Not unlike when the song asked, "What Do You Get a Wookie for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb)?," holiday shopping for the "Star Wars" geek in your household can pose a frustrating dilemma. There's enough merchandise, Lucasfilm-licensed and otherwise, out there to stuff a Death Star-size stocking and only 113 shopping days left before Christmas. Perhaps more importantly, there are only 106 days until Christmas comes early for "Star Wars" fans ravenously anticipating the release of "Episode VII - The Force Awakens" on Dec. 18.
Related: Lexus Hoverboard Makes Our 'Back to the Future' Fantasies Reality
Already feeling more stressed than an Imperial officer with bad news to report to Darth Vader? We find your lack of faith disturbing ... but help you we will. We at Cars.com have pored over the galaxy-ful of goods out there and winnowed it all down to our 10 favorite car accessories for that special driving force in your life — so you’ll have one less thing to be mindful of on your “Force Friday” excursion late tonight, when stores all over the world open their doors at midnight to give shoppers first crack at all the next-gen “Star Wars” toys, collectibles, books and apparel inspired by “The Force Awakens.”
1. Light-saber rear-windshield wiper, $15 from WiperTags.com: Affix these laser-sword WiperTags to your rear wiper blade and strike down any precipitation obstructing your view like it was Obi-Wan Kenobi in his fateful duel with Vader, while keeping the car behind you entertained. They come in 15- and 20-inch sizes and assorted colors including Skywalker blue and green, Vader red and even Cars.com ... er, we mean Mace Windu, purple.
2. R2-D2 USB car charger, $68.88 from Amazon.com: Much like everyone's favorite li'l dome-headed droid carried the stolen Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance and Princess Leia's distress message to Obi-Wan, R2 could be your only hope for retrieving your contacts or finding your destination on Google Maps from your fast-fading smartphone. This R2 replica can be nestled into your cup holder, offering a pair of charging ports that are compatible with any of your devices. He'll even swivel his head around, beep and light up to let you know charging is in progress.
3. Millennium Falcon accordion sunshade, $15.50 from Hot Topic: We don't care how cool your ride is, it's not cooler than the "ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs" — especially when the cockpit is occupied by a flight crew comprising Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke and Obi-Wan.
4. Chewbacca floormat, $34.99 from MyCoolCarStuff.com: He's been called a "walking carpet" before; now he actually is one. These universal-fit, fade-resistant floormats are sold in pairs, bearing the unmistakable torso of Han's wookie co-pilot, signature bandolier and all.
5. "Star Wars" family decals, $14.99-$24.99 from ThinkGeek.com: If other motoring families can annoy the rest of us with their stupid stickers, we are entitled to purport to be members of the cosmically dysfunctional Skywalker clan, with our long-lost mother, tyrannical father who doesn't know who his Jedi son is, nor his would-be Jedi daughter — neither of whom recognizes the other as brother or sister before ... um, well, you know what happens (awkies).
6. Varied stickers, $4.80-$6.99 on Amazon.com: If you're going to defile your car with adhesive graphics, you may as well take a meaningful political stand. Rep your allegiance to the Rebel Alliance while promoting child safety by rocking a "Padawan on Board" window sticker; show your commitment to the Imperial army with a stormtrooper-bearing "Support Our Troops" or Death Star decal; or tip your hand to your fierce, Solo-esque independence with a bumper sticker informing those behind you that, "My Other Transport Is the Millennium Falcon." Or, if you happen to drive, say, a Corolla or Yaris, you might pay your respects to your commensurately compact Jedi mentor with a "TOYODA" sticker.
7. Rebel Alliance symbol headlight decal, $10.95 on Amazon.com: We can't necessarily vouch for the wisdom of placing a decal over your headlights, but if you're inclined to do such a thing anyway, you could do worse than repping the rebels with this pair of etched-glass-look decals. The product description claims the decal is highly visible without restricting the beam, assuring victory against the Dark Side.
8. Stormtrooper gearshift knob, $19.99 on Amazon.com: This universal metal-and-ceramic manual gearshift knob in the shape of an Imperial foot soldier's helmet will up your badass factor — plus, controlling your car like a stormtrooper is a surefire way to ensure that you never hit anything.
9. Darth Vader hitch plug receiver cover, $19.68 on Amazon.com: Prevent rust and debris buildup in the opening of your trailer-hitch receiver with this solid metal cover in the shape of the Sith Lord himself so you're ready to roll next time you need to tow your TIE fighter.
10. "Star Wars" CDs: Sure, you could drop $49.98 (on TCM.com) on the eight-disc "The Music of Star Wars: 30th Anniversary Collection" for your driver's listening pleasure, but c'mon, we both know that money would be better spent on the one-two punch of the 1977 disco album, "Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk," ($7.39 on Target.com) and the soundtrack to the holiday TV special that will live in infamy, 1980's "Christmas in the Stars" ($45.99 on eBay.com) featuring the aforementioned wookie-gift-idea-pondering tune among other classics. And by classics, of course, we mean the equivalent of designing your all-powerful, planet-destroying space station with an exposed exhaust port leading straight to its combustible main reactor.
No comments:
Post a Comment