16 Of The Coolest Car Accessories You Didn't Realize Existed

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As fancy as modern cars are, you usually need to deck them out with an accessory or two to truly make them your own. Conventional accessories include things like phone mounts, seat covers, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto displays, Bluetooth transmitters, and more.

You can find those accessories pretty much anywhere, at local gas stations or supermarkets, but they are just the tip of the car accessory iceberg. If you continue beyond the common and ordinary accessories, you can find a collection of creative and sometimes borderline-unhinged automotive products. Some of these gadgets and knickknacks are convenient, some are conversation pieces, and some are just plain weird.

Cars are evolving, and so is how we use them. Car accessories have to evolve alongside them to keep up and remain relevant. Along the way, accessory manufacturers throw everything at the wall to see what sticks. We can't say whether these accessories will stand the test of time, or even whether you should buy them, but we can say these are 16 of the coolest or weirdest car accessories you might not know about.

Eating and driving isn't recommended, but sometimes you have to pull over to grab a bite between here and there. These sauce and dip clips from Saucemoto attach to your car's air vents like a savory air freshener. They hold fast food sauce containers so you can dip your nuggets and fries with greater ease.

The dip clip is designed to attach to almost any vehicle vent, and it fits most rigid sauce containers (hard sauce containers with thin, peelable lids) from major restaurant chains. For everything else, like squeezy packets of ketchup, you can use the included removable sauce cup, capable of holding up to five ketchup packets.

The dip clip is perfect for snacking passengers, lunch breaks, and car picnics. If you find yourself eating in the car often, these clips help prevent spills and simplify eating whether you're in a park, a parking lot, or a rest stop. Just make sure you've pulled over so you can give your grub the attention it deserves.

This LED car sign from Vanesa is marketed as a way to add eyes to your car's windshield, making it look like a character from Pixar's "Cars." It can definitely give your car a face, but it can do a lot more. It's essentially a programmable LED sign that you can use to create a wide range of images, including facial expressions, text, and more.

This particular sign measures 14.7 inches in length and 3.6 inches in height, with a power cable that's nearly 15 feet long. There are other versions available in different sizes, so you can find one that best fits your vehicle. It's also flexible, allowing it to adjust to the contours of your windshield. For power, you can connect it to your car's cigarette lighter or a portable power bank. It can even draw power from a laptop in a pinch. You can customize the image, as well as the color and brightness, using a smartphone app.

In addition to the preloaded images available in the app, you can upload your own images or create animations. You can also set up a collection of your favorite images and play them on a loop. And if you're feeling the groove, you can sync the sign to your music to create animated, audio-reactive visuals.

Cars have lots of nooks and crannies where dust and grime can hide. This cleaning gel from Pulidiki can be smooshed into those areas to pick up dust and debris from hard-to-reach places. It's good for cleaning air vents, cup holders, and other uneven surfaces.

To use it, take it out of the jar and knead it for a minute or two to soften it and make it pliable. The gel comes in purple, orange, blue, and pink (though the color doesn't affect its functionality) and has a light fragrance. It's safe to use on hard, water-resistant surfaces in your car. You can use it to clean the dashboard, door panels, and center console, but you shouldn't use it on fabric seats or other upholstered surfaces.

The cleaning gel sticks to dust without sticking to your car or your hands, and it doesn't leave any residue. When you're finished, you can put the gel back in the jar and use it again later. It's not washable, but you can continue to use it until it becomes too dirty to be effective.

A cell phone is practically a necessity for modern life. In fact, it's become such a part of our daily activities that it's not uncommon for the battery to drain before the day is done. To that end, most of us keep a phone charger in our cars to recharge on the go.

This retractable car phone charger from Estbuc plugs into your car's cigarette lighter or accessory port. It comes in black, gray, or white, and features a Lightning cable and a USB-C charging cable. It also has one USB-A port and one USB-C port, so you can charge up to four devices at the same time. The cables extend up to 31.5 inches, and then retract back into the charger when not in use.

The retractable phone charger is compatible with most major smartphones and other small electronics, and it's capable of fast charging to power up your phone quickly. During setup, the charger rotates up to 180 degrees, so you can angle it however you prefer. When you're ready to charge, just pull the cords out as far as you like and they'll lock into place. When you're finished, give them a slight tug to release the lock, and the cables will retract to help keep your car uncluttered.

Most of us are accustomed to having a rectangular rearview mirror mounted to the windshield. This digital rearview "mirror" from Wolfbox makes alternative use of the same space by replacing your mirror with a real-time camera system displayed on a 12-inch touchscreen.

It has a 1080p rear-facing camera and a front-facing camera capable of 4K UHD video, so you can use it like a rearview mirror to see behind you while reversing, while also recording the road in front of you as you drive. You can even choose a split-screen display, allowing you to watch both views at the same time. This camera system upgrades your existing rearview mirror and provides a potential solution for vehicles hauling big trailers, which may not otherwise have clear visibility behind them.

There's even a parking monitor mode that keeps an eye on your car around the clock using a low-frame-rate time-lapse mode. No matter which lens or mode you're using, video playback can be retrieved in real time using the Wolfbox app.

If you're the sort of person who regularly taps at the steering wheel or slaps at the dashboard to drum along with your music, then this tiny crash cymbal from Generic might be for you. Crash cymbals are a standard part of a typical drum kit and are so named because of the loud, crashing sound they make when played.

This accessory shrinks a crash cymbal down so that it's small enough to be played with a finger without obstructing your view of the road. It's about 5 inches tall and 5 inches wide, and it uses an adjustable hook to clip to the air vent in just about any car. After it's installed, you can adjust how much it vibrates and, therefore, how much sound it makes by twisting a dial on the top.

It's worth noting that some Amazon users have complained that it takes a beating even from light finger drumming and that it rattles while driving. Your mileage may vary.

This steering wheel desk tray from EcoNour is one of my favorite car accessories. It easily clips to your steering wheel to provide a flat surface and unclips just as easily when you don't need it anymore.

Every weekday, I drop my kid off at school in the morning and pick him up in the afternoon. Most days, I get there a little early to get ahead of the rush, and I've got 20 to 30 minutes of parking lot time to kill. This steering wheel desk lets me take out my laptop and work while I'm waiting for the release bell to ring. Mine is black, but it comes in a few different colors to match your vibe.

In addition to being a desk, it can also serve as a tiny table so you can more easily eat in your car. The tray is made of durable, food-safe plastic that's easy to clean. One side has a built-in cup holder, and if you flip it over, there's a thin channel for holding a pen, pencil, or stylus. It should go without saying, but the desk shouldn't be used while you're driving. Not only is it dangerous, but you'll dump your laptop or lunch the first time you make a turn.

Cars have a way of collecting trash. Over time, fast food wrappers, receipts, and a hundred other small items can end up on your floor or shoved into the side compartments of your door panels. This tiny car trash can from Aujen gives you a better option for dealing with car trash, helping you keep a cleaner and more organized vehicle without changing your routine.

It comes with two rolls of disposable trash bags and has a spring-loaded push lid that closes on its own to contain garbage. The lid can also be removed to empty the can. It has a tapered design that's 2.2 inches wide at the base, 3.5 inches wide at the top, and 7.7 inches tall. It's similar in shape to a typical travel coffee cup. It also comes in a two-pack, so you can turn two of your cup holders into trash cans or pass one on to a friend as a gift.

If you're camping or on a road trip, a cooler is a normal addition to the car. This car refrigerator from Megiu plugs into your car's cigarette lighter to keep things cold without ice. It's 15.5 inches tall, 12.6 inches wide, and 16.9 inches long. The interior is tiered, with one portion tall enough to fit drink bottles standing up and the other side big enough to fit two soda cans stacked side by side. It's small enough to fit between the front and back seats, but large enough to contain an entire 12-pack of soda with room to spare.

The refrigerator interior can cool to near-freezing temperatures in as few as 17 minutes, and it can drop below zero in a little under an hour. You can adjust your preferred temperature with an LED touch display, and if the fridge detects that your car battery is running low, it shuts down automatically.

Hitting a deer is a great way to ruin your day, and the deer doesn't have much fun either. If deer and other wildlife crossings are a concern where you drive, these deer warning whistles from Elook could help prevent an accident.

They attach to your car's grille or bumper, and air passes through them as your vehicle moves, generating an ultrasonic warning signal. The whistles produce sound that's outside the range of human hearing but may be audible to deer and other animals. The sound is intended to drive wildlife away, making it less likely that they'll jump in front of your car.

It should be noted, however, that it's unclear how effective these are at preventing collisions with wildlife. Studies have come back inconclusive, with some suggesting that the whistles may not be audible from far enough away to prevent an accident. That said, it's a low-cost gamble that could make a difference and likely won't cause any harm.

This HUD (short for heads-up display) from Arestech is a deceptively simple device that makes it feel like you're driving in the future. It installs easily by connecting to your car's OBD2 or EUOBD interface (the onboard diagnostics system) to gather information like speed, fuel consumption, driving distance, engine temperature, and more.

Once connected, you place the device on your dashboard, and information is reflected off the windshield into your line of sight. The windshield acts like a transparent screen, so you can check fuel level or speed without taking your eyes off the road. Alternatively, you can purchase an optional HUD screen, which is a small glass panel mounted on a stand, that you can position on your dashboard to act as a display. It automatically turns on and off with the ignition, and you can set up alerts to let you know if you're going over the speed limit.

These days, more and more cars are ditching keys in favor of push-to-start buttons paired with a key fob. This presents a new opportunity for customization, because there are tons of different button covers you can use to customize your car's look and feel.

You can find designs modeled after popular Marvel Comics characters like Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Iron Man, alongside options that look like gems or flowers. You can also find decorative rings in many colors and designs that surround the button without covering it. Other designs feature the faces of Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and other characters from "Star Wars." Some button covers open and close like the iris of a camera lens, creating a sci-fi effect, while others flip open and shut like a missile-style safety cover. Whatever your fandom or aesthetic, there's probably a push-to-start button cover for you.

If you're on a long road trip, going camping, or otherwise leaving home for an extended period, you might need to sleep in your car. You can always curl up on the backseat, but it's narrower than most of us would like, and you have to contend with seatbelt buckles and uneven surfaces. It'll work in a pinch, but it's not the most comfortable sleeping situation. Enter the inflatable backseat air mattress from Onirii.

It inflates with an included electric air pump powered by a 12V charger plugged into your car's cigarette lighter, and it's designed to fill the space between the front and back seats to provide a flat surface to sleep on.

The mattress not only smooths out your sleeping area, it also extends it, so you've got more room. It might be tight, but it's big enough to sleep two people side by side. It comes with a sleep mask, ear plugs, and a carrying bag for storage when it's not in use.

I am often cold, even when others aren't, and my electric blanket is one of my favorite possessions. I use it day and night, and it keeps me nice and toasty, but only when I'm at home. Leaving home and climbing into the car, especially during winter, can be an exercise in enduring discomfort, at least until the heating kicks in, and I've often wished I could take my electric blanket with me wherever I go. Now, that's finally possible.

The heated car blanket from Stalwart plugs into your car's cigarette lighter or auxiliary power port with its 60-inch power cord. The blanket measures 59 inches by 43 inches, is made of polyester fleece, and comes in a variety of colors and patterns. Whichever blanket you choose, it heats up using your car's electrical system and helps keep you comfortable during commutes, on camping trips, at the drive-in, and anywhere else you might go.

Purple is a recognizable name in the world of mattresses, offering sleeping materials of all shapes and sizes both online and at a collection of brick-and-mortar stores. You can get mattresses and pillows made of Purple's flexible, grid-like material to improve comfort while you sleep. Now, that same level of comfort is available on the road with Purple's car seat cushion.

This Purple seat cushion measures 17.25 inches wide, 15.25 inches deep, and just 1.25 inches thick. Purple's Gelflex Grid material deforms with pressure, cradling your tailbone to enhance comfort. The grid also offers plenty of air channels to help maintain a comfortable temperature and reduce sweating. If the seat cushion gets soiled, you can clean it easily by removing the machine-washable cover and cleaning the GelFlex Grid with soap and water. Comfort is important when you're on long trips, and if you already like Purple's mattresses and pillows, a car seat cushion lets you take a little of that same comfort into your car.

There are certain times of day when you can hardly drive without being blinded by the Sun. Glare from sunlight can obscure your vision, which is precisely what you don't want when you're behind the wheel. Your car's built-in sun visor helps, but it can only do so much.

This sun visor extender from Joytutus is transparent, polarized, and clips to your existing visor with a pair of clips. When flipped down, it extends the range of your sun visor while leaving your view unobscured. It's like giving your car a pair of sunglasses. It measures 13.4 inches wide and 4.3 inches tall, roughly the same size as your existing visor.

The visor hinges so you can flip it down when you need it and then tuck it away when you don't. That said, you might find yourself leaving it down all the time. Amazon users say it works well at cutting down glare from sunlight during the day, and it also helps reduce glare from oncoming headlights at night.