For many of us, buying a car is a rather big investment. As a result, we may find ourselves driving the same car for a decade or more, which while being practical leaves us out of the loop when it comes to the latest advances in automotive technology. Because of this, we often find ourselves wishing we could equip our vehicles with various aspects of new technology that can turn our older vehicles into ones that will be the envy of drivers everywhere. If you find yourself in this position and want to turn your car into the best on the highway, here are four of the best ways to upgrade your ride in 2018.
1- Heads-Up Displays
If you want to feel like you’re driving the high-tech vehicle of tomorrow, consider adding heads-up displays to your vehicle. More commonly known as HUDs, this upgrade is part video game and part virtual reality. Rather than having to divert your eyes away from the road and traffic around you, a HUD will project a transparent image onto your windshield showing such things as speed, mileage, engine warnings, display arrows for upcoming turns, and much more. While becoming standard equipment on most new vehicles, kits to add this to your vehicle can often be purchased for less than $300. To learn more about this, visit here.
2- Heated Seats and Massagers
If while viewing your car’s stats on the windshield you also want to be as comfortable as possible, try installing heated seats and massagers in your vehicle. While this feature has actually been in some cars since the 1960s, its popularity has greatly increased in recent years. In fact, most new vehicles now include this as a standard feature, or as an optional factory upgrade. While it sounds like a feature that would be very expensive, the good news is that almost any vehicle can find itself featuring heated seats and massagers for well under $100. Many retailers, including Bed, Bath, and Beyond, as well as Amazon, offer heated seat covers that also provide a soothing massage for as little as $60. More details about this can be found here.
3- Parking Sensors
If there is one thing that can be a pain in the neck from time to time, it’s trying to get parked into a tight space. The leading cause of scratched paint jobs and fender benders, parking accidents can often result in high repair bills. To keep your vehicle scratch and dent-free, consider upgrading to parking sensors. Usually activated when a car is put into reverse gear, most of today’s parking sensors rely on sound waves to detect nearby objects. Once an object is detected, the sensors then use beeping sounds, warning lights, or a combination of the two in letting a driver know when they are getting closer to an object. Costing anywhere from $35-$300, parking sensor kits are available for virtually all vehicles. However, you’ll have to decide if you want to install them yourself or hire a pro to do so. But since most don’t require any complex wiring or drilling, chances are you’ll have little trouble making this a weekend do-it-yourself project.
4- Rearview Cameras
When you’re driving, you can never have too many views of what’s around you. To go along with this thinking, more and more drivers are opting to install rearview cameras in their vehicles. Standard on almost all new vehicles today, the statistics regarding these cameras are striking. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, rearview cameras can reduce blind spots on most vehicles by as much as 90 percent. In addition to this, vehicle accidents involving rearview blind spots are responsible for over 15,000 injuries per year. Thus, this upgrade will likely play a big role in keeping you safer on the road. Costing less than $150, these systems often use wireless technology, making them very easy to install.
Whether you upgrade your vehicle with only one of these items or you splurge and add all four, there’s no doubt you’ll not only have a much safer vehicle while driving down the road, but also one that is also much more fun to drive.
