Wired - For decades, we used our cars’ cigarette
lighters to actually light cigarettes. It was a smelly affair, but no
one was yet complaining about second-hand smoke. Then tobacco became
passe, and gadgets became much more mobile. From the CD Walkman with its
12V adapter to modern smartphone chargers, consumer electronics now
make ready use of the electricity surging through our automobile power
ports.
But have you looked at what can be plugged into your car’s cigarette lighter lately? The options are amazing -- you can now take a full complement of lifestyle accessories on a camping trip. Or, in a pinch, you could use your vehicle’s cigarette lighter to power the amenities of a happy (albeit cramped and slightly downmarket) home.
For video evidence, click the movie above. For more exacting detail, enjoy our gallery of awesome, automobile console-powered gadgets.
But have you looked at what can be plugged into your car’s cigarette lighter lately? The options are amazing -- you can now take a full complement of lifestyle accessories on a camping trip. Or, in a pinch, you could use your vehicle’s cigarette lighter to power the amenities of a happy (albeit cramped and slightly downmarket) home.
For video evidence, click the movie above. For more exacting detail, enjoy our gallery of awesome, automobile console-powered gadgets.
Coleman Rechargeable Portable Blender
Nothing fulfills one’s recommended daily allotment of fruit and vegetables quite like a smoothie. It’s difficult to find a quality smoothie stand along the highways and byways of our fast-food nation, but Coleman comes to the rescue with its Rechargeable Portable Blender.This $50 blender will handily crush ice and various fruits and vegetables with ease, and margaritas (as evidenced in our video) are just a few powerful blending adventures away. Coleman says the unit will dole out between 20 and 30 pitchers of drinks per charge -- more than enough to provision your very own smoothie stand at a rest stop. The blender can be charged via a household outlet, or, more apropos to our traveling and domestic needs, a vehicle’s 12-volt port. Let the bananaberry flow!
Black & Decker Auto Pivot Vac
Car interiors take a beating. From family pets shedding all over the seats, to the colony of french fries that resides on the cabin floor, most vehicles need a seriously good vacuuming. This is where the cyclonic power of the $69 Black & Decker Auto Pivot Vac comes in. The Pivot Vac will make short work of these messes, and you won’t even need an extension cord trailing from the wall outlet in your house.The 12V-powered vacuum has a 10-position pivoting head with an extension that adds a hose to the end. With all those positions and reach power, sucking up sand, dirt and fast-food straw wrappers should be a literal breeze.
More
