Thinking outside the socks for Dad
If you have a few extra bucks and are looking for a nice Father’s Day gift, a 2004 Lamborghini Murcielago would certainly impress the old man. At 180 inches, it fits in most garages and the 571-horsepower engine could power an aircraft carrier.
Just make out the check for $282,000.
Say you don’t have that much? Hmmm.
While flowers and candy always work in a pinch for Mother’s Day, gifts for Dad are invariably more complex and costly. Even if you can’t swing the Lamborghini, there are plenty of car gifts that might appeal to a gear head or a dad routinely stuck on the L.A. freeways.
A satellite radio receiver and a one-year subscription to a satellite radio service would cost a total of about $240, a big gift but one that would be frequently remembered.
Both XM and Sirius offer the service under similar terms. The services give 68 channels of commercial-free music of every type and 33 channels of sports, talk, news and entertainment. After the first year, it costs about $10 per month.
Of course, a lot of guys are gear heads or gear-head wannabes. A wrench or screwdriver set might be OK, but I would rather have a hand-held engine code reader.
This nifty device plugs into a car’s central control module and allows you to read potentially hundreds of stored codes that warn of impending disasters or simple problems. One of the highly rated products is the Innova 3100 OBD II code reader, produced by Equus Products of Fountain Valley.
Even if Dad is not going to fix his own car, the code reader will empower him with the knowledge to better manage his car’s maintenance and negotiate repairs. The Innova model, which works for every type of car since 1996, sells for about $120 on the Web or at some auto stores.
At the other end of the spectrum, you might consider a fragrance dispenser that will give Dad’s wheels that new-car smell. My wife recently put several of these in her car, but they make me gag. The upside is they cost less than $5.
A better bet on the scent side might be an automotive air purifier, a little device that plugs into the cigarette lighter and filters out at least some of the toxins that waft in from the freeway. Ionizer-type air purifiers for cars start at about $15. Three-stage systems that have charcoal filters are a bit pricier at $120. All are easy to find on the Internet. Hint: Google “car air purifiers.”
A doodad that I have always wanted is a power inverter, a small device that converts the 12-volt DC power in your car to a 120-volt AC current. I don’t know why I would want this device, but I figure I could keep a small refrigerator in the back seat. A 200-watt inverter costs less than $30 and they are sold at a lot of auto supply stores.
I’ll mention a few of the old standbys such as sheepskin seat covers. These things seem passe, but they are still widely sold. A mid-range cover costs $99.
I know a lot of people are getting leather seats in new cars, one of the most idiotic features ever put on wheels. I am constantly burning my legs in the summer on my leather seats. So sheepskin covers might solve the problem, although on a hot day they can smell like grilled lamb.
Car ramps are really nice items for people who sometimes crawl under their car. I’ve never owned a set of these, but sometimes I wish I had. I remember the time I replaced the starter motor on my car and spent about two hours with my nose bent against the oil pan. Car ramps cost about $25.
Every year, people have catastrophic tire blowouts because they don’t keep enough air pressure in their tires. Most people are too busy to fuss with their tires at the gas station. A better alternative is to have an air compressor in the garage. A low-end compressor is all you need and you can find them for $100 or less.
Finally, I’ll deal with the cheapest gift of all. If you don’t have the money because you’re too young to have a job, instead of asking your mother for money to buy a gift, get up early on Father’s Day and give Dad’s car a first-rate cleaning.
Get a bucket of warm water, use some car detergent -- not dish or laundry detergent. Park the car in the shade; wet it and soap it down, then scrub, rinse, and dry it with clean rags. Use a spray cleaner and paper towels for the inside windows, then vacuum the seats and floors. It shouldn’t take more than an hour and it will mean a lot more than another necktie for his closet.
Ralph Vartabedian can be reached at ralph.vartabedian@
latimes.com.
