When you looked at your car this morning, did you think, “Meh! Same old, same old. Boring.”?
Welcome to the world of automotive bling. The good news is you don’t have to sell your present car to achieve a unique look and feel that makes you smile every morning.
Let’s talk about rims. Even multi-spoke mag rims, like the ones you envied in high school, are so ten minutes ago. Remember your parents’ sedan? The one with the flat chrome hubcaps? Those are back, but as a complete rim: completely smooth and very cool like those from Forgiato Cactus Jack.
Raising the bar on rims is one thing, but what about color? The future is cheerful pastels like the toy cars you had as a kid. You can, of course, lose that grayish color with bright and shiny paint. Remember those $29.95 Earl Scheib paint jobs? But there’s a better way: wraps. No, not the chicken wrap you get at Chick-fil-A, but a complete vinyl wrap that changes the color of your entire car (or any portion you choose). These have been around for years as custom lettering on the side of business vans as advertising. But now, with vast improvements in materials, you can wrap every part of your car, changing its color like a chameleon.
Made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), wraps come in long rolls of film about 2 mils thick. When carefully applied by a pro, the film can even turn a black car white. The best wraps are from 3M or Avery & Arlin, so be sure that’s what you get.
You’ll have a myriad of choices in both color and finish. Gloss, satin, or matte, of course, but you can also get gradient finishes to slowly change the shade from top to bottom.
Wraps won’t cover chips, scratches or rust, so you’ll have to get those fixed first. Wraps will last up to seven years, and many appliers will warrant them up to five. What’s the downside? You’ll need to hand wash the car, so no more drive-through car washes.
You can also tailor your car to your driving style with power and handling options. Take the Chevy Camaro, for example. Stop by your dealer, and they can upgrade you with front and rear spoilers, replace electronic engine control chips and air intakes to increase horsepower and torque, and then add sway bars, Brembo racing brakes, and stiffer springs to improve cornering and handling. You may never want to hit the racetrack, but just knowing you can stop faster is a significant advantage.
So, no more morning blahs when you get in your car.
Chris Caswell is an award-winning writer and the former editor of several yachting magazines. He has appeared on Oprah as a boating lifestyle expert and hosted the Marine Voyager series on the Speed Channel.
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