Car gifts are for all who drive

For those of you who like to wait until the last minute to do your holiday shopping, congratulations, you made it.

And although you might be a car nut, that doesn't mean that the people you're buying gifts for are also car nuts. However, you can use your special insight into four-wheeled conveyances to pull some great auto-related gifts out of the hat that everyone will love.

Some of this year's choices are very reasonably priced, because, after all, it doesn't have to take a lot of money to put a smile on the face of a loved one.

For starters, try giving the gift of driving tunes. It will take a little thought on your part, which is sort of what gift giving is all about. Head over to the Apple iTunes store, for example, and preview some songs that you think would make good driving tunes. Hint: The natural tendency is to pick tunes with "car" in the title or somewhere in the lyrics, but the truth is that good driving tunes make you feel great as the scenery rolls by, no matter the subject matter. Good driving beats, rock music, independent music, new music and inspirational tunes make good choices. Start adding songs to your wish list and boil it down to whatever you can afford. Maybe it's a few songs and maybe it's 100. When you're done, click the little down-arrow button to the right of the song (we're still talking iTunes store, here) that reads "gift this song" and away you go.

Speaking of Apple, in all the years that I have been driving since the creation of the iPod music player, I have intended to install an iPod car dock properly and hook up the thing to get the best sound. Going through the headphone jack of the iPod or using one of those FM radio couplings is just not for me. However, I have never taken the time to have the proper docking unit installed. While this gift is slightly more costly, perhaps a couple of hundred dollars, I would personally love it and feel any music fan would as well, car nut or not.

Also a fun gift is a portable GPS navigation system that can be had for about $100 from companies such as Tom-Tom and Garmin. They're fun to use, save time and they're available right now at your local big-box audio store.

If there were more hours in the day, it would be easier to set aside time to have my car detailed. For me, while my rides are my babies, and I of course want them to always look their best, I constantly seem to put a trip to the car wash for a good detail job on the back burner. It takes time and the fact is that it's better spent working or enjoying family and friends. This is especially true during the holidays when there is much to do. An awesome gift for anyone who takes pride in his or her ride is a comprehensive detail job, inside and out. And if you want to splurge, throw in a new set of windshield wiper blades. It's unlikely that your recipient has changed them in a while, and having a fresh set makes a big difference. Along those lines, a neat gift involves taking their car to the local glass shop to have a special rain repellent applied to the windshield. Every time they look out to a clear road ahead, they'll have you to thank.

A thorough detail job costs about $120-$200, depending on how involved it is, a set of blades can run from about $20 and the windshield treatment runs about $30. If you can swing it, pry the vehicle out their hands and get the procedure done for them. Your recipient is likely just as busy as you are and delivering a spotless, clean-smelling car to them is likely as good a gift as the detailing job itself.

Filling a tank these days can cost a pretty penny. It obviously hurts our wallets right at the time of year when we're spending money on other people. Would you not love to get the holiday present of a gas gift card, good for a fill-up or two at your favorite neighborhood gas station? Write a unique message on the card, and this is a wonderful, thoughtful gift that will have your friend thinking of you with each fill up.

Of course, if the recipient is very, very close to you, and you can afford it, you can't go wrong with a cool set of new wheels. Unless of course they are incredibly tacky or outrageous, which unfortunately some certainly are. So, this idea can be fraught with peril in that you'll want to get the recipient wheels they'll actually put on the car. And if they're a different size than what's on there now, you'll have to get tires, too, since wheels are really only half the gift in this case. You'll either need to get some very specific ideas from them, or provide a gift certificate, which is likely the safest way to go, and the quickest at this late date.

I wish you great success shopping for automotive related gifts for the car lovers in your life. Even those who might not be as passionate about their cars and trucks as you are will appreciate these thoughtful gift ideas.

Among her numerous accomplishments, Courtney Hansen is an author, the host of Spike TV's "PowerBlock," the former host of TLC's "Overhaulin' " and a writer with Wheelbase Communications. You can e-mail her by logging on to www.wheelbase.ws/media and using the contact link.