I have quite an old car (1976 Toyota Corona) and because I’m forgetful and it doesn’t tell me when I have left the lights on after I have turned off the engine I have needed a jump start so many times it is ridiculous. I even bought myself a bench charger to charge my car battery because I have run it flat that often.

So to me the Porta-Jump is a clever and thoughtful invention. No more wandering up to pissed strangers and asking them for a jump start. This little charger is small enough to fit in the glove box or center console and so powerful it can charge any 12-Volt battery in a matter of minutes. 

You charge it off your cigarette lighter in the car and it can actually be used over and over again. It would be fantastic for me if my cigarette lighter worked! It is only AU$31 and it would be stupidly silly not to get one of these at that price (as long as your lighter works).

Porta-Jump

This gadget is an oldie but a goody. It is an essential for those who lack arms or the upper body strength to lift a car (or use the jack that came with your car). 

The Exhaust Car Jack will easily lift your vehicle within half a minute. Just connect this to your exhaust, turn on your engine and you’re good to go. The exhaust will inflate the bag, lifting the vehicle’s frame 17″ off the ground. The bag remains inflated even after the engine is turned off thanks to a one-way valve. It’s been proven to work in mud, snow, and on uneven ground where a regular jack won’t work.

It costs roughly AU$132 from AJPrindle.

Alternatively you can get a firefighter to help you. See the video below.

Why? That is all I can say to this Call Me Prism. Why? 

The sole purpose of the prism is to display (up to 10) differnt mobile numbers to people on the highway. Has this become a problem to single commuters looking for love? Have I just been that ugly that I didn’t know it was common place to pickup while on the road?

I have a feeling this might be a safety hazard? If you are flashing your number at people how do you know who is a sphyco stalker and who is a normal stalker?  And on the other end, do you want to go out with someone who owns a device to flash their number?

If you are feeling that desperate you can buy the Callme Prism for about AU$28 from Fun Shop.

Nexus 404

There is something about Super Mario Brothers and cars that just seems to go together. I know this isn’t really a gadget as such but I couldn’t touch on cars and gadgets and not look at all the Mario modding and experiments going on. 

Above you can see the original NES Controler inside a car hood. Why I’m not sure but there it is. (Kotaku)

Below you can see the original super mario theme painted on this Russians fancy blue car.

Here is a R/C car playing Super Mario Bros. theme. It was created when the R/C car driven along the perfectly positioned glass bottles.

Super Mario Bottle Theme

2DayBlog

This is right out of some boy’s spy fantasy. Ok, probably out of most men’s car gadget fantasy. It’s a police car with a cannon and a targeting laser on the front of it. How awesome is that!

Basically this is the way of car chases in the future. StarChase has developed a compressed air canon that fits on the font of a police car and with the help of a guiding laser will fire a GPS tracking device (GPS receiver, transmitter and power supply) covered in an epoxy resin that will stick to the car the police are in pursuit of. The dispatcher then views the location and movements of the tagged vehicle in near real-time on a digital roadmap via a secure Internet connection.

Unfortunately, I do not think this will be going out to the general consumer but at least you can rest knowing that car chases are going to get safer with this kind of technology.

StarChase via Book of Joe

The problem with night time driving is it’s dark…… and there you are left with a lack of contrast leaving drivers in a world of bright lights and dark patches of road. Your eyes are constantly trying to adjust between the bright headlights of oncoming traffic and billboards and then the dark areas where people might stroll out into the road from.

What these new glasses from Tag Heuer do is create the ability to see varying degrees of light and dark essentially adding contrast to our night vision. Only 10% of the light entering our eyes at night falls on the photosensitive parts of the retina. The yellow tint of the glasses help light transmission and can enhance our eye sight in areas where there is minimal light to start with. 

These glasses were originally designed to help drivers in the 24 Hours of LeMans auto race and so the titanium frames with their anti-reflective lenses will fit perfectly under that bike helmet.

No word on pricing at the moment but for those constantly on the road at night (and for those who just want to where glasses at night) these look like a worthy investment.

Tag Heuer via Coolest Gadgets

Just so everyone knows the next 20 gadgets are used around cars. So if you know of any to be shown or used in the list let me know in the next few days on my email luke”at”20gadgets.com.

“Mops spread it around, Scoopa picks it up”. This little robot is perfect to end the 20 “In The Kitchen” gadgets. It simultaneously prepares, washes, and scrubs tile, linoleum, or sealed hardwood floors, without human intervention. For well over $300 I’ll skip this product and get it when I have a way way bigger kitchen. See the video below for more information.

Scooba Floor Wash

Hammacher Schlemmer via Red Ferret

No kitchen should be without Tater Mitts, the quick peeling potato gloves. I’m the one who cooked the roasts in our house and I know how annoying peeling potatoes truly is. These look like a blessing and for US$16 I am definitely considering getting a pair.

These gloves will peel a lightly boiled potato in 8 seconds and remove only the thinest layer of skin so it is safe to use. You can get a pair at Amazon. Visit their web site below and check out the hilarious TV commercial, ‘oh no don’t use a knife or you’ll peel half the potato away’. 

Tater Mitts via Popgadget

MIT has developed the most awesome paper towel to date. This nanowire mesh paper towel can absorb up to 20 times its weight in oil. This material can be placed into water for months and once removed still be dry. It only absorbs oil. No only would it be great for spills in the kitchen and washing up in the sink back that has the right properties to help purify water and to be used out in the environment for small oil spills etc. Once it picks up the oil it can be removed and reused (the oil). Unlike most nanotechnology, the mesh is inexpensive to produce, since the nanowires can be fabricated in larger quantities than other nanomaterials (Gizmodo).

Check out the video at MIT Paper towel Nanotechnology.

MIT via Gizmodo