outfitters
www.dlo.com
Errand running is tough—you’d better have your tunes with you at all times. The TransDock Micro for iPod keeps your iPod charged, while broadcasting your tunes through your car stereo on any FM radio frequency. Complete with a removable USB charge and a sync cable for home or road use, it even has auxiliary output to use with car aux input ports. Easily mountable, it works with the iPod Shuffle and the Click Wheel iPod—or you can velcro in your iPod nano. There’s also a TransDock available for you Zune lovers.
Both retail for $69.99
Digital Dashboard Compass & Weather Station
Sharper Image
www.sharperimage.com
So you may’ve had to buy the economy car without all the cool gadgets and readouts that come on the high-end models. No worries—with this dashboard mounted dial, you get three LED readouts detailing the temperature (both inside and outside the car), barometric reading, directional compass, and the time and date. You’ll even get high-tech flashing/beeping icy road warning. Measuring a sleek 4″ x 6″, it comes in a glossy silver tone and runs on 2 AA batteries.
$49.95
Adjustable Coat Caddy
Auto Anything
www.autoanything.com
The problem with hooking your dry cleaning on the pre-installed hooks in your back windows is that they cover your back windows. This backseat coat caddy is adjustable for a car, truck or SUV so your clothes and coats will be wrinkle free—not balled up on the backseat like they are now. Fitting on the back of the headrest of either the driver side or passenger side seats will eliminate dry cleaning blind spots that drivers have accepted for too long.
$29.95
Purple Pear Prism Dangle
GirlsLoveWheels.com
www.girlslovewheels.com
Every girl wants to add a touch of whimsy to her car. And if you or your spouse is a jewelry loving chick—why not add that bit of extra sparkle to your rearview mirror? The prism dangle is approximately 6″ long with an 18″ satin ribbon, and the 1.5-inch pear-shaped crystal is sure to catch the light—much like that sparkly ring you wear on your left hand. Green, pink, red, turquoise and yellow are just some of the options available. Also check out the other treasures on the website for other fun car add-ons like magnets and decals—and moms-to-be will be safer with the maternity seat belt.
$14.95
Steve Cooper is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Hitched. You can follow him on Twitter at @hitchedmedia.
