If you’re reading this, you either have an auto enthusiast in your life or you are one. Car nerds aren’t always the easiest to shop for around the holiday season, so we’ve created this collection of 25 suggested gifts, each of which is sure to satisfy. We’ve done all the work; all you have to do is click “add to cart” and bust out the wrapping paper.
Additional reporting by Rich Ceppos, Darren Fitzgerald, Daniel Golson, Max Mortimer, Eric Stafford, and Alex Stoklosa.
Michael Simari
Meguiar’s Complete Car Care Kit
$23.88
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If you want to give your automobile a perfect hand-washed gleam, you should consider the Meguiar’s Complete Car Care Kit. Meguiar’s has been producing high-quality car-detailing products for more than a century. The kit is a great value and features a comprehensive assortment of products. Included you’ll find carwash soap, scratch remover, tire foam, glass cleaner, cleaner wax with applicator pad, and interior detailer.
Michael Simari
GGBAILEY All-Season Textile Floor Mats
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Need to protect your car’s carpet from dirt, melting snow, and road salt, but hate the look of rubber floor mats? GGBAILEY’s all-season textile mats could be a perfect fit. These mats are custom fitted and offered in either dark gray or beige. The tightly looped carpet easily traps liquids and dirt while the thick rubber backing and stitched vinyl edge help keep everything contained. These textile all-season floor mats are a great addition to your car’s winter wardrobe.
Michael Simari
KeySmart
$22.00
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The KeySmart key organizer is for the Type A auto enthusiast in your life. With space for up to 10 keys installed neatly in a jackknife arrangement, KeySmart more easily fits in pockets, purses, and car storage cubbies. It’s offered in aluminum, plastic, or leather bodies; our favorite is the KeySmart Pro, which adds a flashlight and Tile integration for GPS tracking. Additional tools can be added as accessories, including a bottle opener, pliers, and a USB drive.
Jeff Xu
Tecovas Weekender Duffle
$295.00
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Whether you’re heading up the coast in a convertible or venturing off-road in an SUV, a nice duffel bag makes weekend getaways even better. The Tecovas Weekender duffle is a stylish alternative to a canvas bag. Starting at $295, it’s half the price of many other leather duffels, but no one would ever guess. Constructed of vegetable-tanned leather and sporting brass accents, this bag smells as great as it looks and offers plenty of space for several days’ worth of adventures.
Michael Simari
Piloti Driving Shoes
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Driving shoes can make anyone feel like Steve McQueen, even if they’re wheeling a Toyota Prius. Piloti’s shoes are offered in casual sneaker and loafer styles as well as high-performance racing shoes, starting at $150. We’ve been trying out the Pistone sneaker, the classy Officina loafer, and the special-edition James Hunt low-top, and all three fit snugly and are narrow enough to allow the wearer to operate the small pedals of a vintage sports car.
Michael Simari
Candylab Toys Wooden Cars
$24.95
$5.00 (80% off)
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Candylab Toys’ lineup of minimalist wooden car models are perfect for small kids and car-loving grown-ups alike. There’s a wide range of vehicles available, from muscle cars to woody wagons—and even some special models such as a police car and a tow truck. A range of accessories enhances the fun, with trailers and canoes that attach magnetically. The toys start under $25, with others priced at close to $40 and higher-end special editions nearing twice that price.
Michael Simari
Colour Your Classic Car!: A Colouring Book for Adults
$14.95
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As it turns out, coloring inside the lines is therapeutic, even for adults, so why not chill out while saturating images of cars? Grab a copy of Colour Your Classic Car! and some markers, and go to town. Fair warning: Most of the vehicles in the book are European. Another hint that this is geared toward the Continent—and adults? There is some nudity in a few of the illustrations.
Michael Simari
Autodromo Stringback Driving Gloves
$125.00
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A nice pair of driving gloves really enhances a chilly spring or fall joy ride, and these beautiful and functional mitts from Autodromo are perfect. The soft leather palm provides a strong grip on the steering wheel, and the stitched back breathes nicely to help avoid sweating. Is your car lover also a watch enthusiast? These gloves have a split-cuff design that creates extra room for a timepiece.
Michael Simari
GentScents Air Fresheners
$7.99
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Say goodbye to cheap cardboard trees and hello to the modern-day automotive air freshener. GentScents is a subscription service designed to keep your car smelling its best; a wooden plank soaked in fragrant oil arrives periodically via mail, and you secure it to the provided sun-visor clip in your car. Several scents are offered, including sandalwood, cedar, and orange spice, but GentScents also ships seasonal fragrances throughout the year. Plans start at $7.99 per month.
Michael Simari
Linear Edge Wood Wall Art
$99.00
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Linear Edge produces sculptures of the world’s most iconic racetracks—and even some obscure ones—created out of layers of wood. Two-dimensional versions of this wall art start at $99, with larger sizes of each track available for an extra $100. In addition to the 90 available circuits, the company can create custom tracks for no additional cost. Linear Edge also produces 3D versions that show the elevation changes of each track and wooden engravings of iconic car models.
Michael Simari
Hum by Verizon
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Nearly everyone has a smartphone nowadays—even Great-Aunt Beatrice—but not everyone has a vehicle that can communicate with their mobile device. Hum by Verizon changes that by providing vehicle diagnostics, roadside assistance, and more with help from a smartphone app. The HumX device costs $69.99 plus a $15 per month subscription, which includes hands-free calling and a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot. In other words, it makes any jalopy a safer and savvier mode of transportation.
Michael Simari
Autodromo Watches
$875.00
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Yes, we know, premium watches are often pricey, making them dicey gift propositions. But Autodromo’s wristwatches are generally affordable given their specifically automotive flair and Japanese automatic movements. Several choices are priced well below $1000; the Stradale pictured here is $875. Choose which style suits you—most have faces resembling gauges—and the desired strap and bezel, and you’ll have a slick everyday watch that telegraphs your car nuttiness.
Brad Fick/Michael Simari
Handmade Fordite Jewelry
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Integrate a love for cars into your wardrobe in a subtle way with jewelry made of fordite by Urban Relic. Chunks of fordite, which is also known as motor agate, are formed from layers of automotive paint and chipped off the machines at manufacturing plants. The artist shapes and polishes these man-made “gemstones,” then sets them into gold, silver, stainless steel, or copper to create truly one-of-a-kind pieces; rings, necklaces, earrings and cufflinks are all available.
Jeff Xu
LEGO Technic Car Building Kits
$349.95
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You or the car person in your life might be into Legos. And we’re not just talking about the kids. Most of our staffers are—surprise!—adults, and our office is covered in a collection of Legos. You can judge, or accept it and learn to love the brand’s easy giftability. At the top of the car-themed model range sits this $350 1:8-scale Bugatti Chiron. There is also a similarly large Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS as well as smaller-scale cars from the Creator series.
Michael Simari
FIXD Active Car Health Monitor
$59.00
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Uh oh! Your car’s check-engine light came on—is it something simple like a loose fuel cap, or is it more serious? Say goodbye to the age-old dashboard-light guessing game with FIXD. The small device plugs into your car’s data port and broadcasts a diagnostic report to a smartphone app. It can also estimate a cost of repair, direct you to a local mechanic, and provide handy maintenance reminders to help keep your ride in tip-top shape.
Brad Fick
Brush Hero Water-Powered Cleaning Tool
$39.99
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If you’re all too familiar with the painstaking process of washing wheels, rejoice! The Brush Hero reduces the necessary effort to clean between the spokes on everything from a Mazda Miata to a Bentley Bentayga. The rotating brush head has enough torque to easily clean the dirtiest rims; it connects to a garden hose and sprays water to rinse away debris.
Casio Edifice Men’s Watch
$320.00
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Casio’s latest Edifice watch bundles Bluetooth connectivity and a race-friendly lap timer at an affordable price. The dark-blue face is accented by bright-blue inner dials and lit by a small LED light so it’s viewable at night. Linking the watch to your smartphone allows it to maintain the correct time, depending on time zone. It’s solar powered, too, so you won’t have to take a break from track day to recharge. Its upscale appearance and metal bracelet belie its reasonable price.
Jeff Xu
Mr. Steak Infrared Portable Grill
$229.99
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Kick your tailgate party up a notch with the Mr. Steak portable infrared grill. This compact cooker fits easily in a car’s trunk, and its gas-and-infrared burner provides more heat than rivals that use only propane. Steaks, chicken, and burgers cook quicker and will cause mouths to water at your next camping trip or football game. The Mr. Steak portable grill features flip-out legs and a removable grease tray.
Michael Simari
Felix Gray Polarized Sunglasses
$95.00
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Polarized sunglasses have long been a staple of car guys and gals to help block out glare and provide a clear view of the road ahead. But some brands take the polarization a little too far, turning everything a shade sepia. Felix Gray has gotten things just right with its line of sunglasses, offered in a variety of styles. These sunglasses are lightweight, thanks to thin lenses and Italian acetate frames, and they wear comfortably for long periods of time.
Brad Fick
TopCoat F11 Polish & Sealer Kit
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If applying a traditional paste wax seems like too much time and effort, check out F11 by TopCoat. Unlike traditional waxes, F11 is a polymer-based synthetic wax that bonds itself to the paint at a microscopic level, filling in small imperfections and scratches. Just spray it on the target area and buff it in; sound easy enough? It can also be applied to glass because of its hydrophobic (water repelling) formula, and it lasts three to six months between applications.
Austin Irwin
BMW History Books
$50.00
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Here are two new great books for the BMW lover. Icon recalls the development, production, sales, and racing history of the BMW 2002—the model that established the German brand in the United States and made BMW’s reputation as the maker of sports sedans. Heroes of Bavaria traces BMW’s factory racing history, starting in the 1930s. Both books were written by noted BMW authority Jackie Jouret and are fat with insider information and filled with hundreds of photos.
Michael Simari
KeySmart Urban21 Backpack
$299.99
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KeySmart’s Urban 21 backpack is a great way to tote your belongings each day. Its compact shape and waterproof outer layer are perfect for those who choose to park farther out and walk to avoid parking-lot door dings. Our favorite feature is the hard-case top pocket that helps protect fragile items if the bag is sliding around in the trunk. Inside are a dedicated pocket for keys, a laptop sleeve, and optional Tile integration to ensure the bag is never lost.
Michael Simari
Nintendo Labo Vehicle Kit
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Car and gaming enthusiasts of all ages will find hours of entertainment building, playing with, and tinkering with the Nintendo Labo Vehicle Kit. The kit is more than just glorified papercraft—you’re really paying for the thousands of hours that went into the carefully crafted instructions, clever minigames, and interesting documentation on how it all works. Pair it with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and the kit’s steering wheel and pedal controllers add even more fun.
Michael Simari
WeatherTech Floor Liners
$197.00
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WeatherTech makes many accessories for cars and trucks, but the company is known best for its full-coverage floor liners. Each mat is custom measured to ensure an exact fit, and the sides of the liners extend all the way up to collect and contain liquid, dirt, snow, road salt, and mud so nothing leaks onto your car’s factory carpeting. WeatherTech offers liners in a variety of colors and provides coverage for all rows of seating.
Austin Irwin
Car and Driver Subscription
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Shameless self-promotion, we know. But, hey, a subscription to Car and Driver magazine is the gift that keeps on giving the whole year. The car lover in your life will enjoy 12 beautifully designed magazines full of news, reviews, and comparison tests, not to mention coverage of our annual 10Best Cars and Lightning Lap events. Perhaps your car guy or girl would also enjoy a subscription to our sister publication, Road & Track, which specializes in performance cars and motorsports.
From: Car and Driver
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