We spend a lot of time in our cars, suvs, and trucks. Some of us drive for fun, others to get from point A to point B. But no matter why you spend time in a vehicle, there are ways to make trips safer, more comfortable, and more convenient - high tech car gadgets and accessories. 

Gadgets and accessories range from a simple, inexpensive strip of LED lights for under the dash to a completely new stereo head unit. There are gadgets for almost everything you can imagine. And we could all use a little something to improve the small space we use to move about our lives.  

Perhaps you are looking for gift ideas or for something just for you. Maybe a local car dealer is having a promotion, offering a free scan tool with every car purchase, and it caught your interest. Maybe you manage an automotive dealership and you are looking for ways to draw customers or improve employee morale (keep reading after the lists for more details for car dealerships). 

Whatever your needs, the following lists of gadgets and accessories will have something for you. 
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Safety & Security
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These days safety is on everyone’s list of priorities. You can increase safety and security while in your car, for short trips or longer ones, with some of these great products.

• Dash Cam - more and more of us are finding that a dash cam is a  must have. Not only does it protect you if an accident happens, since it records what actually happened, it is also an enjoyable way to make a video compilation of road trip highlights. 

• Tire Inflator - a device to inflate your tires while on the road is a very compact way to ensure you have a way to get to a service station if one of your tires loses air.² These come in various sizes, some almost as small as a pen. Tire inflators are great to have today, when many new cars do not come with spare tires. 

• Portable Jump Starter - when your battery goes dead - who hasn’t left an interior light on overnight? - having a portable jump     starter is vital. It is an easy and effective way to get your car, or a friend’s or neighbour’s car, going when the battery is low or dead.

• Other gadgets you may want to consider are tracking devices¹ that connect to your smartphone so you can track your car’s location, vehicle safes⁵ for valuables you need to leave in the car, night vision cameras⁶, and anti sleep alarms⁵ for long highway drives. 

Comfort

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Beyond safety, comfort is something we all want in our cars. Good seats and making sure to adjust your seat properly are vital, but so are gadgets that help make life in your car better. 

• Air purifiers and fresheners - we have all had an unwanted smell in our car at some point. Air purifiers, which plug-in to a car’s 12V socket², are good for cleaning the air you breathe. You can even get personalized face air fresheners⁵  – a great gift for relatives!

• Coffee maker - yes, instead of making a trip to the drive-through, you could have your own in-car coffee maker. Some are rechargeable and even come with high pressure pumps so you can enjoy your favourite coffee capsules.²

• Other accessories that can improve comfort are a small vacuum cleaners¹ and an inflatable car air mattress⁵ that turns your backseat into a large, comfortable bed. 
  
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Options on high end cars or higher trims
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Not everyone can purchase high end luxury cars that come with all the latest tech, and lately many luxury cars do not come with all the options due to chip shortages. But you can add several rare options with the right gadget or two. 

• Virtual Assistants - if you use a specific platform for information and navigation, adding it to your car is a lot easier than you think.²

• Wireless Charging - though more vehicles are coming with wireless charging, you can add it for a lot less than paying for a higher trim.¹ Some versions even have fast-charging!⁶

• Stereo Head Units - a head unit refers to the screen or touch screen that most new cars now have stock. Yet you can add such a screen, even one with touch screen capability, to almost any vehicle.¹ Some are even designed to fit in seamlessly with classic cars so you can keep the retro, original look.¹

• Other great products in this category include cellular boosters¹ and a variety of HUDs (Heads Up Displays).⁴

The One Everyone Needs - A Scan Tool
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You can’t go wrong with a scan tool that plugs into your vehicle’s OBD port. The OBD (On BoardDiagnostic) port is located below the dash on the driver’s side of the car.Professionals use these ports to access your car’s computers, but products have been developed that let owners use these ports too.

Some options are able to track your vehicle’s location and collect data about how the car was driven¹ – a great choice if you allow others to drive your car. And some options will enable you to diagnose many of your car’s systems² and even send live data to do with performance to your phone as you drive.³ 

Whether you use it to monitor your car when you are not in it, or to gather specific information about performance, every car owner needs a scan tool. 
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The One Every Canadian Needs 
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If you don’t have a newer car or a luxury car, you probably don’t have heated seats. You could head to a car dealership and buy a car with heated seats. But if you are not quite ready to purchase a new or new-to-you car, you can purchase heated seat covers.⁵ If you live in Canada, where cold mornings are made even colder by icy seats, get heated seat covers, you will be happy you did.

If you run a car dealership
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The lists above offer great ideas for incentives you can use to draw customers. Consider offering a dash cam with free installation for every new car purchase. Or you could run a test-drive contest, giving anyone who test-drives a particular model a chance to win a gift card to a local business or for online shopping. Maybe even include the lists in this article to encourage people to enjoy their cars more. 

Another great idea is to use gadgets and accessories to boost employee morale. You could have a gift exchange, using only items from the lists in this article, or have a friendly contest with the items as prizes. A scavenger hunt related to details about vehicles you have in stock using an inventory management system combines fun and training. Check out Dealerpull, which offers great solutions to manage inventory, leads, and sales.  

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1. The Coolest Car Gadgets to Soup Up Your Current Ride | PCMag
2. Must Have High Tech Car Accessories and Gadgets for 2022!
3. 10 Great High-Tech Car Gadgets - Knockaround.com
4. Cool Car Accessories That Transform Your Car Into a High-Tech Ride
5. 27 Must-Have Car Gadgets And Accessories That Road Warriors Swear By
6. Best car accessories & gadgets in 2022

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