Category Archives: Fun Stuff

Gift Ideas for Car Enthusiasts

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Many of us still have Christmas shopping to do, and time is rapidly running out! With that in mind, I am devoting this week’s post to gift ideas for the people on your list who, like me, love all things automotive!

  •  Auto Accessories  There are options to suit every taste from team logo floor mats to Hello Kitty seat covers to Yosemite Sam mud flaps.
  • Car Adapter for MP3 player  For some, singing “99 Bottles of Beer” is just not an option for passing time while on the road.  Being able to plug in and listen to an audio book or play list will be a welcomed alternative.
  • Vehicle GPS  We all know them – the folks who can’t find their way out of a paper bag. Put them on the right track with a reliable GPS. Be sure to get one with life time maps.
  •  Folding Shovel  Have any drivers in the great white north on your list? A folding shovel is a great item to keep in the trunk for emergency dig-outs.
  • Car Wash Coupons  Even those who prefer to do their own washing will appreciate having these in the winter. After all, no one wants to be caught riding dirty.
  • Digital Tire Pressure Monitor  Nothing says “I care” like a digital tire pressure monitor. Seriously, tire pressure is important for safe driving, and this is such a handy way to check it!
  • Portable Air Compressor  Not only is this a great emergency item to have in your car, a portable air compressor will be useful for filling a leaking tire until it can be fixed or even inflating a camping mattress.
  • Parking Sensors  If you buy this for a teenager who drives your car, it might be more of a gift for you. Some systems include backup radar which is an excellent safety feature. 
  • Cordless Wet/Dry Vac  For someone who has a Cheerio munching toddler or a road-trip loving dog, this will be a priceless gift. One of these makes keeping the car interior clean a whole lot easier.

Tire Tracks – Songs about My Favorite Subject

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As the world’s biggest tire fan, it won’t be surprising for my readers to learn that I love a great song about tires! One of my favorites is the Brad Paisley song, Mud on the Tires. Why do tires make a great subject for songs? Tires make us think about fun and fond memories of long drives, cruising down Main Street, or 4-wheel adventures on back roads.

For most folks, your wheels are your freedom to explore the world, and what could be better than having an awesome soundtrack to accompany you on the road? Fun songs for the open road make any trip seem just a little more exciting. After all, who doesn’t feel cooler with the top down, sunglasses on and the bass pumped?  My favorites include classics such as Steppenwolf’s Born to be Wild, Gold Earring’s Radar Love, and The Doors’ Roadhouse Blues. My playlist also includes road-worthy hits such as:

  • Rascal Flatts’ (the Tom Cochrane original is also great) Life is a Highway
  • Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car
  • Bruce Springsteen’s Pick Cadillac
  • The Beach Boys’ Little Deuce Coupe
  • The Beatles’ Drive My Car
  • The Eagles’ Take it Easy
  • Wilson Pickett’s Mustang Sally
  • America’s Ventura Highway

But are there really that many songs about tires? There’s Lenny Cooper’s hit, Big Tires, as well as a few others you will find off the beaten path:

  • Bonnie Tyler’s Tire Tracks and Broken Hearts
  • Joni Mitchell’s You Dream Flat Tires
  • Medeski Martin Wood’s  Flat Tires

On the humorous side, this video interpretation of the Phish song Contact  is really a trip. And these parodies of popular songs with a tire twist had me rolling:

These last few weekends, before winter sets in, make sure you hit the road for some good times. And don’t forget your music!

The Michelin Man Makes HISTORY

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Dear Readers,
The Fourth of July holiday has made for a slow week, with a lot of folks out on the road enjoying vacations and celebrations of our nation’s birth. I’ve been using the extra free time to pursue one of my favorite hobbies – collecting tire memorabilia and advertising. While I do occasionally find treasures at local garage sales, I find a lot of collectibles on eBay, a great resource for “specialty” collectors.
This week I was super excited to see something extra special among the usual early-era advertisements, promotional trinkets, and signage I typically see. Up for bid was a circa 1925 Antique Michelin Man Air Pump Compressor. This is an amazing piece of Michelin memorabilia, which I thought about bidding on for about two seconds until I saw that the 10th and current bid was up to $910. Whoa!

I had seen one of these guys just twice before. The first time was when I was a kid. A neighbor of my grandfather had one in his garage. Of course, I was completely enamored with it. The second time was this past April, when my husband encouraged me to watch one of his favorite HISTORY Channel shows – American Restoration. The episode (I looked up and discovered was called “Hot & Salty”) featured, among other things, the restoration of one of those very compressors! The before and after results were extremely impressive!

So you can imagine my excitement when I saw that Michelin Man compressor on eBay. That was, as I mentioned, until I saw the price. With the auction not ending until July 4th, the price could even surpass $1,000. I thought perhaps the recent appearance on a popular cable show might have driven up the value on this item, until I saw that in a September 2011 auction, long before the airing of the show, my compressor friend fetched quite a bit more. I think maybe this cool Michelin Man collectible would be more my speed, which is apparently 33 1/3rd.

I wish everyone a Happy 4th of July and safe travels!
Tracy

Am I Dreaming?

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Dear Tracy,

I am hoping that you can settle a disagreement that I am having with a friend.  We were talking about museums, I told him that there was a Goodyear tire museum, and that I went there as a kid. He says it doesn’t exist, and thinks that I dreamed it up. I know it exists and that it is somewhere in Ohio. Can you settle this for us, Tracy?

-Danny K.

Dear Danny,

Actually, you and your friend are both correct. Indeed, there was a museum at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Akron, Ohio, but it is no longer there. Sadly, the World of Rubber museum closed after 61 years in 2009. I personally can vouch for the museum’s existence as the Treadmore family made many a trip there throughout my childhood. Some of the exhibits included Indy-style race cars, a World War II aircraft fuselage, and a tire from a lunar buggy. My favorite, though, was the recreation of Charles Goodyear workshop. You can see a picture of it here. (We visited so often, that might even be my mom & me in the picture!)

The decision to close the free museum at Goodyear headquarters was said to be due in part to a lack of interest. I just can’t imagine why more folks did not go! Clearly, they did not know what they were missing.

Fortunately, tire enthusiasts can still enjoy a virtual tour through Goodyear chronology by visiting the history section of the corporate website.