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From Swedespeed.com Miscellaneous Features Cruise through any local mall or shopping center and it’s quickly apparent that the holidays are upon us. Though typically a time of joy whatever your religion, the holiday season can be a treacherous time, braving the crowds and the traffic and fighting tooth and nail for a parking space like every other gift-giver out there. Should your household include an Audi enthusiast, your throwing the family car to the mercy of clumsily opened doors in overcrowded parking lots may all be in vain as you probably won’t find what he or she is looking for anyway. Fear not, we have the solution in the form of this listing of one dozen items any enthusiast and regular to these pages should thoroughly enjoy.
Volvo PV544 Keychain by PlaySam Oldschool Volvo love has never been shown so easily thanks to Playsam, the Scandinavian manufacturer of toys and, in this case, keychains. Playsam’s nationality is given away by significant Volvo and Saab content within their product lineup, and one of our favorites is this PV544 Keychain. FIND IT HERE.
KreepStool - 4Tek If the garage is your kingdom, this might be your new throne. Sonoma, CA-based 4Tek has made a name for itself with a creeper, but in an age of lowered cars and home lifts, we find its latest product, the KreepStool, even more useful. Dump that old office chair you’ve been using to make the commute from project car to toolbox and back with this handsome creep stool made of tubular aluminum. A quick release removable backrest, parking brake, rollerblade wheels and a selection of tool trays and holders make it ideal for use in the garage. FIND IT HERE.
MOMA Swedish Design Ball Bearing Banner Ask any hardcore Volvo enthusiast where the name of the brand comes from and you’ll likely get a two-word answer: “I Roll”. You see, before Volvo built cars or trucks, the company was a leading manufacturer of ball bearings. Knowing this, we took particular interest in a banner from BetterWall.com. BetterWall has made a business selling banners formerly used to promote museum exhibits as art themselves -- the perfect wall décor for a loft apartment or modern home. One particular banner we took a shining to was this scarlet example highlighting the Museum of Modern Art’s Swedish Design Ball Bearing display from 2004. The look is subtle, but something the most ardent Volvophiles will appreciate. FIND IT HERE.
Shock Doctor Power Dry GT Formula Helmet Bag Nobody likes helmet funk. It might be sweat, snot, saliva, vomit, blood or a mixture of each, but hard track driving means bodily fluids will most definitely find their way into a racer’s helmet. If you’re a regular at the track enough that you have your own helmet, taking measures to keep it dry and funkless is a wise idea. Athletic gear company Shock Doctor has added a whole motorsport range to its line, with helmet cases like the Power Dry Helmet Bag that can be hooked to their Power Dry Blower to dry out your racing helmet. Other accessories include a matching track backpack for your laptop and gear to which the helmet bag attaches. FIND IT HERE.
Sears Craftsman AXS Tool Storage System Tool cabinets can be crazy pricey. You can easily go broke outfitting a hardcore shop or ultimate garage, but for the average Joe tinkerer, the Craftsman AXS Tool Storage System from Sears is a general do-all that will definitely fit the bill. Features are this cabinet’s secret weapon. For your power tools or chargers, there’s the six-outlet power strip and even a 12-volt power jack like the one in your car. There are also two slide out LED task lights and a mult-function digital information screen with data like time, date and temp. Slide out drawers and work surfaces are all roller bearing. Options include magnetic drawer labels, fast and furious lower LED accent lighting and the AXS can even be had in a range of custom finishes and colors. FIND IT HERE.
Pirelli Black Leather Lace-Up Sneakers Pirelli has been a popular choice of tire by Volvo over the years. Given the popularity of Pirelli “shoes” on Volvos, why not consider a Pirelli shoe for yourself? The tire manufacturer produces a line of footwear, and one of our favorites is this black leather lace-up with suede accenting that reminded us of the interior in an 850R or first-gen V70R. FIND IT HERE.
Top Gear “Race the Stig” Board Game Forget Bob Lutz or Carlos Ghosn, if there’s a “Man of the Year” award for the autodom, then we think that award should go to Top Gear’s international man of mystery - The Stig. If you’re of like mind, then Top Gear’s “Race the Stig” board game may be the perfect gift. Use cash to build the best car, answer trivia or try to set the fastest lap. It’s the Cranium for car geeks and it kicks Monopoly’s ass. Be aware though, we found the game for sale in England and the website has a clear warning about shipping outside the UK. For that, an email to their customer service is required, but we think The Stig is worth it. FIND IT HERE.
Corbeau TRS Chair with Gaming Base or Just Base for Guy with Spare Racing Seats Laying Around From sport seat manufacturer Corbeau, we’ve found this chair and chair base combo made for driving video game fanatics. A sport seat attaches to the base to make it just the right height for playing video games, but not bad for using race-seats-as-furniture either. Corbeau sells just the base, which means you can probably use those old racing seats you have out in the garage as well. Just make sure to confirm that the bolt attachment points are all the same. FIND IT HERE.
Don’t Look at Girls Who Drive Volvo Station Wagons (Paperback) Okay, we’ll be honest. We picked this book of essays because of the gratuitous Volvo mention in the title. Nevertheless it rates well on Amazon and sounds like an interesting fireside read… even if it also doubles as a gag gift for the Volvo owner. FIND IT HERE.
Black & Decker 100 Watt Power Inverter As infotainment options continue to grow, adding power to your Volvo in other ways becomes a real necessity. This inverter from Black and Decker offers both a standard household plug and a USB plug for powering electronics like your iPod. FIND IT HERE.
Tire Rack by Tire Rack It might seem obvious, but the latest product from our friends over at the Tire Rack is a tire rack. This adjustable unit allows for various widths of wheel/tire combos. Even better, it’s made to hang on a wall, the better to rid the garage floor of those extra sets of wheels and tires those us afflicted with a rim fetish seem to collect. Each rack comes with a track for mounting into your wall’s studs. And, when installed correctly, the rack can hold up to 400 lbs. FIND IT HERE.
Need for Swede T-shirt We love websites like Zazzle who make T-shirts for just about anyone who can upload a design because you never quite know what you’re going to find. Last year, our 2006 Holiday Gift Guide included a cool Volvo 240 shirt we found on a similar website, and this year we’ve found this simple text shirt in a very familiar font. “Need for Swede” is printed across the front of the T. If you need an explanation, perhaps this website isn’t for you. FIND IT HERE.
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