10 Great High-Tech Car Gadgets

Like to have a few new cool gadgets for your car? Let’s look at some fun car accessories that take your ride’s tech to a new level.

GoPure Air Purifier

That "new car smell" folks love doesn't love you back—it's loaded with potentially dangerous chemicals. Many older cars have the same issue. It's a problem. The solution? A high-tech air purification system. The Philips GoPure Car Air Purifier boasts it removes 99% of toxic gases and other dangerous fine particles. Just plug the gizmo into your car's lighter, and it'll automatically switch on when you turn on the car. When the filter needs changing (they last from eight to 12 months), a little light will let you know.

Amazon Echo Auto

This one is exactly what you think it is: Alexa in your car. Just like at home, the Amazon Echo Auto responds to voice commands, here connecting to an app on your smartphone screen or a smart dash display. Just ask for directions, and Alexa will send them to your screen. Request a song, and it can play on your car's stereo. Pretty much anything you can ask your Echo at home, you can do on the road.

Portable Espresso Maker

Say goodbye to the Starbucks drive-thru! Just plug the coffee maker from CONQUECO into your car's cigarette lighter. The gadget is made to fit into your car's cup holder. With the press of a button, it takes just two minutes for the machine to heat cold water and brew up a perfect cup of espresso, using a high-pressure pump and a coffee capsule to give barista-level results. And you can take this gadget on the go with a car or not—it's got a rechargeable lithium battery.

Mirror Dash Camera

With the Yi Mirror Dash Camera, you get two different HD camera views: a 720p rearview camera and a 1080p forward-facing wide-angle camera. Both can be seen on a touchscreen that fits snugly over a traditional rearview mirror. Recorded video gets stored on a Micro SD card and there's a Wi-Fi connection that links the gadget to an app on your smartphone. And this isn't just to record what's on the road—the camera can also record video of you and your pals on a road trip!

Wireless Phone Charger

Apple, Samsung, LG, Microsoft, and Google all offer Qi wireless charging phones. And if your smartphone is Qi-compatible, it'll make a good match for a gadget like the ChGeek Wireless Car Charger. Mount the charger on an air vent, on your dashboard, or your windshield with a suction cup. However, you hang your wireless phone charger, it'll serve as a station for using navigation apps, music apps, and more as it powers up your smartphone via a connection to your car's lighter.

BlueDriver Systems Monitor

What's an OBD2 port? If your car was built after 1996 it almost certainly has one. Short for On-Board Diagnostics II, the OBD2 port offers access to your car's computer for diagnostics and emissions tests. And when you hook up a BlueDriver to your OBD2 port, you have one awesome real-time monitor for your car's major systems, with a Bluetooth connection to an app on your smartphone.

Tymate Tire Pressure Monitor

Still checking your tire pressure by stooping down, unscrewing caps, and going from tire to tire with a traditional tire-pressure gauge? There's no need to. Not if you've got a Tymate. Just twist the four cap sensors onto the valves of each tire. They'll signal a console that tells you if there's too much or too little pressure in your tires. You can plug the console in via USB, but you may not need to—it also runs on solar power!

Head-Up Display

Several luxury cars come equipped with a Head-Up Display (HUD) that projects information onto the windshield. One handy, self-contained, and affordable HUD is the HUDWAY Glass, which turns any smartphone into a Head-Up Display monitor. At a cost of under $50! Project your speedometer, directions, messages like Instagram notifications, and your music player right before your eyes. So, you'll never have to take your eyes off of the road!

TileMate

It's rare when we can't find our phones; our love affairs with our smartphones are such that they're never far from our sides. But we still lose our car keys fairly often. That's what makes the TileMate such a nifty gadget. It looks like an elegant little key chain. And that's what it is. But it's also a tracker with a Bluetooth connection to your phone to make sure that you can always find your keys.

Bluetooth FM Transmitter

An idea that's so simple it's genius: a Bluetooth link from your phone to your car's FM radio. It's possible with gadgets like the Anker Roav SmartCharge T1. Almost any mobile device, including tablets, can play through your car's speakers if you've got this little guy plugged into your cigarette lighter or car's USB charging port and set to an FM frequency.

Smart car devices are getting smarter by the day. Will any of these fun car gadgets be coming along for your rides?

Written by William McCleary for Knockaround.