What to Buy Car People This Holiday Season

You have a car person in your family. Maybe it’s you. Maybe it’s that cool cousin who just got a classic car. It can even be a friend. Whomever it may be, these are the gifts to buy them.

  • Blipshift T-Shirts: I’ve always loved the Blipshift designs. They are humorous, and all around awesome. In the world of car-themed t-shirts, nobody does it better than Blipshift. Their shirts are affordable and cool. The catch is that they are all limited editions. Once that shirt sells out, that design is gone forever (or at least for a few years, when they’ll do an extremely limited run). Plus, they always have amazing deals around this time. A perfect excuse to buy one (or six). But don’t take my word for it. Visit them at blipshift.com
  • HeritageRacing Motorsports Calendar: Lots of races happen throughout the year. If you like going to some (but not all), it can be difficult to keep up with them. That won’t be a problem for this calendar! It has the entire racing schedule for 13 racing series. An added bonus is the retro racing artwork. You can buy it at https://www.etsy.com/listing/245716201/2016-racing-calendar?ref=shop_home_active_1
  • Valentine One Radar Detector: When you have a lead right foot, it can be very hard to stay under or at the speed limit. I know. I’m one of those people. Get a Valentine One radar detector for that member of your family. Buy one at http://www.valentine1.com/
  • One More Than 10: Singer and the Porsche 911: Air-cooled Porsche 911’s are the new classic car fad. If you, or someone in your family is a Porsche 911 fan, chances are they are a huge fan of Singer’s restomodded (restored and modified) classic 911’s. Even if you can’t afford to buy them a classic 911, you can at least keep them temporarily happy with reading the story of Singer on their coffee table. Just make sure to get a copy for me. http://www.stanceandspeed.com/automotive-books/one-more-than-10-singer-and-the-porsche-911
  • Side Glances: Anybody who has read “Road & Track” in the past, oh, 10 years or so, will recognize the name Peter Egan. Any fan of Road & Track, or anybody who’s a fan of amazing writing will never stop thanking you for this gift. It’s more than 300 pages of Peter Egan’s incredible columns on literally every aspect of the automotive industry. He shares 48 of his columns, all of which are bound to teach you something new, or make you become incredibly fond of British cars (I am, thanks to him). These columns cover his time at Road & Track between 2002-2006. Again, you can get me a copy at http://www.roadandtrackshop.com/road-and-track-books/!/peter-egan-side-glances
  • Die Cast Cars: Die cast cars of any make and model are a great addition to a desk, a diorama, a bookshelf or your garage. Even if you just buy one, it will be a nice addition to that collection we all have. These die casts are high-quality, and worth a boy. http://www.roadandtrackshop.com/road-and-track-die-cast
  • Forza 6: Even if cars are your life passion, you will likely never be able to drive a hypercar around a world-famous racetrack. Most people will only be able to somewhat replicate that experience by playing a world-class racing game like Forza 6. If the person you’re buying Forza 6 for doesn’t have an XBox One, you can buy the two in a bundle at http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/consoles/1tb-forza-6
  • Motoring Art: Every car enthusiast worth the oil running through their veins needs some automotive art gracing their garage or living room. You’ll be hard-pressed to find anything better than Guy Allen’s motoring art. It’s truly beautiful. http://guyallen.co.uk/motoring-art
  • Cutaways: David Kimble is a well-known automotive artist. If you’ve ever seen a cutaway of a car, chances are, he drew it. His illustrations are incredibly intricate. In Cutaways, he shows you the secrets, techniques and procedures he uses to create his masterpieces. Definitely a good gift for that family member who loves the technical aspects of cars. http://www.roadandtrackshop.com/road-and-track-books/!/rt-david-kimble-cutaways
  • Team O’Neil Rally School: It doesn’t matter how talented of a driver you, or anyone you know is. You can never have enough training driving a car. If you’ve ever seen videos of how fast rally cars go, and the superhuman reflexes of the drivers, you’ve probably wondered if you could do that too. Yes, you can, thanks to Team O’Neil Rally School. https://teamoneil.com/rally-school/

That’s all folks!

The One and Only Reason Why You Must Own an XBox One

Well, maybe there are more.  There are plenty of good automotive racing games out there for the XBox.  But, I think that Forza Horizon 2 is the only reason why you need an XBox One.  I’m going to be quiet and let you watch the launch trailer and debate on whether to mail me an XBox One, Forza Horizon 2, Forza Motorsport 5, and pre-order Project CARS while you’re at it.  I’ll probably never do another blog post again.  I’m not OK with that, but I will do a live feed of my progressions through the ranks of Forza on my blog…

Here’s the launch trailer of Forza Horizon 2.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMRQh6wFWHw

Why should you send my Forza Motorsport 5?  Well, everything from pure race cars to trucks to sports cars to luxury cars to economy cars and everything in between is represented in truly stunning details.  Each vehicle is able to go around most of the tracks around the world, again in stunning details.  Each car drives exactly like it would in the real world on the exact same track.  It’s just up to the driver to have fun and beat their friends.  The Rolls-Royce Wraith is now available in a variety of color schemes.  Rolls-Royce offers somewhere between a zillion and infinity paint options, but Forza only offers 12.  The Roller won’t be a slouch anywhere.  It’s got a 624-horsepower twin-turbo V-12, and power goes to the wheels via a satellite-aided transmission.  Yes, the transmission actually sends a GPS signal to a satellite to help make sure that the transmission is always in the right gear at the right time.  One cool part is the interior looks the same as it would in real life.  We’re dealing with a headliner that looks like the night sky, folks.

Send me a copy of Forza Horizon 2 if you’re not kind enough to send an XBox One – that’s what eBay is for!  You can even send me Forza Motorsport 5.  I won’t complain.  If you want to see a Rolls-Royce raising hell on a properly manicured British lawn, watch this video.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-pzol0sxro