Recommended Products

Here are some of the non-car products that I endorse for the EverydayAutoEnthusiast.

Video Games

Forza Motorsport 6- Forza has always been a franchise that is sort of a middle ground between pure driving simulator and just pure fun. With realistic damage and competitive online play, Forza 6 allows anyone to channel their inner Lewis Hamilton. I also highly recommend the Hori Racing Wheel as I have always felt that racing games just aren't the same without a steering wheel and pedals. The Hori Wheel is pretty much the cheapest wheel you can get yet still offers excellent feel and mirrors actual driving (despite not having a third pedal). What makes Forza 6 better than its competitors is that it takes racing seriously but not so much that it takes the fun out of it. Forza realizes that no video game is going to be as realistic as driving a real car so they have developed a game that only exposes you to the thrills of driving rather than bombarding the player with unnecessary details. Those that have read the about me blog post know that I grew up playing Gran Turismo. While GT5 was close to GT2 in terms of gaming enjoyment, I always felt the more recent Gran Turismo was a bit too clinical. While I currently do not have the ability to play online, I still enjoy Forza's free play and will never grow tired of flying down the corkscrew of Laguna Seca in my '99 Viper ACR.

Need for Speed- A true enthusiast enjoying Need for Speed? Heresy, most would say. I have always loved playing the Need for Speed franchise dating back to Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit on PS1. NFS takes the Forza recipe and takes virtually all realism and replaces it with even more fun. I always enjoyed NFS for its split-screen experience and no matter the driving skill level of your competitor, the races always seem close. Be it the blur-effect of hitting nitrous and blowing by the other cars, or slamming into light poles and casual commuters without sustaining hardly any damage, Need for Speed makes driving fun regardless of if you are a car enthusiast or just an average joe. NFS asks the legitimate question "why are you playing video games if you want realism"?

Honorable Mention- Grand Theft Auto IV- GTA IV is not a racing game yet the mannerisms of the cars are so realistic that it feels like it is one. Nothing quite makes you a better driver than attaining five stars and running from the cops until you crash for good. From the comedic car names (coquette anyone?) to the online races through Liberty City, I spent way too much time behind the wheel in this open-world game.

Literature/Movies

Rush (2013)- Rush was one of those movies that went "beyond the racing" but still was captivating for enthusiasts who enjoy a good story. Rush follows Austrian driver Niki Lauda and British driver James Hunt throughout their career and highlighted the dangers of Formula One before there were power restrictions or practically any safety features on the cars. Hunt and Lauda become fierce competitors on and off the track from their roots in Formula 3 to their eventual entry into Formula One. The contrasting personalities leads to viewers picking a hero early on and rooting for them throughout the rest of the film. Honorable mentions in the Formula One genre go to Senna, a documentary about legendary racer Ayrton Senna and Grand Prix, a classic that included an abundance of real racing with real 60's Formula One cars.

Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)- I'm sure I'll get laughed at from some people on this, but if you can't enjoy Nicolas Cage tearing up Los Angeles in Eleanor, you might not be human. For those who haven't seen the film, it revolves around former car "booster" (thief) Memphis Raines who is called back into action when his brother is held captive by a maniacal businessman who demands that Memphis steal him 50 cars. This is the definition of a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously and is great fun all the way to the end. This film also does an incredible job with engine sounds particularly with the '67 GT500. The lopey idle of the Mustang blossoming all the way to a full-on roar reminds me of why I love American cars. The pure variety of 90's classics will also make anyone who grew up in the era feel nostalgic.

Car Maintenance

Meguiar's Car Soap- The Meguiar's brand includes practically every car detailing kit you can think of, but I'd be lying if I told you I've used even half of them. What I do use, however, is the Meguiar's car wash soap. This gold soap doesn't look much different than your common dish soap but easily foams up with water with only a small amount necessary to cover the whole car during a wash. The soap also breaks down brake dust better than any soap I've ever used and will give your car a brilliant shine. I never thought dedicated car soap was necessary but Meguiar's is definitely worth the price as buying the 64 oz. container will last you years of washes.

Blue-Garuda Magnetic Air Vent Phone Holder- I received this magnetic phone holder as a gift and am astonished at how well it works. The phone holder fit snugly on both my Audi's air vent and my dad's Ford Edge. This phone holder includes a magnetic strip you place on the back of your phone under your case and connects to another magnetic piece that fits over your cars center vents. As most cars have vents that are fairly close to a driver's field of view, it makes an ideal place to rest your phone. By far the most useful feature of the vent mounted phone holder is using your smart phone's maps functionality as a gps without having to look too far down.










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