Who wouldn’t like to find one of the special-edition James Bond BMW Z3 roadsters with 007 floor mats under the Christmas tree?
Neiman Marcus offered only 100 of these cars in its holiday catalog, and they were sold out in days–despite a $35,000 price tag.
But this Bond business doesn’t mean the car enthusiast on your shopping list has to have a blue Christmas. Finding the perfect gift is as simple as picking up your telephone. Lots of catalog companies offer a wide variety automotive-related presents.
If you’re from the hold-it-before-you-buy-it school, you have no worries, either. Several stores feature everything automotive from key chains and decals to models and apparel to books and videos.
Here’s a look at some of this season’s hottest gift ideas for car lovers:
– Radio-controlled Plymouth Prowler. Chrysler has been teasing the car-buying public for years with its thoroughly modern retro roadster. Unveiled several years ago as a concept car and an instant winner with auto-show goers, the Plymouth Prowler reportedly has just received the go-ahead for production in 1997.
But Chrysler has licensed a radio-controlled version of the Prowler. Sold by the Sharper Image, the 1:12 scale model features a Mabuchi motor that runs on 8 AA batteries or 9.6-volt rechargeable battery. The 13.5-inch car has a fully detailed interior.
The car costs $80, plus another $29.95 for the Ni-Cad battery.
– “Rendezvous.” “Books are great as a reference, but they don’t capture the essence of movement, the essence of sound of a video,” said Paul Joncas, manager of Automobilia in San Francisco. Some tell the story of a particular marque or a famous driver. “And some are just plain insane,” he said.
That’s the appeal of “Rendezvous,” a very short tape that shows a guy driving through Paris at 5 a.m. in a Ferrari 275 at speeds approaching 140 miles an hour.
“He goes from one part of Paris to the other in about nine minutes,” Joncas said. “It’s kind of murky, because it’s dark, but it’s the best-selling tape we’ve ever had at $49.95. It’s unbelievable to watch.”
Joncas also recommends two other tapes for those with unusual tastes. One chronicles the British Touring Car Championship series. “It makes NASCAR look like a bunch of sissies,” he said. The other is “The Vespa Story,” about a special motorcycle.
– Ferrari dome trash can. From California’s Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories catalog comes a collection of trash cans.
Though giving a garbage can might send a different kind of message than you intend, the ones from Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories come in dome ($195) or foot-pedal ($69.95) models. Available insignias include Ferrari, Shell, Route 66, Packard, Mobilgas, Mustang and Ford.
– Custom valve caps. For $17.95, Behind the Wheel on San Francisco’s Pier 39 will sell you a set of custom wheel valve caps with the names of almost every maker from A to Z. The idea is to get a set of Ford valve caps for the Mustang owner on your list or a set of Saturn caps for the one who drives a Saturn.
Also popular, said store manager Scott Manor, are custom license frames with cute sayings such as “Get In, Sit Down, Shut Up and Hang On” or “Driver Carries No Cash. He’s Married” that can be personalized for $14.95.
The store carries everything from championship racing merchandise, such as Jeff Gordon signature jackets for $250, to key chains, to clocks that have faces like old-style service station signs.
– TCV Formula 1 racer. For $299, the Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories catalog sells this battery-powered race car that can carry one 80-pound passenger and reach speeds of 2 1/2 to 5 miles per hour.
The car, which is built in Taiwan and comes in red or yellow, has a spring-loaded on/off accelerator and a motor brake. The key switch makes a simulated engine sound. The car features dual mirrors and floor mats. The price includes two 6-volt batteries and a charger.
– Car-care products. Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories features an $89.95 starter kit with bottles of pre-wax cleaner, car wash solution, vinyl conditioner and wax as well as a towel, applicator and manual. The system, according to the catalog, gives “a shine so strong, you can actually rub your hand across the surface and feel a layer of protection you may not see with your eyes alone.”
At the Museum Shop and Bookstore adjacent to the Behring Auto Museum in Danville, Calif., you can buy a can of museum-endorsed wax for $36.95.
“We frequently get asked how we get the cars in the museum looking so beautiful,” said Shel Rootenberg, who manages the gift shop. The secret is this wax created by Zymol. One can probably will wax five vehicles.
– UltraFinder Navigator. In-car navigation systems are popular in Japan, and are starting to make inroads in the U.S. Oldsmobile continues in 1996 to be the only maker offering a factory-installed system.
The UltraFinder, now being sold by the Sharper Image, doesn’t rely on sophisticated global-positioning technology to plot your location. However, for $99.95, it goes a long way in keeping you from getting lost.
This hand-held device contains 60,000 locations along the interstates–from 24-hour gas stations to hospitals, campgrounds and shopping centers. According to the Sharper Image catalog, it can find the nearest good Italian restaurant or the location of a copy shop that’s open at 3 a.m. It can also provide directions (6 BLKS S ON MOTT TURN RT) between major locations as well as distances, driving times and exit information.
– Gyroscopic Beverage Holder. Cup holders have become so pervasive that Mercedes-Benz now crows when it adds them to its newest models. Vehicles such as the new Chrysler mini-vans have half-dozen or more places to store cans, bottles, cups or juice boxes.
But for those in older cars or those tired of spills in their newer cup holders, the Sharper Image offers a product that promises to keep your drink on the level–even in stop-and-go traffic or on nasty roads.
The Gyroscopic Beverage Holder, about $22.50, works with all cups (except those with large handles) as well as soda cans, yogurt and other containers. It attaches to a car’s dash with bonding tape.
– Posters. From Automobilia in San Francisco come wonderful Monaco Grand Prix posters from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. Measuring 26-by-40 inches, these reprints from the Automobile Club of Monaco sell for $65 each.
At the Behring Museum Shop and Bookstore, a variety of specialty posters from specific events (Pebble Beach Concours, the Guardsmen Golden Gate races) and celebrating certain fast cars are sold for $5 to $50, unframed.
– Books. Automobilia and the Museum Shop have a vast array of titles. At Automobilia, besides books chronicling marques and races, you can find repair manuals and other instructional tomes. At the Museum Shop, there are a vast number of colorful, coffee-table books as well as a four-volume series on pedal cars.
Rootenberg, of the museum staff, recommends “Lemons: The World’s Worst Cars.” Selling for $19.95, and recently out of stock–though it’s expected back on the shelf before Christmas–“Lemons” is a lot of fun.
“This is probably the book that creates the most interest and the most controversy in the shop because there are a large number of cars in it, and inevitably, somebody finds a car that they once owned,” he said. “They say, `How can they call that a lemon. That was a great car for me.’ “
Joncas, of Automobilia, recommends “Dashboards,” a $59.95 coffee-table book. “This one is highly unusual,” he said. There’s no text and few details, but the pictures reveal an era when car were designed with an eye toward beauty and sophistication.
Rootenberg and Joncas recommend “The American Hot Rod,” written by the late Dean Batchelor. An automotive expert, Batchelor brought his love of hot-rodding (and his photo collection) to this work.
– Models. Models can be found everywhere from discount department stores to auto-parts stores. They’re available at Behind the Wheel, and are a specialty at both Automobilia and the Museum Shop and Bookstore.
The 1:18 scale models are generally cheaper, less collectible and better suited for children. “If you’re a collector, 18th scale is too big,” Joncas said. “You get 100 of these and you need to build another room in your house.” The 1:43 scale models offer vast choices for gift buyers.
“This is the time of year when enthusiasts come in both looking for gifts for adults and children,” Rootenberg said. “We have parents come in who are adult collectors who want to get their children started.”
