Oh! Gizmo

By Luke Anderson

I’m sure at some point you’ve all imagined having an awesome car that would turn heads everywhere you go. Of course those are merely dreams, and you end up driving a Saturn that blends in with every other car on the road. Well here’s an upgrade for your ordinary car that will get you some attention next time you’re sitting at a red light.

Something tells me that shooting 20-foot flames out the back of your car isn’t street legal, however, there are few accessories for your vehicle that will make you feel more like James Bond. Just install this Autoloc Flame Thrower to the ends of your exhaust, and press the button on your remote to send flames shooting out. The site does note that these are for off-road use only, so use at your own risk. Kits start at $125 for a single exhaust system.

[ Hoffman Group ] VIA [ GearFuse ]

By Luke Anderson

I do my fair share of traveling, which means lots of time in my car. If I’m driving across several states, I’ll pack some food to supplement my stops in order to cut down on my expenses. I usually go the route of lunch meat and pretzels, as it’s cheap and I can live off that stuff forever. I’ve honestly never considered actually preparing a hot sandwich while driving. If I were so inclined I could now do so, thanks to the Road Pro 12 Volt Sandwich Maker.

The Sandwich Maker reminds me of a small Gorge Foreman Grill (only without the promises of a healthy less-fattening meal) which simply hooks into the cigarette lighter of your car. I suppose it would be kind of nice to pull over and make something warm, rather than cold lunch meat. The price is right on this one, at $19.50 you can’t go wrong.

[ SkingCompany ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Luke Anderson

I’m not really a paranoid person. I grew up in the country, so I rarely lock my car these days (unless I have my bag of gadgets with me). I’m lucky if I remember to lock up the house when I leave. That said, I’m hardly concerned about someone driving off in my car. However, if you’re the type that think everyone is out to get behind the wheel of their vehicle, you might like this GPS tracking system from Intellitrac.

The X1 has a multitude of features, which can be used in various ways. It has real-time GPS/GSM tracking that will let you find your car in as little time as possible. Other features like mileage logging and wiretapping (you can actually listen to what’s going on in the car) make me think that some parents might enjoy using this to keep track of their teenage drivers. It even features a 3-day backup battery (just in case).

They haven’t found a distributer just yet, so we won’t get any juicy information on pricing or availability just yet.

[ Systech ] VIA [ UberGizmo ]

By Luke Anderson

I’ve always been a Star Wars nut, which means that I tend to stay away from anything related to Star Trek. I’m not really sure what it is, but the two worlds just never seem to mix well. Anywho, while I’ll admit that George Lucas has put is stamp of approval on some wacky stuff, I can’t help but find an abundance of weird Trekkie gear in my travels across the interweb. Today’s specimen is a horn for your car.

This set of five horns will blast the Star Trek theme song whenever the corresponding button is pressed. By blast, I’m talking about 118 decibels of pure female repellent. The kit comes with everything you’ll need to hook this up to your car, and is powered by your cigarette lighter. If this is your kind of thing, then you can beam one up for right around $70.

[ Amazon ] VIA [ SlipperyBrick ]

By Luke Anderson

I have a tendency to talk a lot, especially in long car rides. I think it’s mostly because I just don’t like the silence, even if there is music playing. Other people seem to think it’s because I enjoy the sound of my own voice. This is actually far from the truth as I hate listening to recordings of myself. That’s exactly the reason why I wouldn’t ever use the YourPND service, which would have me being bossed around by myself every time I got in the car.

The service actually lets you replace the generic GPS voice with your own, thus you can give yourself directions around town. Seriously, am I the only one that’s just a little weirded out by this? Well if you aren’t then you can use this on your TomTom GPS, Garmin, Mio and MyGuide products are expected to be supported sometime in the future. It’ll only cost you around $10 to set up.

[ YourPND ] VIA [ GearFuse ]

By Luke Anderson

I was fortunate enough to be born with excellent eyesight. I’ve never needed glasses, I can spot minute details from very far off, and I have incredible night vision (which must be my trade-off for being colorblind). Despite being able to see well at night, I still wouldn’t mind a little extra light on the road. Rayzer has to be one of the coolest ways to add a little extra lighting for your nighttime travels that I’ve seen.

You just mount this gadget behind your rear-view mirror and it syncs up with your headlights. The use of HID Xenon bulbs give you 3x more brightness than your headlights, and they’ll last around 5 years without needing changed. The really cool thing is that since they sync with your headlights, they actually shut off when you turn off your brights. I’m sure the other drivers out there will be thankful for this feature. We’re not sure on a price yet, but the Rayzer is due out early next year.

[ Visualeyes ] VIA [ Ubergizmo ]

By Luke Anderson

There are more than a few pieces of sci-fi technology that I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on. Two of the highest on my list have to be a lightsaber and a flux capacitor. With those two gadgets at my disposal, there’s nothing I couldn’t accomplish with the exception of sleeping with a girl. While I do have a replica lightsaber, I’ve yet to get my hands on a flux capacitor. I saw one on eBay once, but it sold for far more than I care to pay. Thankfully someone has decided to mass-produce this awesome piece of sci-fi tech.

You don’t get much more authentic than this flux capacitor. It measures 16 x 12, just like the original, and has adjustable lighting for that perfect glow. It even comes with a special box and certificate of authenticity. You can get one next April for $275, or pre-order it by January 1st for just $220.

[ TFAW ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Shane McGlaun

Sanyo announced a new rear view backup camera system today that drivers of large vans and SUVs will find appealing. I drive a large vehicle and it is impossible to see what is below the glass and close to the bumper. Anyone that lives in a neighborhood with lots of kids or has kids themselves knows that many little ones are not tall enough to see from inside a big vehicle if they are close to the bumper.

Sanyo’s new CCA-BC200 Rear View Backup Camera System with AirCam technology uses digital processing to deliver accurate and natural looking images of what is behind you. That means you don’t have to look at strangely distorted fish-eye type images.

The only bad part about this system is that a monitor for viewing the video feed isn’t included, nor is a monitor an option. The Sanyo system relies completely on the fact that many vehicles have onboard displays for DVDs and GPS navigation. If your vehicle lacks a display of some sort you will need to add one for the Sanyo system to work. Pricing for the camera system is $299.99 and it is available now.

[ Press Release (registration required) ] VIA [ Sanyo ]